97. AAA97 1850 C. VAN RENSSELAER PCUSA Ministerial Educational Operations.

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The distinction of tribe has no place in the empire of letters. Liberal pursuits create a brotherhood, and link together men of every nation. And if an influence thus cementing is put forth by the culture of mind, and the extension of knowledge, a yet higher measure of power, exerted in the same direction, may be claimed for our holy religion. Deriving her doctrines and precepts, her hopes and impulses from the one revelation, she encircles her votaries by a chain of hallowed and fraternal affection.

I make no apology, therefore, for appearing here to-day. Although in some sense a stranger, an alien, and a foreigner, our mutual relationship vindicates me from the charge of presumption in having complied with the kind invitation of the Theological Society of this University to take my humble part in the exercises of an Anniversary day. Indeed the sense is very limited in which Jam willing to admit the position of an alien. True, I am not an American either by birth, naturalization, or citizenship; I come not up to-day, to my own Alma Mater. I first drew breath on that wonderful little island that hangs on the Western margin of the Old World. My Alma Mater rears her time honored walls and grey turrets in the land of chivalry and of song, the land whose "everlasting hills" centuries by-gone, echoed the hymn of praise to Israel’s God. But am not I to-day among the offspring of the same ancestry? Speak we not the same mother tongue? Is not this also Anglo Saxondom? Are not the records of England’s dynasties, of her progress, of her achievements, of her glory,

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or many centuries, as much yours’ as they are ours’? Is not the history one? Does not New England, especially, spring from the finest portion of the old English stock—from men of high principle, lofty purpose, and mighty in their generation? Hath there not ever been intercommunion of thought between us; literature, science, Theology in common? Turn whichever way we will, the distinct impress of our brotherhood appears. Let the Union Jack and the Stars and Stripes hang enfolded together before the nations, with the motto " Unitas" above them, and the prayer "Esto perpetua" written beneath.

Coming up, in these circumstances, to an Anniversary celebration of one of the oldest Colleges in New England, the mind is turned, not unnaturally to the powerful influence which its successive Alumni must exert upon their country and on the world. Educated mind places its impress on a generation. It is God’s will that every where intellect shall control and triumph over mere force. It is a suitable homage which matter yields to spirit. It is not less for the benefit of Society than for the divine glory, that, of all the influences that can be brought permanently to affect mankind, that of cultivated intellect and affections is the most powerful. It may be disliked, resisted, even denounced, but in spite of all, it is felt; nor can its revilers themselves escape its magic spell. Reverence must be paid to the spiritual and good, even though it be exacted from those who are evil. Accordingly, the members of this Society, if true to their vocation and allegiances cannot move through life in vain. Going forth into various parts of this great country, they must give impulse and direction to many minds. Dwelling in the midst of their brethren, they cannot do otherwise than put forth great moral power. Into a position of high responsibility their intellectual culture and furniture, hath placed them, and it is of no little moment that they who are soon to leave these halls of learning, should not merely apprehend, but also deeply feel their accountableness. And perhaps a stranger-brother, who can only be an observer of your position, may, without presumption help in the formation of a correct estimate by inviting your attention to the fact, that our world may legitimately expect much from the American Church.

It may be worth our while to note at the outset what is meant by the American Church. We are to-day amid associations and institutions that render explanation easy. New England’s idea of Church has Bible simplicity about it. There is pictured forth the gathered assembly of the devout engaged in earnest worship of the Triune Jehovah through the Great Mediator. The rites of that worship are simple and unpretending. There is no vain show. No pompous ceremonial. The idea does not include a cumbrous hierarchy of many orders rising one above another to the throne of an Archbishop or to the Chair of the Fisherman; nor does it know any thing of strong and high lines of circumvallation, which, like the great wall of China, shut out from the Church and from God’s covenant mercies all non-conformists, as outside barbarians. The ancient and true idea, indigenous in this land, excludes all this, and sympathizes with the definition that the American church means American Christianity in its vitality and power, the religion of the intellect and of the affections, the faith once delivered to the saints. Or more accurately, it means the adherents to the religion of Jesus Christ as a Divine Savior, crucified for sin, and "made of God unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption," the religion of a "new heart," a "right spirit," and of holiness in walk and conversation. The American Church contains every man and woman of this character, in the American States, however ecclesiastically associated, and it contains no other.

From this Church the world’s people are entitled to expect much enlightenment and amelioration. Without presumption they may look to this agency for a needed blessing. But in order to a correct apprehension of the matter, attention must be given to an indispensable preliminary. There can be no intelligent devotement, nor can there be framed and put into operation right plans, without some estimate of what has to be done in our world. Little is accomplished by fitful efforts,

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made at random, and without reference to "an expected end." The issue must be regarded. The mind needs familiarity with ultimate results. Mere time-servers labor in vain in this sphere. The work is not to be attempted by your men of the present hour and of expediency, who trim their bark so as to sail before every breeze that blows, most solemnly eschewing the labor and inconvenience of beating up against wind and tide for the one and only real haven.

Now thoughtful minds can hardly fail to admit, that neither is the present condition of our world, nor was any past state since the entrance of evil into it, such as can be regarded with complacency, or as satisfactory to benevolent aspirations. It is manifestly capable of something higher. Retaining still the faint impress of its original greatness and purity, it suggests the possibility of nobler issues. In connection with the divine plan of mercy, it contains elements of grandeur that have only to be developed, and harmonized, and above all purified from corrupt admixture, to form a constellation that shall shine with unlooked-for splendor. The song is now applicable. "Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty, Just and True are thy ways thou King of Saints." Some of these precious elements have for ages been hidden under a cloud, and their glory buried amid rubbish by the agency of sin; but they are there nevertheless in all their unchanged and unchanging excellence—they only wait to have free course, and to be glorified. And the hour of their unfolding approaches. They must shine forth. The glory of the Great Lord demands it. He who made these heavens and this earth with all that in them is, is not on this arena to be foiled and baffled in the achievement of his benevolent purpose. "As I live, saith Jehovah, the whole earth shall be filled with my glory." Light, liberty, moral purity, social happiness shall supersede the long reign of darkness, slavery, wickedness and wretchedness. However long it tarry, and with whatever gloom the intermediate scene is invested, the time of deliverance must come. The presages of Providence with their uplifted finger, the scroll of prophecy with its mystic indications, and the glory of

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the Great Lord of all in its obvious exigencies unitedly point to this issue, and proclaim its certain realization. His "will shall be done on earth, even as it is done in heaven."

That earth has a prospect thus bright few instructed Christians are disposed to question, but there is less unity of sentiment on the subject of agency and instrumentality. The verdicts especially on the latter point are many and various. Honest but misjudging men have from time to time put forth each one his panacea, until failure hath shamed them out of countenance. Meanwhile the evil and designing have supplied abundance of shifts and nostrums to impose on the unwary. From one or other of these sources the public mind is seldom without some appeal in favor of a specific cure for a world’s maladies. We meet here, however, on higher ground. Our united conviction is, that this work of right belongs to the Most High, and that he alone can do it. We believe that he will carry forward and consummate his glorious purpose of love by the gospel of salvation proclaimed by human instruments. It is not unknown that good and earnest men who have studied prophetic scripture in ignorance of the Apostolic axiom of exegesis, that "no prophecy of the Scripture is of self-interpretation," have doubted and do now doubt at this point. They understand the gospel as containing one message, having little of the aspect of good tidings in it, namely, that it shall fail, as proclaimed by regenerate man, to secure general attention and to bless the world with light and peace. Their expectations of happy result are confined to the coming of the Just One, the second coming of our Lord. Until then, according to them, matters will, in the aggregate, become worse and worse.

Without at present attempting to separate truth from error in this imperfectly adjusted scheme, it is needful to notice it, only as it conflicts with our views of the divinely appointed instrumentality in the renovation of the world. Now if we turn for instruction on this subject, to all the past, its voice presents an unbroken testimony that God has ever enlightened man by revealed truth propagated by human agency. Let the mind

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of the inquirer get below the surface, and he will find that missions of light and benevolence were characteristics of all the economies. Enoch prophesied, and Noah preached. Abraham carried the divine light to the tribes with which he came into contact during his wandering pilgrimage. Joseph and Israel taught Egypt the knowledge of God. "Burdens" and messages were sent to Tyre, to Nineveh, and to Babylon. When Israel sinned, the name of God was blasphemed among the heathen because of them. The Jewish temple was a house of prayer as well for the stranger, as for the child; it was for all nations. Of the present dispensation such missions are among the most prominent marks. Explicit injunction requires the Church to "go forth into all the world, and to preach the gospel to every creature." Explicit promise hath rendered certain the blessing. "Lo I am with you alway, even to the end of the world." The Redeemer himself, though he gloriously appeared to the vindictive Saul of Tarsus, did not personally instruct him "what he should do to be saved, but having convinced and humbled him, he sent Ananias to teach him the way of life. The Angel who was sent to Cornelius, did not himself preach Christ to the devout centurion, but enjoined him to send for Peter, who would tell him words whereby he should be saved. Thus taught, we may not look for new arrangements, nor expect the world to be brought to Jesus apart from the gospel and human agency in its proclamation.

We might, if needful adopt sundry admissions without prejudice to this conclusion. It might be granted that advance in evangelization is slow, toilsome, and imperfect; and that the marvellous changes and progress in science and art, have not, in the present day, a parallel in the triumphs of’ religion. We might admit that the immediate result of shaking down the effete superstitions of paganism and imposture, is the introduction of a reacting scepticism, rather than of a powerful evangelicism. The acknowledgment might be further made that our civilization and learning, our science and progress are grievously associated with accumulations of vice—hidden, fearful vice, vice in many heaps, enough to make the very heavens

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blush with shame. Yet the assured promise of the Most High gives a confidence of a favorable issue that prevails over all present discouragement. Supposing that we grant the fact that systems of error are more than usually rife at this present in Christendom, and that there is, in the extremities of his dominion, a revival of energy in "the Man of Sin" with his attendant superstitions, and assumption of sacerdotal power; and that we recognize a further fact that the Kings of the earth, the Governments of the nations are giving their power to the beast, while the tendencies of political partizanship—of Legislation—of Literature, and of the influence of Mammon, are in the same evil direction. Let the probability be conceded that there is now in progress a general gathering together of all the agencies of evil, under the masterly generalship of the Prince of the power of the air, environed with the pomp and circumstance of such a war, and gilded with whatever can fascinate the carnal mind; and that on the other hand the Lord is gradually assembling his little band of "the called, chosen and faithful," his Gideon’s three hundred, and they far from replete with energy and courage; admit all this, and that the victory will be gained amid some special and grand manifestations of Messiah’s power—" the Spirit of his mouth, and the brightness of His coming ;" still we discover no corner in all this in which a suspicion may lodge that human instruments will be dispensed with, and that until the end of all things the Church will not be the grand instrument in blessing the world. In judging of the present we are not to forget that, if achievements are few, the necessary work of preparation is advancing with rapid strides. Obstacles are being removed, and error is confuted; the seed of divine truth is scattered with a liberal hand among the nations. New and far higher thoughts have place in the many who long sat in darkness. Hills are levelled, values are raised, stones are gathered out, and the highway for our God is preparing. Yet all this constantly involves the action of human agency. The work is performed by sanctified humanity. It is God’s will to carry out his plans in our world by such instruments. He hath

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pointed His chosen ones to be the salt of the earth. The hopes of man in time and for eternity, are linked with the efficiency of the Church.

What then may humanity rightfully anticipate from the American Church in this grand system of amelioration? Do the high places of the field belong to these legions, or must they take a lower place? Ought this agency to do much in this work of benevolence, or may it be content with a small part? These questions can only be answered by an estimate of her advantages of character and position; if they are great, the responsibility associated with them is vast, and the measure of the claim on the part of the world’s people on the energy and devotedness of the American Church is of parallel amount. This estimate is fair. We all admit the equity of such reckoning.

We place in the estimate of these advantages certain valuable characteristics of race. It may be doubted if the whole philosophy of that marvellous diversity existing in the physical and intellectual attributes of the several tribes of mankind has yet been given to us. The subject has many points of deep interest to an earnest inquirer. Extended investigation would be required in pursuing it, hut there can be no doubt that it contains lessons of great value. Amid all existing diversities, it is pleasant to know, that there is no race on earth incapable of improvement; not one that may not be elevated and blessed through the agency of divine truth. However degenerate it may he, the sane intellect will expand under the influence of this culture. But there are men, and there are races of mental grasp and stamina far superior to others. Not only does a generation of them start, in their upward course from a higher platform, and amid a purer atmosphere than their contemporaries reach; but they have greater strength to toil at the ascent, indomitable energy and perseverance to climb the mountain ridge. This distinction is marked in any contrast that may be drawn between Occidental and Oriental mind. The restless and untiring progress of the former in the modes of thought and in their personal and social habits,

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as compared with the stereotyped uniformity of these in the latter class, (reminding one of scenes two or three score of centuties by-gone,) irresistibly suggest a wide diversity in the elementary mental characteristics of the respective races.

This granted, it hardly admits of question whether their be a race on earth equal in all respects to the Anglo Saxon—a race having so many elements of power, and putting forth in its modern development, efforts in improvement so gigantic. Anciently those free-booters of the sea were a daring and wonderful people. The British Celt had no power to withstand them. In their own Germany they had an unconquerable attachment to personal independence and freedom. "Their institutions were not the most favorable for the exercise of the strength of a nation against the enemy. But it gives a strong and self-dependent mind to the individual man, to find himself sole lord and master upon his own property, and knowing that it is his own power that must protect wife and child." They placed themselves only during the wars under the leadership of dukes, who afterwards immediately withdrew into the ranks of nobility. In times of peace they legislated by representation, ever preserving their personal freedom with vigilant care. They formed an important part of that cluster of Northmen which the prophetic eye of Tacitus saw would come from their dark and sombre forests with their primitive., unenervated energy to remodel the older nations. Founding Kingdoms in England, their innate love of freedom and self-government appear in the arrangements of their heptarchy and in the limited powers of their rulers. He only who gained distinction by valor or virtue was acknowledged Bretwalda; that supreme dignity descended not from sire to son. They had in their temperament—or they had acquired from their climate, their necessities, their institutions, and their training, all the elements of power and progress. We have a noble specimen of an Anglo Saxon of that early age, in the per son of the high-minded, brave, and polished Alfred. There have been admixtures of the Dane and the Norman, and as usual, improvement followed, but we cannot fail to perceive

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that the modern Saxon, with superior refinement, retains everywhere the energy, the love of freedom, and the indomitable courage and perseverance of the ancient. Its intellect is enterprizing, restless, mighty. Instead of looking back to the fathers, and after the manner of the Orientals forming itself slavishly on the model of the past, its distinguishing characteristic is to look forward and to press onward. In its grasp, old discoveries become the basis of new ones. It advances from truth to truth, connecting them by a succession of links into a great chain of knowledge destined to encircle and bind together all things. How marvellous have been its achievements already! What power! what ingenuity! what enterprize has it exhibited! What vast extent of dominion and influence hath it gained! These people have no stand still. Their Colonies and Commerce encompass the globe, and stud with their ships its every sea. Their diplomacy is active in every nation under heaven, nor is there an inhabited spot of earth in which their influence is unfelt. This is a race that may act upon and bless the world. It has power.

Such, however, is only a preliminary advantage, for the mind of such a people may be improved. It is an incarnation of energy, and can therefore be stirred, and moulded, and advanced. It is not inert, cold, motionless, but it is alive to impressions, susceptible of impulse, its soul is of quick perceptions, its heart of fine sensibilities. Let high moral influence be brought to act upon it, and there are speedily nobler forms of development.

We place therefore in our estimate the advantages derived from the admixture of certain religious elements. Because of the supremacy of its considerations, and of the interests involved in it, Religion, when unfolded to the ardent mind, must ever produce striking effects in moulding its character and guiding its movements; while, at the same time, religious manifestations will invariably receive a color and impress from the original texture of the mind in which it dwells. It may not be an easy task to trace these reciprocal influences upon the Saxons on the one hand, and the Normans on the other,

but perhaps the averment may be hazarded, that priestly despotism was more easily maintained among the latter than the former, and that the Normans themselves coming to England were taught lessons of self-reliance, and direct responsibility to God. However this may be, we early find in our fatherland a religious element, adverse to the reigning superstition, of manly form and of great force. The Lollards were its manifestation. We admit that it had being and influence in foreign countries. John Huss and Jerome of Prague are heroes of renown. Bohemia and Poland were then instinct with a spirit of inquiry and expostulation. The Albigenses and the refugees of the valleys of Piedmont shall be had in everlasting remembrance. But surely our Wickhiffe and his English fellow-reformers may be regarded as at least equal in efficiency. That noble confessor, armed with the word of God, cried aloud of truth and righteousness and the nations heard. Great was the wrath of the mendicant hordes of Rome who came up like swarms of locusts upon the land, but that wrath availed not. There stood that devout and calumniated priest, looking from his open Bible to society around him, and from society back to his Bible again, and at every glance between the fair face of the one, and the foul face of the other, he grew more earnest, more indignant, more out-spoken against those friars who "visiten rich men and by hypocrisy getten falsely their alms, and withdraw from poor men: * * * * *

those friars who be worse enemies and slayers of man’s soul than is the cruel fiend of hell himself; for they under the habit of holiness, lead men and nourish them in sins; and be special helpers of the fiend to strangle men’s souls." A caustic testimony, yet true,—but although true, to bear it in those days a most perilous thing. The man who could do so undaunted and unshaken, had a stout heart, and indicated the fortitude of a martyr. Such was not only Wickliffe, but also many of those of whose sufferings the tower of Lambeth Palace might tell sad tales. A powerful leaven was thus cast into the national mind. Its depths were stirred; thought was awakened, conscience was enlightened, men "stood before the

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Lord." These men dug up literature from its entombment, and gave it rightful rank. True religion was placed on the strictest ground of private responsibility and judgment. The desire and the capacity for knowledge were aroused and stimulated. Some of the effects of this movement are seen in the writings of Chaucer, probably Wickliffe’s fellow-student at Oxford. He was a man of extensive culture for that age—a keen and original thinker—a true poet, whose feelings were healthy and genial, and whose aspirations were all for social progress, and the diffusion of sound opinion. Although many of his days were spent amid the luxuries of Court, he yet had deep feelings in common with the Anglo-Saxon soul, depressed as it had been by the Norman conquest. The assertion of Foxe may be admitted to be an exaggeration, that Chaucer was "a right Wicklivian," without prejudice to the conclusion that the sound views of the priest exerted an influence on that poetic temperament. He was an antagonist of the corrupt Roman system, and doubtless sympathized in his own way, with such ideas and efforts as proceeded from his more devout and earnest contemporary.

Assuredly there was greatness of soul in these same Lollards, and the thing they testified still greatened them. It was a rebuke of tyranny and a vindication of the rights of conscience. There had been nothing like it since the days of primitive confessors. Its theology was clear, pure, manly; "a sun-burst of evangelic light upon the nations.". Its spirit was unconquerable. These men knew their danger, and they braved it. Loving the cause of truth, they were faithful unto death. Nor were there lacking elements of power in their very humor and mirthfulness. It was the freedom of the mind at ease, certain of its position. It boded cheerfulness and hope. It exposed sophism, and laughed at the arrogance of the foe. The quaintly playful conceit, proclaimed a fearless courage,—-it was as "mirth before battle,"—" a song in the night." Such men fixed their impress on their generation, and prepared the nation’s mind for a future unfolding of another element, we must notice. I mean the Puritan.

Puritanism was in its whole soul Protestant against Rome. Hitherto the desire was that Rome should reform itself. This was the primary wish of that great Saxon Reformer whose character it is difficult to contemplate without mingling ideas of the superhuman, which need chastening. Lord Bacon said of him, "Martin Luther finding his own solitude, being no ways aided by the opinions of his own time, was enforced to awake all antiquity and to call former times to his succor, to make a party against the present lime." Still he made that party for reformation, not, for secession. He proclaimed great truths, bringing them out from that heap of rubbish in which Rome had buried them. Those truths he thundered through Europe with homely but earnest eloquence, he gave the Bible to his nation, and vindicated its claim as the supreme arbiter. He seems ever to have exemplified the motto "Fiat justitia, ruat coelum." His influence was perhaps no where greater than on the British mind. The depths of that mighty and ardent soul were stirred, so that the commotion could not be quieted. ‘Tis true our Eighth Henry having won from the Vatican the title of "Defender of the Faith," turned against the Pontiff, and renounced his supremacy, but it was only to assume that attitude himself, and to enter upon a course which issued in the establishment of a hierarchy and of forms, as near akin to those of Rome as was practicable. The great principles which Luther had enunciated lay, however, in the minds of many, and worked powerfully there; and as a consequence they could not brook such control. To them it seemed plain that Rome was hopelessly apostate, and that it was befitting to cast off her impress, and to blot out her footprints. Not so, however, did kingly and priestly policy order matters; it was favorable to their retention. Terms were therefore imposed, requirements were obtruded, beyond their capacity of endurance. They loved their country, and cherished its honor; they would have England at the head of the world’s Protestantism. But they would not have conscience trammelled,—its freedom was dearer to them than life. They could permit no one to stand between God and their direct

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responsibility to Him. To Caesar ever ready to render the things belonging to him, they were determined to render to none other than God, the things belonging to Him—the homage of the conscience, and the service of the affections. Their learning was polite as it was profound—they meddled with all knowledge. Their morality was pure; and if sometimes it appeared cast in a mould of stern aspect, it was but apparent, for it lodged in a heart, full of tenderness and sensibility. Their courage has never been impeached. The Puritan soul was dauntless; whether in the tented field, or in the Confessor’ s fire, it knew no fear. "Strong in the Lord and in the power of his might," it could not fail of ultimate victory. And who can measure the blessing conferred? The historian Hume, infidel though he was, and a cordial hater of these strait-laced ones, yet is forced to confess—" So absolute was the authority of the Crown, that the precious spark of liberty had been kindled and was preserved by the Puritans alone, and it was to this sect the English owe the whole freedom of their constitution." "Anima mea sit cum Puritanis Anglicanis," exclaimed the learned, but time-serving Erasmus. It has been happily said, " If there be a category of glorious ideas and principles this name represents it. If there be a song of freedom, this sound is its chord."

Such is our lineage. This history belongs to you and to us. We have the noble parentage in common. A more special non-conformist element might be noted more at length, did our limits allow, and we might also point out, as running parallel with Lollardism, Puritanism, and non-conformity, an element not noisy in its working, but marvellously potent, I mean Independency. They who exemplified it fixed their faith no otherwise than in the word of God. They troubled their opponents with the question "What saith the scripture? They were willing to learn, never supposing their view of it final. One of the sort, an ornament of the order, whose name must be in New England "as ointment poured forth," JOHN ROBINSON, said, while the May-flower was rocking off Delfthaven, "For my part, I cannot sufficiently bewail the

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condition of the Reformed Churches who are come to a period in religion, and will go, at present, no farther than the instruments of their reformation. . . . This is a misery much to be lamented, for though they were burning and shining lights in their times, yet they penetrated not into the whole counsel of God, but, were they now living, would be as willing to embrace further light, as that which they first received. I beseech you remember, it is an article of your church covenant, that you be ready to receive whatever truth shall be made known to you from the word of God." But while these men adjured only by the Bible, they did not pervert that profession, as some have done since, as a mask to cover all that is unsettled and untrue in speculation. They held fast "the faith once delivered to the saints."

With wonderful admixtures like these, of which no parallel is furnished in the history of man, was your race constituted and transferred to these western shores. It is matter of rejoicing to know that some of that generation remained behind; men of like mould, brethren in character and sentiment; so that the two branches of the one race have been since then running onward on either side the mighty ocean. In both quarters it hath contended with difficulties, and met many and unlooked for obstacles, but these things which try men’s souls, also nerve and invigorate them. Nothing great was ever achieved without conflict; and greatness of character is obtainable only through a process of painful effort and trial.

In addition to these characteristics of race, we have to place among your advantages, the character and extent of the English language and literature. How striking and instructive this fact, as an arrangement of Divine Providence. The people having the highest natural qualities, and in possession either by actual rule, or powerful influence of so large a portion of the earth, not only speak a language of remarkable copiousness and capacity of enlargement, but have in that language more stores of science, literature, truth than can be found in all the other tongues of mankind. This point appears with special prominence in respect of religious truth.

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What vast stores of biblical interpretation and illustration are accumulated in our language. What treasures of theology both doctrinal and practical! Nor is this progress at all arrested. Hundreds of presses are ever at work, adding to these stores, and diffusing truth. The precious waters of life flow through innumerable conduits to irrigate the moral desert. Nor may we omit in the estimate of advantage the wondrous cheapness of the productions of the press. Our fathers were wont to pay a considerable sum for one copy of the inspired oracles. A laborer might have wrought hard for weeks without obtaining sufficient wages to pay for that Volume. But now a single day’s hire would purchase two or three copies. It is a very noticeable consideration that one day’s labor of a mechanic will supply him with a standard volume of most precious thoughts, the offspring of cultivated intellect and prolonged study, baptized with influence from on high. Let this advantage be thoroughly used and what changes it must work. It will repress sensuality, elevate mind, enthrone and aggrandize truth. It must prove a mighty weapon of attack against the strong-holds of the enemy. We see only the beginning of the end. This language is rapidly spreading over all the face of the earth. The North American continent with its prospective hundreds of millions is destined to speak no other. Wherever the tread of the British Lion is felt, or the flight of the American Eagle is seen, the English language will be studied, and will triumph! Translations of a few works into the vernacular of the nations, only hastens this consummation; for thirst for knowledge thus excited in the native mind, can be satisfied only by the production of stores found nowhere else than in our tongue, which therefore they must acquire. Thus we have a literature, cheap, rich in truth, and in a language soon to be almost universal. But alas! On every canvass upon which humanity is portrayed there is a dark shade, and there is one here. A licentious press sends forth the waters of death. Cheap literature is often little else than cheap poison. Readers misuse their precious gift, as writers wickedly prostitute the talents they possess to do the work of

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Satan. Innumerable minds are injured and hearts are hardened by this pestiferous agency. It is as the sting of the serpent, as the breath of pestilence. The novice, thirsting for information and the pleasurable excitement attendant on searching for and obtaining it, seizes the attractive pamphlet or volume and greedily devours it. Excitement must be maintained and the new taste must be gratified. Volume follows volume until the very fountains of sensibility are poisoned, and there is produced an entire wreck of sound principle. This is for a lamentation and shall be for a lamentation. It is a fearful obstacle in the way of healthful progress, which must be met and overcome. And so it shall be! The progress of evangelic truth will raise the tone of public sentiment, impart dignity to the mind, and will at length become sufficiently mighty to cast indignantly from the public bosom this deadly incubus.

That evangelic truth you have in large measure, a fact which we place among your advantages. It is not easy to estimate the value or the power of this heaven-appointed instrument, for the renovation of man. In some countries where science hath built her temples, and literature hath shed its benignant influence, this blessed sun-light is little enjoyed. Germany overrun with rationalism and transcendentalism, where not under the dominion of the Beast, hath but few verdant spots in which the evangelic fruit is found. France with her state-paid formal Protestantism, and her rampant Romanism, though awaking in many places to the truth, hath yet but little scriptural light. Wherever we turn, away from Great Britain, these American States, and their mission-fields throughout the world, evangelicism hath hardly a name or a place. And yet, it must not be forgotten, in this very thing lies salvation! Where are the hopes of man as a sinner, out of the cross of Christ? What can redeem us from destruction and crown us with loving kindness and tender mercies, apart from this honorable channel for the forth-flowing of infinite love? What can allure the human heart to God—where is to be found a principle that can harmonize the powers of our soul, in their

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working, with the will of God and our highest good; other than the love of Jehovah as displayed in the gift, the sufferings, the death of His fellow, the blessed Messiah? This only is the power of God unto the salvation of every believer. Herein lies the might of the Christian system. Evangelicism alone can renovate and save man.

Thus far we have considered advantages which you have in common with us; our attention must now be turned to some of a special nature; not a common, but emphatically your inheritance. Your seats of learning offer to view a peculiarly favorable aspect in respect of high moral and evangelical influence. In the old world, if their character be otherwise than negative, it is usually adverse to the progress of true religion. Universities on the continent of Europe are either under Romish paralysis, or riot in a species of mystic infidelity. They mostly know nothing of the truth as it is in Jesus. In regard to England’s ancient seats of learning, no well-informed person would think of looking for any evangelic influence there. In Scotland, the frigidity induced by an established church has too much affected its halls of science to allow of much evangelic power there. The ideas are not obtruded. Young men may pass through them without knowing what they are. The position of religious parties seems to render it necessary that religion should be taught rather elsewhere than in the College. Now unless I am misinformed, all your prosperous colleges, or nearly so, are presided over and taught by sound christian, Evangelic men: the influence is in favor of the religion of Jesus. Even have we heard of the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit once and again in your seats of learning, and of the hearty consecration of many cultivated minds to the service of the Savior. Among us such an event would be scarcely less a marvel than the standing still of the sun; it would be indeed an unwonted visitation. Now, this is an immense advantage, only appreciable by the enlightened christian. It may be, but on this point we should be unwilling to affirm, that the higher forms of scholarship are less known in this than in some older countries

[ 21 ]

Your circumstances are unfavorable to plodding toil. Your youth is forward, early brought out into active life, and by the pervading spirit of the community, taught to consider energy and enterprize superior, as a characteristic, to patient and laborious exertion. It may be, therefore, that as demand induces supply, the lack of it leaves you destitute of some of the literary advantages found in the more ancient Universities of Europe. And yet, valuable as is sound learning, highly to be prized as is ripe scholarship, and important as it is to the general community that some of its choicest spirits should be entirely devoted to letters; still, so momentous to human welfare, in all its ramifications, is the Evangelic element, that in its possession you have the decided advantage. Besides, there have been raised up among you some burning and shining lights, who have been a blessing to their generation; and that firmament may speedily shine with yet other constellations.

This land bath a great advantage in that its church is not trammelled by connection with the State. To lean on the arm of the civil power has always enfeebled the visible bride of Christ. Her rightful Lord hath said, "My kingdom is not of this world." It suffers damage whenever the rule is disregarded. Whether the State connects itself with the Popery of Spain, the Anglicanism of Oxford, the Socinianism of Geneva,. or the Liberalism so called of some other of the Swiss Cantons, it does only mischief. The connection robs truth of its armor, and it bolsters up error. It creates besides an artificial status of the recognized clergy, to the prejudice of those who will not touch the unclean thing. While it combines good men and bad men in an unnatural juxta-position as members of the same establishment, it entirely separates the men of piety within, from those without its pale. It rears a wall of exclusiveness, self-interest and pride between Evangelicism in the Established Church, (where it is found) and Evangelicism without that Church, so that only here and there a choice spirit is found to climb over to the other side, that he may shake hands with his fellows there. The further mournful tendency is inherent in the system, to create an unregenerate and time-

[ 22 ]

serving ministry, who seek the sacred office "for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread," or as a genteel profession; without any enlightened care for the souls committed to their charge.

This barrier away, and those arising from time-honored feudal institutions, you are enabled to put into full trial the amazing power of Voluntary Associations. This principle was one of those rudiments enshrined in Christianity that was not known to our fathers. They failed to discover that, what isolated individuals could not attempt, the combined many were able to achieve. But now the community is taught to join hands in labor, and when they do so there is hardly a limit to their effectiveness. In these associations appears the spirit of the age; they cherish the stirring, energizing, living Christianity which the times demand; and they do marvels. The process is somewhat unfavorable to the coming forth of great lights into prominent view, but the combination of many individuals, each one improved, has more aggregate power, the sum of brilliance is greater. "The quantity of the electric fluid may be collected by the larger, though the fewer plates; but these must be multiplied, however reduced, if we would produce its intensity." In the cause of Christian Missions, for example, isolated greatness, individual power, could have done little else than cherish and express desire. The chariot could be moved along only by the combined many; the cause can flourish and live only "in the multitude of them that believe." Now whatever may be the power inherent in the associative principle, you have the opportunity of testing it to the utmost. Neither State-craft, nor priest-craft need lie in your way. You have free course.

But are there no perils in this working? If there be no check, is there not likelihood of serious evils resulting from the full operation of this principle? It must in truth be admitted that there is danger, and that without the constant check of high moral control, or else the marked interpositions of God’s Providence, men would run riot in their working of this agency. There is liability to mischief in two directions.

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Associations must, in the nature of things have officers and official management. Certain persons must be at the helm. The combined many must be organized, and act through an executive. Hence in proportion to the size of the combination is the amount of power entrusted to those who work its machinery. Now so long as human nature is fond of power, and of having its own way, and so long as even sanctified humanity is not devoid of this tendency, there lies danger in this quarter. Nothing short of the exaction of a most rigid responsibility, and of requiring work to be adjusted and performed not in secret conclave, but in the light of day, can prevent evils in this quarter. It is by no means needful to suppose corrupt motives, in the minds of administrators; they often act with the very best intentions, and yet the power of the combined many which they wield, is perverted. The evil is however not a necessary adjunct of the principle; that may be worked in perfect safety.

The other direction in which we find liability to abuse, is the crippling of individual freedom. Combined opinion and sentiment may mount the throne of tyranny. All despotisms are not in single hands. Impatient of contradiction, and annoyed at opposition, the earnest multitude sometimes forget individual rights, and put down the man who has the honesty and courage to be singular. He is made the butt of ridicule, the finger of scorn is pointed at him, or he is indignantly denounced. Flaws in his character are searched for, or imagined, and his good name is destroyed. The scourge of unpopularity is laid heavily upon him, while he is literally gibbetted before the public eye for the simple crime of daring to think for himself and to avow his convictions. And all this is done in the sacred name of freedom, and professedly at her shrine. A so called, and even noisily announced Liberalism, is often the greatest sinner in this department. This course is not only in itself, an outrage and a wrong, but the event will shew that the sin is retributively visited on the community in which it has existence. For it cripples and prevents mental progress. If you repress the movements, and put down

[ 24 ]

even the erratic course of individual mind, a grievous mischief is inflicted on your generation. It has been said that the times make the man, and that he is the creature of circumstances. It is hoped that this is still an open question, for we demur to the proposition. That the times furnish the occasions of trial and of progress is freely admitted, but a more accurate analysis will show that man himself impresses and moulds the times in which he lives. The influence is more powerful from him upon them, than from them upon him. The age in its circumstances may often arouse and unfold a peculiar energy in its master spirits, but there is always found in them an original greatness. Intellect sways the force of circumstances Such men are standard bearers, they go before their fellows. They avail themselves of concurring events, and, having the mastery, they mould them to their ruling purpose. No generation advances of itself. A tame monotony leaves the many what their fathers were. The army may be large, well-appointed, and thoroughly drilled, but it will lie in the camp inert, until the genius and energy of the commander call it to action and lead it on to victory. Some restless soul denounces an unsound principle, or strikes out a vital truth; at first it startles and perhaps offends, but ultimately it impresses and moves a nation. Now all intolerance of individual sentiment out of the usual line of theory and in opposition to that of the multitude, is so far to prevent the rising up of such men. Many of the great and good, who have stirring and noble thoughts, shrink from the storm of obloquy and abuse which their avowal would create where the opinion of the many is a tyrant, and these thoughts are therefore lost to their generation. We plead for freedom of mind. You are not fettered by aristocratic influences. Your institutions and external arrangements are favorable to such liberty, so that if true to yourselves, to your country, and to the world, it can be maintained. You may habitually recognize and defend individual right of opinion. We plead then for freedom of mind.

Other advantages of your position as American Christians will readily suggest themselves to the thoughtful mind. Time admits not that we should now advert to them. Such privileges impart a deep responsibility, and indicate a high vocation.

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There is a principle, in Christianity applicable at this point, which perpetually elevates the standard of personal obligation. It requires us to walk worthy of our vocation,— of God,—and of the blessings he imparts. It is a standard that covers all definition and detail and then rises above them. A simple illustration will unfold our meaning. A Parent may enact a code of laws for his children rich in principle and in detail. He may publish that code and command observance. The whole matter is defined and rigid, and obedience will issue happily. But let that Parent be one of unparalleled benignity and excellence, and calling his children before him we shall suppose him to sum up his requirements thus: "Walk worthy of me as your parent, and of your position as my children." Would not this include every detail of requirement and a range of affection and duty which definition could not reach. We all feel that it would. And then in proportion as the children’s views of their Parent’s excellencies enlarged, and as they understood better what he had done for them, there would be obvious increase of meaning in the command to walk worthy of all these. So when, in the matter of our responsibility to God, this principle requires us to walk worthy of the Lord and of his grace, there is a summing up, required,, of what He is, and what He has done for us; and as our views of these enlarge and expand, it continues to mean more and more to walk worthy of such a position and such blessings. It is enough in application of this principle now to say, You are called upon to walk worthy of this glorious ancestry—of these choice blessings—and of that Great and Blessed God who hat/i thus so richly endowed you. Be assured that mediocrity will not do: You must proceed on a high platform. Your vocation cannot be fulfilled unless you are under a governing impulse, a ruling passion to bless the world. Our divine Master came to seek and to save the lost. This was his ruling passion to which he made everything subordinate and auxiliary.. He could do it in a way we cannot, but within the range of our agency he requires us to

[ 27 ]

imitate him, so that every sentiment of gratitude to him, and every noble aspiration, demand of you this course.

My purpose in these remarks has been rather to call attention to the altitude of your position, and the largeness of the claim upon you, than to enter into details of the manner in which you may be a blessing to mankind. This point suggests itself continually to enlightened benevolence, as God, in his providence opens out the several paths of usefulness.

But we may not omit to note the vast importance of diligent care for your own country. This might be urged on the simple ground of a comprehensive benevolence. True charity begins, though it does not end at home. We have no sympathy with certain modern theories of social renovation, which decry special affection, and laud to the heavens catholic love—which would get rid of the domestic relation as selfish and constrained, in order to dwell in an universal brotherhood on a common stock. The philosophy of these systems is baseless, for the order of nature is to proceed from special to general, from the particular to the universal. They have the highest measure of catholic love who cherish most sacredly domestic and special affections. Knowledge is based on details, it rises to general conclusions. Nations are made up of cities, of hamlets, of families, the latter lying at the foundation of all. Special affection for one’s household creates a sympathetic interest in neighboring households, and expands into love of city, of county, of country. The special affection a soldier bath to his Regiment, the pride he feels in its well-worn colors, instead of lessening his attachment to the entire army and to the country, induces greater zeal in the general cause. There is a gathering of energy in this special love, that ultimately expends itself in catholic effort. In this view American Christians may be entreated to care for their country, that they may be more effective in zealous toil for man.

Another inducement may be suggested. This land is the theatre of a grand experiment tried in the face of the nations, whether men are capable of self-government, and whether

[ 28 ]

true religion can flourish and exert its moulding and controlling influence unsustained by the buttresses of a civil establishment. The world’s people are looking on with envious gaze. Despotism would rejoice in your failure, and then it would roll backward the car of freedom. No more effectual damage could be done to the cause of human progress and amelioration than by the deterioration of this nation’s character. That you are in the midst of perils is beyond a doubt. The extraordinary influx of the European people, and often not by any means their best classes, is matter for serious reflection. Superstition and vice are largely imported. The votaries of Rome come among you in immense crowds. This may be turned to good; they may come here to be freed from their trammels, and to rejoice in the liberty wherewith Christ makes free. The might of the Evangelical element may be unfolded on this broad arena, not only in preserving and extending a nation’s piety among its own people, but in transforming into harmony with the spiritual aggregate, the multitudes that come to dwell with them. At the same time there is danger that even your free institutions in these unlooked for circumstances may be turned against you. Your only safety under God lies in the elevation of these masses. The older nations are differently placed. The Colonies of England have no voice in Imperial Counsels; as a consequence the gathering of millions under her sway does not affect her legislation at home. But whatever you receive or conquer is incorporated with yourself, and becomes a part of the source of power. All this people obtain a voice in your national counsels. The very peril hence arising is an argument for giving earnest heed to the welfare of your own country. Its thorough Evangelism by an enlightened ministry, the training of the national mind in all right sentiments, and, with emphasis, the sanctification of the press, axe points of incalculable moment to you.

There is a topic which cannot be avoided in an estimate of your advantages and of your influence upon the world, but

[ 29 ]

which is nevertheless of peculiar delicacy. In adverting to it, I would not forget the courtesies due to the assembly and the occasion. Besides it is not forgotten who inflicted the evil of slavery upon this fair nation, nor do we suppose that New England can be otherwise than opposed to the entire system. It is not the province of a stranger either to denounce or to instruct on a point like this, but in this presence it will not he offensive to say, that if everywhere the system of slavery is bad, in this land and amid your institutions it is doubly, fearfully bad, reminding one ever of the oft quoted line of Virgil, "Monstrurn, horrendum, informe, ingens, cui lumen ademptum."

You regard it as a foul incubus of which it is needful that you should be rid. It is hoped that determined, unconquerable opposition will be manifested by the American Church, to all extension of the system. Let a cordon sanitaire be drawn around it, that its pestiferous influence may not get outside its own circle. If you cannot destroy it from without, let it destroy itself within. Encircle it by the fires of true freedom, and if there be no other way of putting to death the scorpion, it will he forced to plant its sting in its own vitals.

In bringing these observations to a close, a word or two may be addressed specially to those members of the Society who are now going forth into the wide field of active life. It was a beautiful description of holy activity which the Apostle gave to a Jewish auditory in a sentence concerning David. "For David after having served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep. The phrase "served his own generation," is figurative, meaning "a rower," its prefix, points to an "under rower" in a vessel, or rather denotes to row from beneath, in the lowest tier of the galley. The description compares one’s own generation to some stately bark, it may be the ancient triereme, with lofty deck and tackling, its prow still plunging forward, impelled and directed by the men of toil within. This seems also to have been the idea of John Owen, in the memorable expression to Fleetwood

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the day prior to his death. "I am leaving the ship of the Church in a great storm; but while the great Pilot is in it, the loss of a poor under-rower will be inconsiderable." Now there are not a few on board this bark of our generation, who certainly do not toil at the oars. They care not for progress, or for the general good. They have a ruling passion, but it is not the love of God and of men. Self is their Alpha and Omega. "Their hearts are exercised with covetous practices." They would quit the general vessel and launch their petty skiff, to pursue their creeping path, adventuring nothing, nor aiming to reach any worthy haven. Without sympathy in the welfare of their fellows, they cling to the interests peculiarly their own, and find at length that they have missed their aim and lost all. The world’s sea is strewed with these little wrecks. Let your course present to view a noble contrast. Be rowers in the goodly bark of our own generation. We can have no pretension to withdraw from this toil. It is our true vocation. We are actors rather than observers, or if observers, actors too. Our stake is in our generation. We are on board. Skill, energy, devotedness are only befitting our position. The children of Issachar in the days of the Royal Psalmist, who are described as having "understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do," were not merely men of speculation and research, they toiled, and as a consequence "all their brethren were at their commandment." So great was their influence, and so indomitable their energy, that the whole tribe yielded to their leadership, and went to Hebron, to hail David as King. Wise men are men of their age, mixing in it, working with it, yet pointing to higher things and inciting to something better than itself. We may not expect that the characteristics of our times, will always meet our wishes or favor our plans. The sea is not ever smooth, nor are currents and tides always propitious. Very pleasant it is to work under the impulse of success and hope; but it is nobler far to toil for the repair of failures, and the removal of difficulties. The thing to be done is not always popular. Truth

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is not at once seen in its force and beauty, and it sometimes meets with interested opposition. Witnesses have often to prophecy in sackcloth, for they "torment them that dwell on the earth." To testify of the world that its deeds are evil, is to bear witness emphatically, against those forms of evil which are rife in one’s generation. It were safe and prudent in this century and in this land to denounce the evil of gladiatorial shows, or of cannibalism, but it would be no very good evidence of a divine vocation. If called then to protest, we must needs protest without shrinking, certain that truth can afford to " bide its time," and must prevail. No godly effort is lost. No true service miscarries. Our work is with our God. Toil, then, toil at the oars, that the stately bark of our generation may have a prosperous voyage by the will of God, and may in safety and with proud-bearing, reach its peaceful haven, laden with blessings for coming ages.

A

DISCOURSE

ADDRESSED TO THE

IN THEIR

BY

1848.

The text of this and other superb works are available on-line from:

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Reprint and digital file August 15, 2001.

Willison Editor's note: This discourse begins with a tribute to an unnamed luminary who recently passed into death, no doubt well known to the audience, and well thought of by them. Beginning on page 8, the historical narrative of Christianity's potent impact on western civilization for the preceding eighteen centuries is expertly revealed by Mr. Bacon. This discourse is of unparalleled value to modern students, as the author succinctly states Christianity's reforming effects in civilizing government, suppressing barbaric practices, preserving and improving learning, and the arts.

Leonard Bacon, Yale, 1820, graduate of Andover Seminary, was pastor of the First Church of New Haven, and served as a professor and lecturer at Yale Divinity School. Source: Concise dictionary of American Anthology, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1977.

The following begins the original text:

How different are the hues of thought and emotion with which the old man and the young meet, on a day like this, in the halls of their common Alma Mater! Here, as in all promiscuous gatherings, the great majority are the young; and from them, and from that sympathy with their exhilaration which even age and sadness love to feel, the occasion receives its character of joyousness. And on the other hand, in the presence of the aged who have come to look once more upon the altered scene of years long past, when life was a hope and not a remembrance—and in the presence of those upon whose countenances time and care are ploughing their furrows, and whose hearts many a bitter experience has saddened—all minds are touched with graver sympathies, and the bounding heart of youth beats with a more measured motion.

We meet not the living only in this reunion to-day. The dead are present to our thoughts. Many a form, long since departed from among the living, seems to haunt these classic shades. The presence of the aged, who in their youth learned wisdom from the eloquent lips of Dwight, or were kindled by the enthusiasm of Stiles, brings us into a living connection with their teachers and their fathers, and with many a memorable name of their departed coevals. The simple record to which we have just been listening—the affecting record of the names that are hence-

[ 4 ]

forth starred upon our catalogue—is of itself enough to awaken, even in the youngest of us, some sad and earnest thoughts. And yet how different are the trains of thought and the shades of emotion which the reading of this record calls up in the young man, from those which it calls up in him who feels he is no longer young. For example, among the names in that long obituary, is one which will be remembered till "American Law" is forgotten. Since our last anniversary, be who was then the surviving com-peer of Story and Marshall—the most illustrious and honored of all the living jurists of America—he whose classic writings in the science of the profession which he so long adorned, are cited with deference in lands beyond the ocean—he whose integrity, abhorrent of all injustice, and commanding universal veneration, was combined not only with the profoundest learning and the readiest sagacity, penetrating the obscure and unraveling the intricate, but with a childlike simplicity of manners, an undecaying verdure of every kind affection, and an ingenuousness and transparency of soul, which made him a universal favorite—has descended at last to the grave. To the young men among us, the mention of that great name in the record of death’s doings," is something like a trumpet-call, quickening the pulse of youthful aspiration. But what is it to him who finds himself to-day the last survivor of that class of 1781? So when the same record reminded us how lately it was that death, by a sudden stroke, removed from the highest council of the nation a Senator, who well sustained the honors of a nation which his kindred of former generations had made illustrious, and who, having served his native state and our common country, for a long course of years, in various offices of high distinction, died, while to

[ 5 ]

human view the career of his usefulness and the accumulation of his honors had not been completed,—how different the impression on the buoyant heart of youth, from that which the same announcement produced upon those who have been his associates in the various walks of public life, and especially upon those who, almost half a century ago, began to know him as a classmate. There was a name in the record from the class of 1820. To our younger brethren, the graduates of recent years, that name recalled their school-boy lessons; for it stood in the title page of the admirable Grammar which was their guide to the knowledge of the majestic Roman tongue, and which, while teaching them the rules of Syntax, taught them the analysis of thought as well as the mechanical agreement and government of words. But how different the thoughts which that name, thus enrolled upon the record of the dead, awakens in our minds to whom it is the name of a classmate! All his career, from the long past days of our college life, rises before us in one vista. We think of him as he was when he was the companion of our studies, our debates, our walks; and in the same thought we think of his attenuated form laid down at last in the old cemetery where his ancestors for two centuries have been gathered—all but the parents that survive him. His work is done. His contribution to the progress of his country, and to the progress of mankind, is completed. His conflict with disease, in a body too frail for the activity of a mind that never rested, is all over. He has escaped that descent by which we are going down into the vale of years. He has escaped the bereavements that for us must thicken along our way to the grave. His head shall not be blanched by anxiety or grief, or by the frosty touch of time, as

[ 6 ]

ours must be if we live on. Where he lives now, the tongues of earth have ceased, as needless in the communion of perfected spirits.; human knowledge bath vanished away in the access of eternal light; and charity never faileth. There duration is not measured, as we measure it, by the flight of years that mark us with the traces of decay.

See then the difference between youth and age in respect to the associations of thought and feeling that connect themselves with the flight of time. He who has past the noon of life, finds his coevals gone or vanishing, and himself borne on a swift resistless current toward the grave. Youth, on the other hand, like immortality, is naturally unconscious of decay. To the old man, life is all remembrance. To the young man, life is all hope. The old man’s hopes in this world are for the young whom he expects to survive him. The young man hopes for himself; hope fills his soul—the hope of what he will be, and of what he will do. His whole consciousness yearns and brightens with hope. It is the unnatural extinction of all this hope, which makes the death of youth just ripening into manhood, the saddest thing, save guilt, in this sad world. There is no voice of grief like the wail of affection over such a death. What a dirge-like effect is there in those few words, at the opening of Milton’s monody on his college friend:

What an experience is it, when the young scholar, in the midst of hopes and plans for life, is touched with the presentiment of early death—then grows dimly conscious that

[ 7 ]

the springs of life within are broken—watches the disease that is wasting his vital organs—gives up one cherished purpose after another—sees the companions of his former studies pressing on and leaving him behind—and at last, with the slow consuming hectic [ fever, Ed. ] in his veins, resigns himself to the certainty of death, and waits in pain and weakness for the hour! How tender are the sympathies with which his friends watch by his bedside, or hear the story of his early death! But the deepest and saddest impression is not upon his youthful friends. Their elastic spirits soon throw off the pressure, while older hearts bleed with the unforgotten sorrow. How can they whose very being is made up of hope, form any conception of a grief which says, "Would God I had died for thee !" As they press on, eager to turn their hopes into realities, how soon will they cease to speak, save at long intervals, of him from whom they were so early parted!

"He, the young and strong, who cherished

Noble longings for the strife,

By the roadside fell and perished,

Weary with the march of life;"

and how soon does he pass from their thoughts!

Yet on such an occasion as this—in such a gathering— they think of him again; his name is on their lips,

"Breathed softly, like the household name

Of one whom God has taken ;"

and the saddening remembrance brings their minds into something like sympathy with those to whom life is losing the garish brightness of its morn, and is clothing itself with the sober hues and trailing shadows of the day’s decline.

Pardon me that I have indulged so long in these musings. It was not thus that I intended to introduce the

[ 8 ]

subject which I have chosen. I was thinking how fast the stream of time is bearing us along—how much of the world’s history has been unfolded within the period of our personal remembrance—how suddenly we find ourselves transferred from our earlier years into the middle of the nineteenth century. But it occurred to me that such thoughts belong only to those whose age, like mine, is passing into the sere and yellow leaf, and whose memory therefore runs back to a period before the birth of the living majority. And thus I was reminded that another generation has grown up, and is already beginning imperceptibly to crowd us off the stage—a generation to whom the burning of Moscow, the treaties of Vienna, the battle of New Orleans, and the Missouri compromise, are events of a by-gone age; and to whom the steamboat scorning the wind, and the railway with the snorting of its iron steeds, are no more a novelty or a wonder than the printing press.

And yet the youngest of us is conscious of living in the midst of changes that are to tell in history. This middle of the nineteenth century—this identical year 1848— impresses every one of us, in one degree or another, with the sense of an impending crisis in the affairs of the world. The nations are moved and shaken by the action of great forces, which, however inadequately analyzed or understood, are manifestly preparing a new order of things, not for Europe only and our own America, but ultimately for every habitable region of the globe. Among those forces, there is one which none of us can overlook. If there are those who think that religious ideas and principles have nothing to do, either directly or indirectly, with these great world-changes—if there are those who think that Christianity has no longer any influence upon

[ 9 ]

the progress of the nations, and that the movements which are now taking place in Christendom, [ Commonly known as the countries of Europe, and Northern America, Ed. ]and which are ultimately to change the aspect of the world, might just as naturally have taken place had Europe and America been Mohammedan or Pagan—if there are those who, looking upon the events and manifest tendencies of the passing age, can avoid discerning the action of Christianity upon the destinies of the world—they are not here among the men who have shared so freely in the intellectual and moral nurture afforded by this Christian University. [ Yale, Ed.]

I trust, then, that you will give me no reluctant attention while I attempt to direct your thoughts to such considerations as present themselves, tending to illustrate the action and influence of Christianity as an element or power in history. Such a subject, if we can bring it fairly before our minds, can hardly fail to suggest some thoughts well suited to quicken our courage and to invigorate our diligence in the various departments of effort which we occupy as educated men in a free and Christian country.

Let us then, at the outset, explain to ourselves as distinctly as we can, what it is that we mean when we speak of Christianity as an element in history—an historic power.

History, it is to be remembered, is not a record of accidents or events that cannot be referred to causes; it is something very different from a dead chronological table. Nor is it merely or chiefly a record of the achievements of individual men, whether warriors or statesmen. The individual is not understood, till we look deeper than the surface of his personal performances, and understand what the forces were that acted upon him and through him. History then is concerned not so much with individuals as with the life of ages and of nations. Doubtless the first

[ 10 ]

function of the historian is to chronicle facts ; his performance in the nature of it—by its very title—is a " story" rather than a speculation. Yet the facts which are the subject matter of history, in the enlarged and scientific meaning of the word, are comprehensive facts rather than individual occurrences ; not isolated facts and unexplained, but facts in their sequence, their connections, their dependence and their tendencies—facts in that enlarged and intelligent statement of them which includes not only the outward phenomena as they strike the vulgar and un-inquiring eye, but also their inward causes as grasped by philosophic apprehension. History, then, in the true meaning of the word—history as distinguished from a mere chronicle of occurrences—is a record of the action of causes. Directly or indirectly, by formal exposition or by impressive suggestion, it must needs reveal the great forces which variously affect, from age to age, the destiny of nations and the destiny of the race.

It is also to be remembered, that the action of these forces, whatever they may be, is always complicated. The destinies of nations and of humanity, from age to age, are affected by a great variety of causes acting in every variety of combination. Rarely, if ever, can any great historic phenomenon be adequately explained, without a careful analysis of the causes which have been employed in producing it. Sometimes the tendency of various forces, physical and moral, is in one direction, and the result is to be referred to their concurrent action. Sometimes one of these forces counteracts another, and the result is modified accordingly. The climate of a country, its soil, the configuration of its surface, its position in respect to the sea, the length and breadth—the depth and swift—

[ 11 ]

ness of its rivers, and the outline of its coast, have much to do in forming the character, and determining the destiny, of its population. The original stock from which that population came, or the fusion of various races to which their origin may be traced—in other words, the peculiarities of physical constitution which they have inherited, and which are not altogether dependent on climate—constitute another force which cannot but reveal itself in all that people’s history. Traditionary habits and sentiments, ancestral recollections, national remembrances embodied in story and in song, or sustained by monumental structures and memorial celebrations, are another power that acts continually, and sometimes intensely, on national character, and so on national destiny. Political institutions, laws, and the administration of government; commercial relations and habits, and all sorts of intercourse with foreigners; methods of education, and systems of opinion and philosophy; religious ideas, and the objects and forms of worship—all have their efficacy, severally and jointly, on the development and tendency of a nation’s life.

Nor should it be forgotten that these various forces act upon each other, so that in many instances the forces themselves undergo change from age to age. Physical causes may seem at first sight to be permanent and inflexible. At first sight it would seem as if the same physical causes which acted on the population of New England in the middle of the seventeenth century must be acting now, and must continue to act forever. Is not the climate the same? Are not the soil and surface the same ? Are not the indentations of the coast the same ? Do not the rivers still keep their channels ; and the mountains rest upon their old foundations? Do not the same three thou-

[ 12 ]

sand miles of ocean roll between our rock-bound shore and Europe? A little recollection, however, will show us that many of these physical causes which have so powerfully affected the history of New England in time past, have been themselves so modified by the action of moral forces, that they are no longer what they once were. The climate, considered as a fact in geography, is indeed unchanged ;—the sun performs the same circuit in our heavens, the winters are as long and snowy, the summers are as bright and sultry, as they were two centuries ago; probably a record of the weather for any brief cycle of years, would show the same extremes and average of temperature, the same vicissitudes of sunshine and of rain, of wind and calm, as a similar record would have shown at any former period. To whatever extent then the operation of the climate—considered as affecting the condition, the habits and the character of the people, and so acting upon history—may have been modified by counteracting moral causes, the climate itself, we may say, has probably undergone no sensible modification. But of the great physical causes that have affected the character and history of these New England states, what else is there which remains entirely unchanged? Not the soil surely. The turf which we tread is not the virgin mold which the unskillful plough share of our fathers turned up to the vernal sunshine two centuries ago. Here, as everywhere else, the soil is continually changing under the hand of culture. Bad husbandry exhausts its capabilities, till scientific agriculture comes to restore them and augment them. Nor can it be said that the surface of that New England which our fathers won for us, remains unchanged. The forest and the swamp have given place to farms and

[ 13 ]

villages; and the outspread landscape rejoices in the variety of meadows and cornfields, groves and orchards. Two centuries ago, the entire coast of New England was only the wild outline, with its promontories and its indentations, its sandbars and its hidden rocks, just as nature left it. But now the moral forces of civilization have been here; and every lighthouse, every wharf, every breakwater, and every buoy, tells us of the change. Nor are the rivers all the same, though bearing for the most part the names their old possessors gave them. Here pouring a deeper volume through a more navigable channel—there spanned with bridges—there again diverted into race-courses, and their roaring freedom tamed into subserviency to the production of wealth—their power as physical causes acting on the character and destiny of the people, is materially modified. The mountains, still resting on their old foundations, have ceased to be the barriers which they once were in the way of intercourse; the iron track of the railway now winding along their sides, now piercing along their wildest ravines, now forcing its passage through their everlasting granite, has brought the mountains low and made the rough places plain. The ocean itself no longer separates New England from the old world as of yore. The seclusion in which our fathers dwelt, when the Atlantic with its multitudinous waves guarded them on the one hand, and the mysterious depths of the forest closed around them on the other—that isolation from the world which had so much to do in the formation of the original New England character—is now forever broken. Commerce and the inventive faculties of man have converted the wild waste of waters into a thronged highway of rapid intercourse; and Europe is less than half as far from

[ 14 ]

us as it was from our fathers. Thus moral causes, every where, are not only compelled to act in combination with physical causes, cooperating or counteracting, but they manifest their power by acting upon those physical causes themselves to change their character. Even those hereditary physical peculiarities, or constitutional aptitudes, by which one race of men is distinguished from another, and which are unquestionably among the most powerful and stubborn of all the physical forces that act in history, yield, in the slow course of ages, to the moral power of civilization and religion; and the blood of barbarous races is gradually ennobled, while that of the proudest is slowly tainted with debasement, in the heraldry of nations. And if physical causes are thus acted upon and modified by immaterial moral forces, how much more are those moral forces, in their turn, acted upon and modified by the power of physical causes, or by each other. Commerce, that mighty power in history, deserts, from time to time, its ancient paths; and what was once a crowded emporium, gorgeous with riches gathered from all climes, becomes a lonely rock, where a few fishermen have built their huts, and where they spread their nets to dry. In the peaceful intercourse of nations, or their warlike collisions; in the migration of tribes from one region to another; in the slow influence of climate and of geographical position upon national character; in the accumulation of wealth and of the means of luxurious enjoyment; in the growth of population and the progress of industry and knowledge; and in the convulsions and destructions of war, changes are involved, by which all the moral forces that act upon the character and destiny of nations are materially and permanently modified. Thus laws, institutions,, forms of government,

[ 15 ]

manners, opinions, systems of thought, are continually undergoing change, as they act upon each other, or are acted upon by forces of another order.

In speaking, then, of Christianity as a power in history, we regard it as one element in the great combination of those forces which determine the destinies of nations and the destinies of humanity. We regard it not exclusively in its action on the individual mind which it emancipates from the power of selfishness and elevates to communion with the mind of God, but rather in its action on the life of nations and the progress of the ages. We regard it not as acting alone, and producing results which are simply and perfectly its own, but as resisting or aiding, modifying or controlling the action of other forces ;—not as achieving its ends with the sudden grandeur of a creative fiat, hut as working towards its ends by long processes like the processes of growth and life in the realms of nature. We regard it not merely in its own intrinsic purity as it came from the mind of God, but in its modifications and varieties as it is received into the minds of men, and as it is acted upon and subjected to change by the various forces with which it is combined in history. Christianity in history, is Christianity as affected by the ignorance, the prejudices, the errors, the habits and passions, the entire intellectual and moral being of those who receive it. It is Christianity as affected by the diversities of language, of climate, or of blood—by varieties in the frame of government, in the structure of society, and in the tone of national sentiment—and by the modifications of learning, and philosophy. It is Christianity not in the abstract, but in the concrete—not in its Divine ideal, incapable of change, but in its human realization, a thing for develop-

[ 16 ]

ment and progress, for action and reaction, for acquisition and assimilation. It is like the grain of mustard seed sown in the earth, there quickened by the softening moisture and the genial warmth, bursting its tiny cuticle, yearning and working toward the light, building itself up by materials attracted and assimilated from the soil and from the air, and so growing into a tree. It is like leaven working in the mass till all is leavened.

If now we call to our thoughts the merest outline of the world’s history since the commencement of the Christian era, it cannot but strike us in a moment that the history of human progress, from that date to the present hour, is inseparable from the history of Christianity. The one cannot be philosophically or fairly given without the other; they are not merely parallel; they are not merely intermixed; they are parts of one whole; each is the complement of the other. He who should attempt to give the history of Christianity, disconnected from its relations to what is called secular history—he who should attempt to embody in a continuous narrative the lives of saints and fathers, of martyrs and confessors, of theologians and reformers, without reference to the history of the successive ages in which they lived and acted and which acted upon them—would fail of giving any other than the narrowest and most inadequate conception of Christianity itself. And on the other hand, what breadth of view or comprehensiveness of exposition—what truth or fairness—can there be in any history of civilization since the Christian era, or in any history of particular countries or races within the compass of the civilized world, if that history is so conceived and put together as not to involve the history of Christianity? At the moment at which the Roman empire,

[ 17 ]

having attained the summit of its grandeur and its splendor, began to exhibit those tendencies to ruin which were the necessary consequences of its growth, Christianity emerges from the obscurity of its origin, rises above the contempt of those who had heard of it only as one of the factions of Judaism, and thrusts itself as a strong and growing reality upon the attention of the philosophic Pliny and the imperial Trajan. From that time onward, the history of the empire in its slow decay is full of the workings of Christianity——full of the changes that attend the progress of a great moral revolution—full of the collisions of Christianity with hostile or counteracting forces. The marvelous phenomenon is exhibited, of a religion asserting its independence of the state, disowning all nationality, building itself up by argument and fearless controversy, and assuming every where and for every man the right of individual belief and the obligation to believe the truth. In the collisions which ensue, the world of thought is shaken to its foundations; new forms of literature, and of intellectual effort, make their appearance; new themes of discussion, and new objects of affection and of passion occupy the attention of mankind; and new views of the energies and capabilities of the human soul are revealed from the depths of new experiences. In like manner, the history of the middle ages, commencing with the downfall of the Roman Empire, is full of the working of this great force. As the rudiments of a new civilization begin to appear, we discover not only that conquest, and the coming in of new possessors and rulers, and the peculiar genius of the conquering races have acted upon Christianity; but also that Christianity, corrupted as it is, has become the teacher of the barbarians, is conquering the conquerors,

[ 18 ]

is modifying their institutions and their characters, and is continually showing its presence as a power in the progress of Europe through those ages of confusion. He who would truly know the history of the middle ages, must study well the Christianity of those ages, its theology, its discipline, its institutions, its relations to the various orders in society, its forms of devotion, and its earnestness and enthusiasm, as well as its corruptions and its abortive struggles after reformation. Nor can the history of any single European state or people be mastered, without a specific study of the particular influence of Christianity on the institutions and structure of the state, and on the condition, the morals, and the entire character of the people. Strange as the suggestion may seem to the unquestioning admirers of flume, the attempt to narrate the history of England from the time of the Heptarchy to the present age, without a serious study and an earnest appreciation of the religious element in the life of the English people, can achieve at the best only a splendid fiction founded upon fact. It is as if one should narrate the history of the crusades, and overlook entirely the medieval veneration of the holy sepulchre,—or the history of the British conquests in Asia, without any reference to the organization or the nature of the East India Company. It is as if one should elaborately record the history of our late Mexican war, and yet never recognize, from first to last, the statesmanship of Polk, or the generalship of Scott and Taylor. What philosophic calmness of narration—what classic beauty and severity of style—what accuracy in the geographical and statistical details—could make amends for such an omission? There is as much of the true history of England to be learned from Shakespeare as from Hume.

[ 19 ]

We have no time to analyze the vast complexity of history since the commencement of the Christian era. Years spent in the analysis would not suffice to trace out all the connection between Christianity and the progress of the human race for these eighteen centuries. Yet there are some great topics of illustration that stand out too prominently not to command our attention, though only for a moment.

Think then of the ancient Church, and of the power which it exercised for so many ages on the fortunes of the civilized world. Far as we are from acknowledging the divine authority or the divine origin of the Church, as the word is ordinarily used in history, we may yet admire the grandeur of that institution, so unique in its nature and position, and so powerful in its influence. Christianity makes its first appearance in the story of the Roman empire, as the principle of a new and peculiar association among men. Acting for a while on individual minds alone, and naturally seizing, by an elective affinity, those minds that were in some sense prepared to receive its influence, it was every where detaching its disciples from many of their old connections, and binding them to each other by new sympathies and duties. The new ideas and facts which are the substance of Christianity, were the bond of a peculiar fellowship. In the society of those who had one hope, "one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all," the differences of nation and of race were merged; the Jew and the Greek, the barbarian and the Scythian, the slave and the freeman, were on one level. To them the distinction between the Christian and the not Christian, was one, in comparison with which all other distinctions were of no account. In this sense

[ 20 ]

Christianity was Catholic; it was not local or national, but universal; it was for all men alike, of whatever race or country or condition. Thus in the decay of the old nationalities which Rome had conquered, and which the empire was slowly dissolving and absorbing, the Church came into being and began its growth—a new association, held together at first not by the force of any outward formal constitution, but by the force of living sympathies—a new organic unity, with its branches every where partaking of one life, and with a capacity of indefinite extension. The constant hostility of the state gave to this new fellowship an increasing compactness, invested its leading minds and its official functionaries with increasing power, and forced it into more completeness of organization, till the empire, unable to maintain the conflict, surrendered its gods and acknowledged the power of the Church. In proportion as all other institutions grew weaker and approached the verge of dissolution, the Church, in the freshness of its youth, and animated by a higher and independent life, grew stronger; and when at last the deluge of barbarian conquest had swept over the empire, the Church stood up, stronger than ever, to accomplish its destiny.

And what was that destiny? As we pause to think of it,—as we call up to our thoughts the part which that great institution had in the birth and infancy of modern civilization, the mind is bewildered with the grandeur and complexity of the conception. The Church, having survived the downfall of the empire, and having achieved the conversion of the barbarians to a Christianity modified indeed and barbarized, yet not wholly corrupted,—became the most remarkable institution, and the most powerful, whether for good or evil, that the world has ever seen.

[ 21 ]

We have our Protestant and Puritan judgment strongly made up, against the superstitious Christianity and the hierarchical and domineering Church of the middle ages; but that judgment needs revising, if it hinders us from seeing that even a superstitious Christianity was better than none, or if it forbids us to acknowledge that the great conservative power of those ages—the power which counteracted the universal tendency to barbarism—was in the Church rather than out of it. The Church, with all its superstitions, was the ark that saved Christianity itself from being lost in that universal deluge; it contained indeed, unclean and ravenous beasts, but within it, as it floated on, was the only hope for the restoration of life and beauty to the desolated world. The Church, like that primitive Christianity of which it held the tradition, was a power of association and of union; it remembered that in the fellowship of Christians the distinctions of nationality, of blood and of outward condition are insignificant; and it became the efficient means of fusing and blending the conquerors with the conquered. The Church kept up the use of letters and of a learned language, and thus gave dignity and sanctity to learning. The Church having established itself with its hierarchy in every kingdom, in every principality, in every city, in every castle, was the organization which gave unity to Europe, and held its parts together as members of one system, all owing allegiance to one law higher than the will of kings. The Church stood in the sight of all Europe, the embodiment and organization of a power essentially moral and yet more coercive and more terrible than the power of the sword. It stood between the king and his people, between the feudal lord and his vassal, between the master

[ 22 ]

and his helpless thrall. The mailed baron with his retainers around him—the belted earl in his castle—the king amid his peers—trembled before the unarmed representative of spiritual power. The Church had only to pronounce her sentence against a faithless and oppressive sovereign; and his subjects were absolved from their allegiance, and the king was an outcast. Doubtless that power of the Church was built on superstition—doubtless it tended to infinite corruption and abuse; but in those ages of the barbarous infancy of states and nations, it was something for the welfare of the world, that there was a power to which kings were responsible, and which was mightier than armies. Nor has that Church of the middle ages ceased, even yet, to act upon the world. Not only does it survive in its reputed successor, the Church of the Council of Trent, and in the ecclesiastical forms of those countries that own allegiance to the See of Rome; its influence is felt in Protestant Europe and Protestant America. The doctrines even of Puritan creeds are indebted for their precision to the disputatious of the medieval theologians. Our chairs of theology, and our pulpits of popular religious teaching, are still reechoing—often unconscious of any obligation to the past—the metaphysical expositions of doctrine that were first brought forth by the intense intellectual activity that studied, and lectured, and wrangled, in the crowded universities of what we call "the dark ages." Of those universities, the predecessors and models of our own, the Church was the author. That Church is still acting on the intellectual progress of mankind, through every university and every college in Christendom. Nay more; it has its material monuments that stand like the great objects of nature to act upon

[ 23 ]

mankind from age to age. The elder cities of Europe, from the Mediterranean to the Baltic, are still beautified with old colossal piles of sacred architecture, touching irresistibly that sense of grandeur and of beauty which thousands mistake for religion. How many a traveler from this new world, as he has paced those "long drawn aisles," has been carried away by the appeal to his imagination and his unreasoning sensibilities, and has grown ashamed of his iconoclast Puritan blood! Who can measure the influence which the cathedrals of Europe, considered simply as masses of architecture, have had on the character and destiny of Europe. Had Cromwell battered down the cathedrals of England, when he dethroned the king and subdued the peerage, England had been revolutionized forever. It was the Church that built the cathedrals.

So much for the influence which Christianity has exerted upon history through the Church, as it arose in the declining ages of the Roman empire, and afterwards made itself the great controlling institution of Europe in the middle ages. Look now for a moment at the influence which Christianity has had in history, and is to have, through the great movement of the Reformation.

In that great rending of Western Christendom, which we commonly call the Reformation, there was strictly no new element. The elements which then produced the explosion and separation, had existed for ages within the enclosure of the so-called Catholic Church. On the one hand there was Christianity as modified by the genius of the Romanic and Romano-Celtic nations; on the other hand, there was Christianity as modified by being received into the minds of the Teutonic races. On the one hand, there was the tendency to spiritual despotism which had

[ 24 ]

grown up in the Church and had become inseparable from its existing constitution; on the other hand, there was the tendency to intellectual and spiritual freedom, which is inseparable from the Gospel. On the one hand, there was the ever accumulating mass of tradition, and the concurrent growth of superstitious opinions; on the other hand, there was the silent acknowledgment of the Scriptures as the original source of Christian doctrine, and the conscious or unconscious implication of their supreme authority, as a revelation of the word of God. On the one hand were the irresistible tendencies to corruption of morals, resulting from the corrupted doctrines and the mischievous discipline which the Church had established; on the other hand was the outcry of the moral sense of Europe. On the one hand were the Inquisition, the rich and luxurious monasteries, the mendicant friars, and the peddlers of indulgences; on the other hand were the universities. On the one hand was the Pope, supported by the great prelates, putting his foot upon the neck of kings, and working out his plan of universal power; on the other hand were the secular governments, jealous for their rights and struggling for national independence. On the one hand were the pomps and outward splendor of cathedral worship; on the other hand the lonely prayer of many an earnest contrite soul, hungering and thirsting after righteousness.

For ages, these opposite tendencies had been working against each other, sometimes in fierce conflict, sometimes in comparative silence. But all the while there was progress—progress of corruption indeed, but also progress in the working of Christianity toward a better state of things. At last the predestined crisis came; and thenceforth the Churches of the Reformation on the one hand, and the

[ 25 ]

Church of Rome on the other, as defined and established by the Council of Trent, divided the allegiance of European Christendom.

As to the effects of the Reformation in history, what need is there of my recalling them to your remembrance? I will only remind you of one fact which involves, in its progress and its ultimate results, an entire change in the condition and character of every people. The Church of the middle ages performed a great work for mankind, in that it kept learning from extinction, and even the use of letters from oblivion. Its office in this respect was to guard, rather than to diffuse. It was in many respects the friend of the people; it stood between them and their oppressors; it taught them all they knew; and through the gradations of its hierarchy the peasant boy might rise to a cathedral throne, and be the peer of nobles and the awe of princes. But the Church never conceived the idea—for it had not clearly grasped any principle which involved the necessity —of the universal diffusion of knowledge. The Reformation, on the contrary, making its appeal to the Scriptures against tradition, and to the people against the hierarchy, was under the necessity of bringing the Scriptures and the people into each other’s presence, face to face. Planting itself, as primitive Christianity did, upon the principle of individual freedom to think and to believe, and armed, as primitive Christianity was not, with the newly invented art of multiplying copies by the press, it not only gave the Bible to the people in their various living languages, but that the gift might be effectual, it must needs teach the people how to read it. Historically, then, the system of common schools, established that every child in city and in country may be taught to read, is one of the effects of the Reformation.

[ 26 ]

Arrangements for the education of the whole people in the use of letters, were for a long tune peculiar to reformed countries, and most developed in the countries most reformed. That system, founded originally upon religious reasons, and brought into existence by the necessities of Christianity as restored by the Reformation, has become political; it is spreading over Europe; it must needs enter ere long into the policy of every government in the civilized world. What a phenomenon is this which is taking place before our eyes, and which is so immediately connected with the working of Christianity in history! What changes must this one great change draw after it! When all the population of the civilized world shall be, like the native population of these free states, a reading population—when reading, instead of being as it once was the luxury of the few, shall have become, like eating and drinking, an absolute necessity of human nature—what censorship, what ecclesiastical or secular despotism, shall undertake to prohibit or prescribe the reading and the thinking of the people? Where then will be the power of hierarchies built on superstition ?— where, the devotion which has ignorance for its parent?—where, the submission of groaning but unthinking millions to the selfish sway of aristocracies?—where, the possibility of a throne that is not supported by the confidence of the people?

Perhaps the illustrations which I have adduced will be deemed more than sufficient, to show how important to a right understanding of the course and tendency of history since the commencement of the Christian era, is the careful study of the working of Christianity as one of the great historic forces. Other illustrations, of the most impressive character, have doubtless suggested themselves to your

[ 27 ]

minds; but you will excuse me from attempting to exhibit them. The effects of Christianity on manners, and on the development of the human sensibilities and moral sentiments of the nations that have received it, would detain us long if we should enter on that topic, but the illustration which it affords of our present subject, is as familiar as it is impressive. Doubtless the prize fighting in England, and the bull fights of Spain, are brutalizing things, almost below the dignity of savage life, but what are they when compared with those bloody amusements of the Roman circus which Christianity abolished? The streams of human blood on the altars of the old Mexican idolatry—the wholesale slaughter that swells the funeral pomp of an Ashantee monarch—things that we turn pale to read of— are hardly more horrible than the butcheries that "made a Roman holiday." The murder of wretched men by hundreds in the open amphitheater, their blood pouring from ghastly wounds upon the hot sand of the arena and tainting the soft Italian breeze with the scent of slaughter—this was the amusement which not only delighted the atrocity of the populace, but afforded a gentle excitement to delicate ladies and exquisite dandies in that metropolis of wealth, art, literature and refinement, as well as of empire, where the civilization of Paganism attained its last perfection ere it fell. Surely the force which wrought so great a change, could not but take effect on all the elements of history. Accordingly, the influence of Christianity exerting itself upon law, is another of those illustrations of our subject into which we cannot enter. In proportion as Christianity affects the manners of a people, and modifies their views of right and wrong, and quickens their human sympathies, its influence will be traceable in the laws

[ 28 ]

that express that people’s sense of justice. Thus, imperfectly as it has affected the common mind of any nation hitherto, it has given to Christendom a code of international law, the prevailing spirit of which, with all its deficiencies, is justice and humanity. By the old barbarous law of nations, every captive in war,—man, woman, or child—became the absolute possession of the captor. In that barbarism was the origin of slavery; and to-day, whether in heathendom or Christendom—whether under the imbecile scepter of Spanish royalty, or the starry flag of our democracy—there is no human chattel whose servitude, traced to its origin, is warranted by any higher sanction than that old savage law of nations, propounded by woolyheaded Puffendorfs and Wheatons, ages ago, when Africa was young. Christianity has given a better international law to Christendom. Nay more, not satisfied with that achievement, it has been for ages encroaching upon slavery itself, raising the chattel to the level of humanity, opening the eye of law to see him and the ear of law to hear him, and stretching forth the power of law for his protection, till now, at length, the primitive unmitigated form of slavery—chattel slavery—lingers only here and there in all the vast domain of Christendom; and where it lingers, it feels with pain and fear the advancing light, and, at each cheerful noise of morning, it "starts like a guilty thing upon a fearful summons."

The more we study Christ and the influence of Christianity in history, the deeper, also, and more cheering will be our conviction that Christianity, as one of the forces that control the progress of nations and of the human race, has never demonstrated all its efficacy. In the ages past, the various and complicated moral forces that move the world have been in opposition to its influence, or have acted to corrupt it. Its mission in the world is to work itself free from the corruptions that have soiled its purity, and impaired its efficacy, and mingling itself with all that acts on human character—literature, art, philosophy, education, law, statesmanship, commerce—to bring all things into subordination to itself, and to sway all the complicated elements of power for the renovation of the world.

We, brethren in the commonwealth of letters,—all of us, from the most gifted to the humblest—are workers in history.

[ 30 ]

Christianity—if we are true to our position and our nurture—is working through us upon the destinies of our country and of our race. Not the missionary only who goes forth, in the calm glow of Apostolic zeal, to labor and to die in barbarous lands for the extension of Christ’s empire—not the theologian only who devotes himself to the learned investigation and the scientific exposition of the Christian faith—not the preacher and the pastor only—but all who act in any manner, or in any measure, on the character and moral destiny of their fellow men, are privileged to be the organs and the functionaries of Christianity. The Senator, whose fearless voice and vote turn back from the yet uncontaminated soil of his country the polluting and blighting barbarism of slavery, and consecrate that soil eternally to freedom—the patriot statesman, who in defiance of the ardor civium prava jubentium lifts up his voice like a prophet’s cry against the barbarous and pagan policy of war and conquest——the jurist, who, like Granville Sharp, by long and patient years of toil, forces the law to recognize at last some disregarded principle of justice—the teacher, the author, the artist, the physician and the man of business, who, in their various places of duty and of influence, are serving their generation under the influence of Christian principles—these all are in their several functions the anointed ministers of Christianity, "kings and priests to God." In the all-embracing scheme of the eternal providence, no act, or effort, or aspiration of goodness shall be in vain. No rain-drop mingles with the ocean, or falls upon the desert sand—no particle of dew moistens the loneliest and baldest cliff, but God sees it and saves it for the uses of his own beneficence. The vanished aspirations of the youth who fell and was forgotten—

[ 31 ]

whose early promise sparkled for a moment and exhaled—— are not wholly lost,—he has not lived nor died in vain.

Let these thoughts cheer us as we labor, and hear us up m our discouragements.

"Not enjoyment, and not sorrow

Is our destined end or way,

But to act that each to-morrow

Find us farther than to-day.

"Let us then be up and doing,

With a heart for any fate;

Still achieving, still pursuing,

Learn to labor and to wait."

SIXTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

MINISTER OF THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH IN QUINCY.

BOSTON:

CHARLES C. LITTLE AND JAMES BROWN.

[ 1848 ]

The text of this and other superb works are available on-line from:

The Willison Politics and Philosophy Resource Center

http://willisoncenter.com/

Reprint and digital file June 8, 2002.

This funeral discourse serves to bring the substantial worth of sound Biblical theology that both Presidents Adams had clearly to the modern reader's mind. We have highlighted some important passages to that fact in bold italics in order to make it easier to find. Again, after reading this work, it would be impossible intellectually to claim a so-called "enlightenment" Deism or Atheism as the crucible of ideas that produced the American Revolution. Nothing could be farther from the truth. From baptism as an infant, to the New England Primer read as a grammer school student (and its Westminster Shorter Catechism), to membership classes one would have participated in to enter into church communion, J.Q. Adams and his contemporaries were well-steeped in Biblical Metaphysics, which in turn shaped their daily activities, "as unto the Lord."

A rather extensive Appendix accompanying the original document furnishes additional character traits which politicians today should emulate!

Willison Ed.

Page numbers in the original are shown in brackets, as thus: [ ]

The following begins the original text:

Voted, That Messrs. Josiah Brigham, Orange Clark, Daniel Baxter and William S. Morton, be a committee to carry the above resolution into effect.

REV. WILLIAM P. LUNT,

The undersigned, selected to communicate the above resolution to you, take great pleasure in performing that service, fully believing, that so beautiful and feeling a tribute to moral worth and greatness deserves our warmest thanks, and that your interesting and truthful illustration of the life and character of him who was "faithful unto death," should not be withheld from the public.

[ 4 ]

To Messrs. Josiah Brigham , Orange Clark, Daniel Baxter and William S. Morton ; —

I have received through your hands, accompanied by your note, the Votes passed March 14, 1848, at a meeting of the Committee of Arrangements appointed, in behalf of the inhabitants of the town of Quincy, to superintend the funeral ceremonies at the interment of the late Ex-President JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.

In compliance with the request contained in one of those votes, I will at once prepare for publication a copy of the Discourse delivered on the eleventh instant. It affords me satisfaction to be permitted to unite with the Committee of the native place of Mr. Adams, in the performance of what is really a Christian duty, rendering "honor to whom honor is due."

Accept my thanks, gentlemen, for the kind terms in which you have conveyed the votes and wishes of the Committee to which you belong, with assurances of respect and friendship from

The Congressional Committee charged with the interesting, but sorrowful duty of accompanying the remains of their late lamented brother, JOHN Q. ADAMS, to the place of their interment at Quincy, have desired me to solicit from you a copy of your Discourse delivered upon the occasion of his funeral.

Congress has already ordered that twenty thousand copies of the proceedings &c., attending the demise of Mr. Adams, should be printed ; and it would afford the Committee great pleasure to place in the hands of every member of Congress, and as far as possible, in the hands of their constituents, this eloquent tribute to the memory of the illustrious dead.

Could you, at your earliest convenience, transmit a copy of your address to me at Washington, you would greatly gratify the Committee, and particularly oblige,

Rev. Sir, very truly,

F. A. TALLMADGE,

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Quincy, March 17, 1848.

To Hon. F. A. TALLMADGE,

Your favor of the thirteenth instant, requesting, in the name of the Committee appointed by Congress, a copy of the Discourse delivered at the interment of your associate and our fellow. worshiper and fellow-townsman, the late JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, was not received in time for me to reply before you must have Left Boston.

The Committee, appointed to act in behalf of the inhabitants of the native place of Mr. Adams, and to make arrangements for his funeral, had, before the receipt of your kind letter, asked for the publication of the Discourse, and their request had been acceded to, and the manuscript is now in the hands of the printers.

This will not, however, prevent my complying with your wishes, and sending to you at Washington, at the earliest time possible, a copy of the Discourse, to be placed at the disposal of the Committee of which you are Chairman.

I beg you to convey to the several members of the Congressional Committee my grateful respects, and to assure them of the high value I shall ever attach to their approbation of my services on the recent affecting occasion.

With many thanks for the favorable terms in which you do me the honor to express yourself,

I am, Dear Sir,

DISCOURSE.

THE Apostle James uses language similar to that contained in my text, when he declares, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life."

In various modes of speech the Scriptures express the truth, that man’s life on the earth is a probation. Human beings, in this world, are on trial, and their qualities are put to the test. Their patience and confidence in Providence are tested — by what they suffer; their meekness and forbearance — by the wrongs and persecutions to which they are exposed; their general fidelity—by the amount of resistance which they oppose to the temptations that beset them. This trial goes on in the case of each individual, and ceases not until death terminates his probation. The

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"crown of life," which religion holds up in promise, is reserved until death puts an end to human efforts, and allows a fair and conclusive estimate to be made of the merits of those who have striven for that crown. None can be pronounced safe, except "he that endureth to the end"

But the judgments of the world are, in many material respects, different from the judgments of scriptural truth. The world is frequently ready to crown him who exhibits in his conduct some single virtue; who performs some one brilliant or commendable act. Struck with blind admiration of the solitary virtue, the world applauds, and offers a crown. But what security is there for the virtue which has only once or but a few times been practised, which is prompted very likely by sudden impulse, which has no root in a principle implanted in the soul? And how can we know that our own virtue or that of others has this rooted firmness of principle, until repeated trials give assurance of the fact? Religion, therefore, always leaves it as an open and undecided question whether a person is saved, whether he is entitled to the rewards of the perfect state, until death removes the possibility of his lapsing into error and sin. "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life," — is the declaration of Him who is holy and true.

And there is one other particular in which we may

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contrast the judgment of the world with the righteous judgment of God. The word of God declares that the "crown of life" will be awarded to the "faithful." Now faithfulness implies moral qualities. Not the favorites of fortune; not the gifted possessors of genius; not they who, by descent, are children of Abraham, while they fail to prove their title by showing the only proper vouchers, — the virtues of Abraham reproduced in their own characters; not the great of this world, who "exercise authority" over their fellow-men, who are greeted by their titles of kings, presidents, judges; — not these, without further question, shall, according to the perfect judgment of God, receive the "crown of life," but the "faithful." "The righteous shall be held in everlasting remembrance." "The memorial of virtue" is pronounced by the wise man to be "immortal. When it is present, men take example at it; and when it is gone, they desire it; it weareth a crown, and triumpheth forever."

And if the rewards of the future life are to be awarded according to moral desert, why should not our judgments of the characters and claims of those who are candidates for our suffrages, whose place in the consideration of the world is to be settled, whose reputation remains to he determined by their contemporaries or by posterity,— why should not our judgments be governed by the same principle? On whose

[ 10 ]

head shall we, when called to decide upon the merits of our fellow-men, place the "crown of life?" Shall we not give it to him who has been "faithful unto death?" And the longer death is postponed by a gracious Providence, and the more hazards virtue has incurred by such postponement, is not the merit of the individual thereby enhanced, and are not his claims to distinction and honor proportionably strengthened?

And can any of us question whether the crown would be worthily bestowed, if we were to confer it, with deference to a tribunal higher than ours, upon that individual who has recently fallen, "the beauty of" our "Israel" upon the. "high places" of the land; and whose remains we are now to convey, with all suitable marks of respect and honor, to their final resting-place? The sacred edifice in which we are assembled brings up before the mind the venerable idea of him, who, in the interval between the annual suspension of his public duties, and the time for resuming them, at the capital of the nation, was always found here in his seat, a constant, candid, devout worshiper. With a simplicity of manner truly republican and christian, he walked to the house of God in company with his neighbors; prayed with us at this altar; communed with us at this table of the Lord; meditated with us, a brother with brethren, on that truth which has been revealed by God for human salvation; consented repeatedly to accompany the

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Pastor of this church, as a delegate, to assist in ordinations among the neighboring christian churches, according to our Congregational usages; asked for the prayers of the church in his own afflictions and bereavements; contributed the compositions of his devotional genius to the sacred songs in which we are wont to celebrate the perfections of God; and in every way lent the influence of his example to give increased efficacy to christian truth in the community. [ Bold italics added for emphasis, Willison Ed. ]

It is altogether fit and proper, therefore, that .the lifeless remains of our fellow-christian should be brought here, on their way to the place prepared for the dead; and that, while we express our sympathy with those whose hearts have been most deeply wounded by this providence, we should review his long, useful and illustrious life; recount the principal incidents in his career, although they may be familiar to many who are here present; and draw from the history of his public services and from his well known character, such lessons as may be edifying. That life is full of instruction for the young and for the old. The Scripture word "faithful" is to no one more applicable than to the departed. It is, in truth, the word, by which, more perhaps than by any other in the language, his character may best be described. He was "faithful unto death;" and to him belongs, so far as it is permitted to mortals to decide, the "crown of life"

[12 ]

John Quincy Adams, son of John and Abigail (Smith) Adams, was born, in a house still standing in the near vicinity of that in which his father had been born, within what is now Quincy, and was then Brain-tree, July 11, 1767; and as was usual with our Puritan ancestors, was baptized in the meeting-house of this church, by its Pastor, the Reverend Anthony Wibird, on the day following his birth, according to the entry in the Church Records in Mr. Wibird’s handwriting.

The name of John Quincy, which was given to the infant, had been borne by the maternal great grandfather of Mr. Adams, a man of wealth and deserved consequence in the town and colony, in honor of whom the town of Quincy, when it was separated from the old town of Braintree, and made a distinct corporation, was named, and who was dying when John Quincy Adams came into the world.

This gentleman, whose residence was at Mount Wollaston, within the limits of the town of Quincy, died July 13th, 1767, in the seventy-eighth year of his age. He was a graduate of Harvard College, where (to use the words of an obituary notice which appeared in one* of the two papers which alone constituted the newspaper press of that period in the town of Boston,) "early in life a foundation was laid for his usefulness; it was not long after he received the honors of this Society before he appeared in public

*Boston Post-Boy.

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life. His first appearance was in the militia; he rose from the command of a company to that of a regiment. He was honored with divers civil commissions; those of a common justice of the peace, a special justice, a justice of the quorum, and a justice through the Province, He was early chosen to represent the town of Braintree, and was for a great number of years Speaker of the Honorable house of Representatives, and for many years one of his Majesty’s Council; all which important trusts he discharged with fidelity, honor, and to universal acceptance, ever approving himself a true friend to the interest and prosperity of the Province; a zealous advocate for, and vigorous defender of its liberties and privileges. He had a high sense of his accountableness to the Supreme Governor of the world, for the trusts reposed in him, and studiously avoided an ensnaring dependency on any man, and whatever should tend to lay him under any disadvantage in the discharge of his duty. [ Bold italics added for effect, Willison Ed. ] He was near forty years engaged in the service of the public. Being blessed with an ample fortune, he devoted his time, his faculties, and influence to the service of his country. In private life he was exemplary. He adorned the christian profession by an holy life, a strict observance of the Lord’s day, and a constant attendance upon the public ordinances of religion. In one word, he was a gentleman true to his trust, diligent

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and active in public business, punctual in promises and appointments, just towards all men, and devout towards God."

Such is the character given to the Honorable John Quincy by .his contemporaries. And to all who enjoyed only common opportunities of understanding the qualities that were blended in the character of the venerable Patriot whose remains are before us, it must be plain, that a name and a portion of his fortune were not the only inheritance which descended to the child who was then commencing, from the ancestor who was, at the same time, closing his earthly career. How much importance Mr. Adams attached, through life, to the circumstance in which a portion of his name originated, will appear from his own words, which I am allowed to quote from a letter addressed by him, on the subject, to a friend.

He says; "The house at Mount Wollaston has a peculiar interest to me as the dwelling of my great grandfather, whose name I bear. The incident which gave rise to this circumstance is not without its moral to my heart. He was dying when I was baptized; and his daughter, my grandmother, present at my birth, requested that I might receive his name. The fact, recorded by my father at the time, has connected with that portion of my name a charm of mingled sensibility and devotion. It was filial tenderness that gave the name. It was the name of one passing from

[ 15

earth to immortality. These have been among the strongest links of my attachment to the name of Quincy, and have been to me, through life, a perpetual admonition to do nothing unworthy of it."

Mr. Adams’s ancestors on the paternal side were worthy specimens of the Puritan emigrants who settled this northern portion of the American continent; who had left "dear England," as they affectionately called their native land, only for the sake of what to them was still dearer, freedom of the mind and soul. And if we separate into distinct parts the aggregate of the blessings which have accrued to the world, from the Christian enterprise, into the wilderness, of those heroic men and women, who, more than two centuries since, ventured their all here for God and for posterity, it is not perhaps too much to say, that no richer, riper fruit has dropped from the tree of the Pilgrims’ planting, than that which has now, alas! been plucked by insatiate Death.

Henry Adams, from whom the venerable man, lately deceased, traced his origin, came to New England early in the seventeenth century, and was probably here when this Christian Church was gathered, in 1639. He was the first town clerk of Braintree; he died October 8th, 1646, and was buried in the neighboring grave-yard, where the "forefathers of the hamlet sleep." Joseph, son of henry Adams, died December 6th, 1694, aged sixty-eight years. Joseph, son of

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Joseph, died February 12th, 1736, at the age of eighty-four years. His son, John, was a deacon of this ancient Church, and died May 25th, 1761, aged seventy years; John Adams, the second President of the United States, was son of the deacon of Brain-tree Church, and died, as is well known, on the fourth of July, 1826, at the advanced age of ninety-one years, just half a century after signing his name to the Declaration of Independence. So that the distinguished individual, who has recently been removed from life, belonged to the fifth generation in regular descent from the first settlers of this part of the country. The epitaph placed, by the first President Adams, upon one of the monuments erected by him in honor of his ancestors, makes mention of "their piety, humility, simplicity, prudence, patience, temperance, frugality, industry, and perseverance;" qualities which were certainly reproduced in the character of their illustrious descendant.

But if the remote stock from which Mr. Adams sprung was favorable to his character, he was even more blessed in his parents. The period, too, when he entered into life, and the circumstances which existed at that particular period, would not fail to make upon an ingenuous nature, a deep, solemn, and permanent impression. The difficulties between the mother country and her colonies on this continent, had commenced, and were assuming, from day to day, a

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more threatening aspect. The spirit of resistance, which had been awakened in the minds of the people by the writings and speeches of the friends of liberty, was fast ripening into acts of resistance. One scene after another of the great drama was unfolded before the young and wondering eyes of our departed friend. Blood was at length shed, and hostilities commenced.

The father is a prominent leader in the ranks of one of the contending parties. lie has quitted his family to attend upon the deliberations of the Continental Congress. The son, left at home with his mother, in the neighborhood of a besieged town; witnessing, as he did, from yonder eminence near his home, the flames of burning Charlestown, on the day, sacred in the national annals, when Warren was giving up his life in the cause of liberty; seeing and hearing, under the roof of his parents, where they were hospitably received, parties of volunteers who were on their way to join the patriot forces near Boston, and listening to the calm and pious counsels of the admirable matron, to whom he delighted through life, to acknowledge his indebtedness, and whom he speaks of, in a letter to a friend, as "my almost adored mother ;" — the son, under these circumstances, must have had kindled in his susceptible nature an enthusiasm which became the inward source of patriotic pulsations that continued through life. Such a childhood was a fit opening of the manhood and the age that followed.

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Nor was it only at home that the youthful Adams received into his soul those impressions which formed the best portion of his education.

In 1778, being then a lad in the eleventh year of his age, he was taken to France by his father, who was sent by Congress as joint commissioner with Benjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee, to the French court. The vessel in which they embarked, the frigate Boston, under the command of Captain Tucker, lay at anchor in Nantasket Roads, and a barge was sent for Mr. Adams and his son to the beach back of Mount Wollaston. While abroad, the son was placed at school, and instructed in the French and Latin languages. But his best school was, doubtless, the great world into which he was introduced, and his most valuable lessons, if we except the letters which he received from his mother, must have been derived from the conversations of the distinguished and excellent men to whose society he was admitted. He was especially fond of recalling, at the close of life, the delight he felt, as a boy, in listening to the amusing and instructive conversation of Dr. Franklin, who was a universal favorite with both sexes and with all ages. He returned home with his father the following year, in the French frigate La Sensible, the same vessel that brought the Chevalier de La Luzerne, who came as Minister from France to the United States. They arrived in this country in August, 1779.

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After a short stay at home, the elder Adams was once more despatched to Europe on public business, and the son again accompanied his father. They embarked on the 14th of November, 1779, from Boston, in the French frigate. The vessel was leaky, and was obliged to put into Ferrol, a port in Spain, and from thence they proceeded by land to France, and after a few months to Holland. While they remained in Holland, the son was some time at school in Amsterdam, and afterwards was a student in the University of Leyden.*

In 1781, John Quincy Adams, at that time only fourteen years of age, was placed under the care of the Honorable Francis Dana, who had been appointed Minister from the United States to Russia, and was taken by that gentleman, as his private secretary, to St. Petersburg. There he remained until October, 1782, when he left Mr. Dana, and made the journey alone to Holland, passing through Sweden, Denmark, Hamburg, and Bremen. He arrived in Holland, where he joined his father, in April, 1783. He was in Paris when the Treaty of Peace was signed, which took place in September, 1783. After that important

* Mr. Adams was a student at Leyden at the same time when the late Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse was pursuing there his medical studies. Mr. Adams spoke repeatedly of having in his possession a Latin Dictionary, which Dr. Waterhouse gave him while they resided together at Leyden, and which he seemed to value greatly, not only as associated with his early studies, but as the memorial of a friendship which commenced in youth, and was only interrupted by death.

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event which closed the American Revolutionary war, he went over to England with his father, who was the first Minister from this country to the Court of St. James. He was present when George the Third announced from the British throne the termination of the American war; and witnessed the admission of George the Fourth into the house of Lords as Duke of Cornwall.

At the age of eighteen, he returned to his native country, and having been admitted to an advanced standing in Harvard College, at Cambridge, he graduated from that institution, as Bachelor of Arts, with high honor, in 1787. While in England, his father had made inquiries with a view to have his entered at Oxford; but finding that a subscription to the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England was indispensable, the advantages promised by a residence at that celebrated seat of learning were conscientiously relinquished. In the same conversation in which Mr. Adams recounted, to the author of this Discourse, the principal events of his life, he adverted to the false reasoning by which David Hartley endeavored to convince his father of the propriety of signing those articles, and of so gaining for his son the privileges of an English University. The articles in question were, it seems, contained in a separate book from that in which the signatures were entered; and this trifling circumstance was sufficient to reconcile

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the mind of such a man as Hartley to subscribing what he could not assent to.

After graduating at Cambridge, Mr. Adams entered the office of the celebrated lawyer, Theophilus Parsons, at that time a resident in Newburyport, and subsequently Chief Justice of this Commonwealth. Having devoted the usual term of three years to preparatory legal studies, he opened an office in Boston, where he continued in the practice of law four years, from 1790 to 1794. An extract from a letter written by him in 1828, will furnish interesting particulars in relation to this period of his life. He says:

"I had long and lingering anxieties in looking forward, doubtful even of my prospects of comfortable subsistence, but acquiring more and more the means of it, till in the last of the four years, the business of my profession yielded me an income more than equal to my expenditures. I had, during three of the four years, not the slightest encouragement or expectation of being engaged in public life, and never was more surprised than when about the 1st of June, 1794, I received a letter from my father, then Vice-President at Philadelphia, informing me, that Mr. Edmund Randolph, Secretary of State, had called upon him to say, that President Washington had resolved to nominate me to the Senate as Minister Resident to the Netherlands. From that hour, with two intervals each of about one year, I have been devoted to the

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public service. I have gone through a succession of public trusts, to the greater part of which I have been appointed when distant thousands of miles from the place where the appointment was made. I say it not for vain boasting, but as fact and example —which it is my earnest desire that all my children should follow. I have never sought public trust. But public trust has always sought me. And when invested with it, I have given my whole soul to the fulfillment of its duties.

"You may perhaps inquire what it was that recommended me to the notice of President Washington at so early a period of my life. It was the three numbers of MARCELLUS, published in the Boston Centinel in April, 1793, and the five numbers of COLUMBUS in the same paper, in the winter of 1793 and 1794. They involved the discussion of interesting questions resorting from the Laws of Nations, and which at that moment were of high importance to the system of our public policy. My education and the previous course of my life had naturally turned my attention intensely to the Laws of Nations; and there were few persons in the country, certainly none of my age so conversant with them, and with the controversies arising from them as I had been. My Essays were, no doubt, the more satisfactory to President Washington, because they were devoted to the support of his administration, and rather stemmed than followed the prevailing current of popular opinion."

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From 1794, when Mr. Adams received, from President Washington, the unsolicited appointment of Minister to the Hague, he continued in Europe on public business, in various countries, till 1801, being then recalled by his father, just before the administration of the elder Adams closed. When President Washington was about to retire from office, he appointed Mr. Adams Minister to Portugal; but on his way to Lisbon, he received intelligence that his destination was altered, and was instructed to repair to Berlin. There he continued to reside from November 1797 to April 1801; and while in that country, negotiated an important Treaty of Commerce with the government of Prussia. He also wrote his Letters upon Silesia,* the fruit of a tour in that Province in the latter part of the year 1800. These Letters were first made public in the Port Folio, a periodical magazine published in Philadelphia, and were subsequently collected in a volume.

It was during this period of Mr. Adams’s career, in 1797, that George Washington pronounced him to be "THE MOST VALUABLE PUBLIC CHARACTER WE HAVE ABROAD, AND THE ABLEST OF ALL OUR DIPLOMATIC CORPS."

*The original publication was without the consent or knowledge of the author, which accounts for the free remarks they contain upon certain persons; a freedom which called forth severe censure from a leading English Review. They were, however, highly enough considered to be printed in England, where they were republished, and commended as giving "a faithful picture of the interesting Province of Silesia, by the hand of a gentleman, a scholar, and a statesman." They were also translated into French and German.

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Mr. Adams, soon after his return to this country, in 1801, became a member of the Massachusetts Senate, and in 1803, from the 4th of March, took his seat in the Senate of the United States. This place in the National Councils he held, till he "became," to use his own words, "obnoxious to the Legislature of his native State, from the support which he gave to parts of Mr. Jefferson’s administration;" and in consequence, he resigned his seat in the Senate in March, 1808. From 1806 to 1809, he was Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory in Harvard College. He was the first to fill the chair of that important Professorship, and in the performance of the duties assigned to him in that office, delivered lectures which were much and generally admired, and which were afterwards published in two volumes.

In the summer of 1809, Mr. Adams was nominated a second time by President Madison, and confirmed as Minister to Russia, his first nomination to that embassy having been defeated in the Senate, and was abroad this time eight years. In Russia he was residing during Napoleon’s expedition into that country, and witnessed the enthusiasm of that people in opposition to the ambitious invader. On one occasion particularly he was present, during that excited period, when thirty thousand Russian peasants marched out in a body, after a most affecting leave-taking with their friends and relatives, to that contest from

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which only about two thousand of their number ever returned.

In 1811, Mr. Adams was selected by Mr. Madison to fill a vacancy on the bench of the Supreme Court of the United States, occasioned by the death of Judge Cushing; but this appointment he saw reason to decline.

His diplomatic services, while at the Court of St. Petersburg, were of the highest value to his country. The friendship of such a stable and powerful government as that of Russia, which his influence did very much to secure, and which has continued uninterrupted to the present time, has been greatly beneficial to the United States. One of the signal results of that friendship was the Emperor Alexander’s offer of mediation, which availed so effectually towards terminating the war of 1812, and restoring peace between England and this country.

Mr. Adams was in Paris when the allied armies entered that capital in 1815. He had been placed at the head of the Commissioners who negotiated at Ghent, in 1814, the Treaty of Peace, which put an end to the second war between Great Britain and the United States; and soon after that important transaction, he repaired to London, where he received from President Madison his commission as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James. In this high station, which, by a remarkable coincidence, his father

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had occupied under similar circumstances before him, he remained till 1817, when he was called home, to fill the first place in the Cabinet of President Munroe. He discharged the duties of Secretary of State during the eight successive years of Mr. Munroe’s administration with acknowledged ability, laborious fidelity, and eminent success. Under his able and wise management of the foreign affairs of the country, the claims on Spain were settled, the national territory was enlarged by the acquisition of Florida, and the independence of the South American republics was recognized.

Before his own accession to the Presidency, therefore, there had been confided to Mr. Adams a succession of the most honorable and responsible public trusts, by every administration, with one exception, from the period of the organization of the general government; and during the greater part of the administration of Mr. Jefferson, from whom he received no appointment, he was a Senator in Congress from his native State. With the splendid qualifications that resulted from such a preparatory discipline, with the mature and comprehensive wisdom gathered on such a wide field of observation, study and action, with a patriotism and integrity which, amidst the temptations of official life, must have often been solicited, but had never been seduced, he was, in 1825, elevated to the head of the nation.

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In what manner he filled that exalted office, impartial history, to which he ever confidently appealed, will record. That he had most determined opposition to encounter is certain. That that opposition succeeded in his overthrow is also certain. That his mind, which valued highly "the praise of the wise and good," was bitterly sensible to the injustice he had experienced, his own words will help us to conceive. In a letter, written not long after he left the Presidency, he says:

"One of the most pathetic and terrible passages in that masterpiece of Shakspeare and of the Drama, is that exclamation of the dying Hamlet,—

"0 God Horatio, what a wounded name,

I cannot describe to you the thrill with which I first read those lines, generalizing the thought as one of the melancholy conditions of human life and death; nor say to you how often, in the course of my long career, I have applied those lines to myself. My name, conduct, and character have been many years open to the constant inspection of a large portion of the civilized world. Of that portion whose notice they have attracted, I am deeply conscious that the estimate they have formed of me has been and is neither just nor kind."

But it is equally certain, that, between the time when the words just quoted were penned, and his death,

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he lived long enough to have his name vindicated. He continued on the stage of action till he could put his ear to the confessional of posterity, and hear much that must have gratified a mind conscious of high aims and patriotic endeavors.

Having served his term of four years as President, and failing of being reelected, Mr. Adams retired for a season from public life. But his retirement was of brief duration; for in 1831 he once more put on the harness, appeared before the country and the world in a new field of action, and commenced, what, on many accounts, may well be regarded as the most remarkable period of his whole career. He served ten successive years as Representative in. Congress from the Twelfth Congressional District of Massachusetts, until, in 1841, upon a new distribution of political power,. he was chosen to represent the Eighth District of his native Commonwealth. In that capacity he was serving, when "death found him," to use the words of one * of his eulogists in the national senate, "at the post of duty ; — and where else could it have found him, at any stage of its career, for the fifty years of his illustrious public life?"

On Monday, February 21st, in this year of Christ 1848, while in his seat and attending as usual to his

* Hon. Mr. Benton, of Missouri.

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duties in the House, to which he belonged, he was seized suddenly with paralysis, which left him only the consciousness that it was for him "THE LAST OF EARTH." He remained in an insensible state till Wednesday, February 23d, at seven o’clock, afternoon, when, in the eighty-first year of his age, the spirit which had so long animated his mortal frame passed away.

"He gave his honors to the world again,

"His blessed part to heaven, and slept in peace." —

"And to add greater honors to his age,

"Than man could give him, he died, fearing God."

Mr. Adams must be pronounced happy in the circumstances of his death, as his course through life had been marked and glorious. No excesses of a profligate youth, no vices of middle life had shattered and hurried to a premature dissolution the body in which such an incorruptible spirit resided. Nothing in his habits of life interfered with Nature, to whose gentle influences it was left to destroy gradually, and to restore, in a good old age, to its parent dust, the perishable part of our friend. The law of mortality, which knows no exception among the passing generations of our race, was executed in his case with as much tenderness and reserve, so to speak, as is ever permitted by Providence. The Angel of death came to him, a year before his departure, with a summons, which seemed to anxious friends to be peremptory and final. But we can imagine an expression

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of reluctance in the angel’s face, as she turned away and kindly said, NOT YET. And there is reason to believe, that the year which was thus spared to the venerable Patriot has been a happy one. It was, in fact, the Indian summer of his life.

He was not left to be an object of compassion to friends and admirers. No painful contrasts forced them to revert in memory to better days. But with a mind unimpaired; with an interest in life unabated; with a cheerful relish of the same simple pleasures that he had ever enjoyed; with a self-command which protracted sickness had not destroyed; with a heart still warm and open to the impressions of nature and the universe; with an eye that still ranged with delight through the starry spaces, or watched the intricate and intervolved orbits of men’s passions and opinions on the nearer theatre of political, social, and religious life upon the earth; on the chosen field of his labors; in the place where his best services to his country had been rendered, and his noblest triumphs had been won; ministered to by the representatives of the nation, from North, South, East, and West, he passed to his rest. The Angel of death, when she came again to execute her office, left him only the consciousness that it was "the last of earth;" then drew a veil of oblivion over his faculties, and sat beside his couch two days, before the cord that bound him to this world was severed.

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An English poet makes the first man ask of the angel, who is supposed to foreshow the future condition and destiny of his race, with regard to death;

Adam. "Is there no smooth descent? no painless way Of kindly mixing with our native clay?"

Raphael. "There is—but rarely shall that path be trod,

I shall not presume, on this occasion, to judge of the character of Mr. Adams, or to settle his claims as a scholar, a statesman, or a philosopher. I leave that task to others more competent for the office. The same principle which governs in criminal trials should also be adopted in judging of merit, absolute or relative, in any of the great departments of theoretical or practical life. Let a man be tried by his peers. To his peers, if they can be found, I leave the departed. The remainder of the discourse shall be devoted to the humbler work of pointing out certain obvious

[ 32 ]

features in his life, and in drawing from that life some of the christian lessons which it is so well adapted to inculcate and enforce.

And I think no one will dissent from the statement that the life which has recently been closed was an eminently useful life. Mr. Adams has not lived for himself. His great powers; his affluent resources; his abundant learning; his memory, which held with a tenacious grasp whatever had once passed into the treasury of his mind; his commanding influence beyond, probably, what any individual among his contemporary countrymen has ever exercised over public opinion; his dreaded controversial skill, which, like the mill-stone in Scripture, was fatal alike to those on whom it fell, and to those who fell upon it; the numerous offices which he has filled, from the time when, as a lad, he went to St. Petersburg as private Secretary to the Minister to that Court, through more than fifty years of public service abroad and at home, down to the very moment of his death ; — all these gifts, native and acquired, have been used by him to promote the welfare of his country and of mankind. He has been, what the Scripture declares the good magistrate to be, "a minister of God for good" to his native land. [ Italics added for emphasis, Willison ed. ] In peace and in war; in foreign courts contending against the insolence of power, and threading the labyrinth of political intrigue; in forming treaties upon which the fortunes and lives of thousands depended;

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in adjusting territorial boundaries, and negotiating for an extension of our national domain; in guiding the ship of state, often amidst shoals and rocks and with a crew half disposed to mutiny; in maturing and carrying into execution, so far as he was allowed to do it, a wise prospective national policy; in efforts to promote the cause of education, of science, of freedom, of morals, of religion ; — he has lived for others; he has laid upon the altar of his country and his God his exalted talents. And this trait in his character is to be in a great measure traced to the counsels of that admirable mother, that more than Roman, that Christian matron, who stamped upon his impressible mind the image of her own virtues, and who charged him, from a child, to consecrate his faculties to his country and to his Creator.

And it adds to our estimate of his usefulness, that he united, which is rarely done, a life of contemplation and a life of action. He studied principles in the abstract, as they are collected, systematized and explained in books; and he was also perfectly familiar with the world’s business. He was profound in the one, and skilful, sagacious, methodical in the other. He had investigated that ideal truth, which philosophers in every age have sought for in their reasonings or in their dreams; and he was acquainted too with truth, as it presents itself to the practical man, who is called to do a portion of the work of life, not in

[ 34 ]

the best way he can imagine it might and should be done, but in the only way it can be done amidst the passions of society.

In this particular Mr. Adams illustrated, in his own character, the remark of Lord Bacon, that "knowledge is never so dignified and exalted, as when contemplation and action are nearly and strongly conjoined together." The man of mere learning, who employs his days and nights in amassing the ideas of others, may overload his own intellect, and bring nothing to pass. His habit of abstract study, of generalization, removes him out of the real world, makes him a companion of shadows, blinds him to the actual exigencies of life, and unfits him for a useful, energetic, and successful exercise and application of his powers. Mr. Adams was not encumbered by any such useless idealism, although a remarkably learned man. He had been educated not in the closet alone, but among men, and in the midst of affairs. He went into the world with book in hand, and was thus able to correct his speculations by observation and experience. To borrow the words of one * who offered, on the floor of Congress, a most eloquent tribute to his memory, "his was not the dreamy life of the schools; but he leaped into the arena of activity, to run a career of glorious emulation with the gifted spirits of the earth."

* Hon. Mr. Holmes, of South Carolina.

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But if it is true that Mr. Adams was not a mere man of learning, it is equally true and worthy of notice, that he was not a mere man of action and official routine. He did not reduce life to a mechanical performance of a certain amount of hand-work. It is a part of his glory that he carried principles and especially moral principles into public life. He did not adopt the mischievous maxim, that "in politics, all is fair." He did not allow himself to do whatever popular sentiment, often quite lax in regard to men’s public conduct, will permit or wink at. His morality was not the morality of expediency. He was not content with institutions and usages merely because they were established, He would bring them all to the standard of Christian right, of justice, of absolute truth, of God’s law. To him belongs the high distinction of a Christian statesman. [ Italics added for emphasis, Willison ed. ]

Who, it may safely be demanded, among the public men of our country and times, so worthy to be held up as a model before the youth of the land? Shall we go back to buried ages and to Pagan history, in search of an ideal model of the true statesman, when we have had among us one, upon whom death has but just laid his icy hand, greater, purer, better than pagan antiquity can boast? Mr. Adams’s character is no exotic; it is the genuine growth and product of the North American soil, composed of elements indigenous to that soil, blending in one harmonious and glorious whole those virtues which can alone give strength,

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permanence, grace to the Republic. Let young America be fashioned and moulded by this noble pattern. Let the fresh generation that is coming on to serve their country, to occupy her high posts of honor, to go on her errands to other lands, or to execute her laws at home, study his character, emulate his pure fame, adopt his principles, drink in, from his fulness, the spirit of truth, liberty and virtue, which was the breath of his life. Then will the Republic be safe. Then shall our country fulfil the high and glorious destiny to which an almighty Providence invites her.

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life; his sense of the efficacy of prayer; his exalted idea of the person, mission, and offices of the Savior; his conviction of the need of spiritual influences ; —all bear testimony to the religious character of his mind. [ Italics added for emphasis, Willison ed. ]

I hope I do not offend the dead when I say, that my own mind has never been more solemnly impressed than when, on a visit to him to inquire for the health of one of his family, he requested me, to go with him to his private room, and unite in prayer. The memory of that scene, as we bowed together in supplication, in behalf of the child then dying under his roof, will, I am sure, never be effaced from my mind, but will perpetuate the conviction, which was then, if not created, strengthened, of the simple, genuine piety of the man.

In 1826, while he was President of the United States, Mr. Adams united himself to this Church, to which his ancestors, from the first settlement of the country, had, in their day and generation, belonged; and to his death, he was a true friend of this religious society, and a consistent, exemplary member of our Christian communion. Eighty-one years have elapsed since he was brought, an unconscious infant, to the font of this ancient church, to be baptized by a pastor of former days. Once again we see him brought hither, but alas! more unconscious still, before he shall be gathered to his fathers. He passed within

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the veil. His spirit has returned to God who gave it. To use his own beautiful words, when speaking of himself in connection with a venerable contemporary* still among the living, "Like birds of passage, he has winged his flight to a more genial clime."

We shall miss him, we know not yet how much. But his memory remains with us, — that we will cherish. I-us noble and useful life remains,— that we will study. His Christian example survives, —that we will endeavor to imitate.

I cannot bring to a close the remarks suggested by this occasion, without claiming the privilege, and performing the duty, of which this seems to be the fitting time, if only the organ of its performance were fit also, of addressing a few words to the large Committee, who have been charged, by the Chamber to which the venerated dead belonged, to accompany his remains to the place of interment.

GENTLEMEN, REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NATION, your mission has been a mournful, and yet a glorious one. And I venture to say that in no stage of your progress to this place, where, at the grave of Adams, your mission closes, have you met with aught but the most accordant sympathy. You bring us our friend, not as we could have wished he should return to the scenes so familiar and dear to his heart. But

* Hon. Albert Gallatin.

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the all-wise Providence of Heaven has ordained it to be thus; and we will not murmur against God. The Savior’s words to his chief apostle were, "When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest; but when thou shalt be old, another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not." These sadly prophetic, words of the Blessed One, although originally intended to "signify what manner of death his apostle should die," and therefore not, in that primary sense, applicable to him who lies insensible before us, are yet, when used in a general sense, strikingly descriptive of the contrast between strong and self-sustained youth,. and the utter helplessness to which the strongest are sure to be reduced at last.

There is a sacredness attached, Gentlemen, by the imagination, to your errand. You come, like Joseph and his brethren, the twelve tribes of Israel, to bury one of the Fathers of the land in the grave which he had prepared for himself, among his own people, in this north country. We receive, with profound sensibility, these sacred relics from your hands. We thank you for your labor of love. In the name, first and foremost, of the little band of Christian brothers and sisters to whom this departed servant of the Republic was united in full Church Communion, according to the usages of our Congregational Churches; in the name of the religious Society of which our

[ 40 ]

friend was a member, and with whom he as constantly and punctually worshiped, in the seat now vacant, as you know his attendance to have been punctual and constant in the house to which you belong; in the name of the inhabitants of this town, the place of his nativity; of his immediate constituents, many of whom are around you; of the citizens of his own State of Massachusetts, represented, on this occasion, not only by the Executive and Legislative branches of her government, but by this vast throng of her people ; — I presume to speak, and beg you to accept, through even so humble an instrument, the gratitude which all hearts feel, for the love and respect which you have manifested for one so dear and venerable, to us all. From each State and Territory of our glorious Union, you have gathered here on this occasion, as if to fulfil, to the letter, the language of one* with whom you are associated in public duties. "It is not for Massachusetts to mourn alone. Her sister commonwealths gather to her side in this hour of her affliction, and, intertwining their arms with hers, they bend together over the bier of her illustrious son."

*Hon. Mr. McDowell, of Virginia.

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Church, first saw the light. In the neighboring grave-yard, where you are soon to leave your precious charge, may be seen the tomb and monument of Josiah Quincy, Jr., who lived only long enough to witness the breaking dawn of our nation’s day. In the pews where you sit, you see, in the book used by us in our Christian devotions, hymns composed by our departed fellow-christian. He who had occupied the throne of the people was, like the Hebrew monarch, also a Psalmist in our Israel. About a mile distant, to the south, from the place where we are assembled, may be seen two simple and modest buildings, standing in near vicinity, side by side, in one of which John Adams and in the other John Quincy Adams, two Presidents of the United States, were born. As you entered this Temple, you passed over the sleeping dust of the parents of him whom you have come to lay by their side. To the east, at a little distance, is the ridge, familiarly called Mount Wollaston, from the shore beyond which the elder Adams, then in the maturity of life, with his son, a lad of eleven years, embarked on his first mission, to solicit foreign aid in establishing the independence of our country. [ Italics added for emphasis, Willison ed. ]

Seventy years have elapsed since that point of time. But what miracles of beneficent and glorious, social and political change have been wrought in that interval! When the friend, whom we are assembled

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to bury, embarked with his father from Mount Wollaston, what was his country? Had he a country? The inscription on this coffin-lid, so simple, so comprehensive, answers the questions. He was "born an inhabitant of Massachusetts." How is it now? "He died a citizen of the United States." What a creation has been effected in that interval of seventy years! What an empire has the departed Patriot witnessed, springing into life, and "rejoicing like a strong man to run a race!"

When the career of the illustrious dead commenced, what interest, I pray you, had the inhabitants of this region in your mighty Mississippi, which now rolls its majestic tide between States? It belonged then to the countrymen of de Soto and Cortes. The beautiful Ohio was but the pathway for Canadian boatmen on their passage to the Gulf. No Anglo-Saxon settlement had as yet been made on the banks of the Ouisconsin. The florid regions of our extreme South were almost as unknown and romantic a territory, as when Juan Ponce de Leon sought there for the fountain that was to restore to his veteran limbs the freshness and vigor of youth. The vast prairies of the West, where towns and cities may now be seen, were then but wildernesses of verdure, the parks of Nature where the red nobles of the land hunted their game. The shores of the Pacific, which we have recently been surveying with our

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battle-ships and war-parties, and where we are now busy drawing the line of our Western frontier, were almost as much a terra incognita to the American colonists as the whole Western Continent was to Columbus before his discovery. Only thirteen colonies, scattered along this Atlantic coast, comprised the territory possessed by Englishmen. What a marvellous change to have been effected in the course of a single life! When we attempt to conceive of what we know to have been accomplished, it seems as if the Muse of history had resigned her office to the Muse of poetry. Seventy years ago, the youth departs from these shores in the cause of a country which had yet hardly a name to live among the nations of the earth. And to-day you come hither, the representatives of twenty-nine Commonwealths, belonging to an Empire Union, to convey the remains of that boy without a country to his tomb in the midst of twenty millions of freemen. Where in history can you find so glorious a destiny assigned to a single life? Where in the range of fiction a more splendid series of marvels, brought within the experience of imaginary heroes?

You will not fail, Gentlemen, to carry with you to your distant homes, the lessons which this occasion, with its associated thoughts, however poorly expressed by me, must teach. Will you allow me, in parting, to say, that the chief lesson is a religious one,—

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"Be thou faithful unto death; and I will give thee a crown of life."

The duties of this occasion are nearly completed. When one more hymn shall have been chanted, let us rise up, and take these remains of the patriarch, and bury him with his fathers. There may he rest in peace till the resurrection at the last day.

 APPENDIX.

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PROCEEDINGS OF A MEETING IN QUINCY.

At a meeting of the citizens of the town of Quincy, holden February 28, 1848, for the purpose of

adopting such measures as might be deemed proper to testify their respect to the memory of their

late distinguished townsman, the Honorable John Quincy Adams ;— The meeting was

organized by the choice of Hon. Thomas Greenleaf as Chairman, and Israel W. Munroe as

Secretary. A Committee was chosen, consisting of Hon. Thomas Greenleaf, Noah Curtis Esq.,

and the Selectmen, viz.: Daniel Baxter, B. B. Newcomb and Seth Spear, to prepare Resolves

for the consideration of the meeting; who, subsequently, reported the following resolutions,

which were unanimously adopted:

Whereas, it has pleased Divine Providence to remove from this life the Hon. John Quincy Adams, while engaged in the discharge of his duties, as a Representative in the Congress of the United States, from the Eighth Congressional District of Massachusetts, —Therefore, Resolved, That the inhabitants of the town of Quincy, in common with the whole country, mourn the loss of one of the ablest, wisest and most virtuous statesmen of modern

[46 ]

times ; — a Patriot, who has stood by his country in peace and in war, and who has guarded her interests at home and abroad; a scholar of the most varied attainments; an orator of surpassing eloquence; a friend and advocate of truth, freedom and justice; a man of unbending integrity in public and private life; and above all, a Christian, who, in the greatest press of official cares, never forgot or omitted his duties to God. [ Italics added for emphasis, Willison ed. ]

Resolved, That in reviewing Mr. Adams’s long career, we are specially impressed by the eminent usefulness of his life, and by the vast amount of service which he has rendered to his country and to the world; and that we regard this as a better title to a " perpetual memory," than the numerous offices which he so ably filled, or the honors so freely bestowed upon him by his admiring countrymen.

Resolved, That while, as Americans, we unite with all portions of the country in honoring the memory of one who consecrated his great powers to the service of the whole country, we esteem it a privilege to have been allowed, as his constituents, his fellow-townsmen and his neighbors, to stand in close relations to him; and that we take a just pride, as inhabitants of his native place, in having it said, in the language of the Scriptures, "that this man was born there."

Resolved, That since it is not permitted us to welcome back the living patriot to scenes familiar and dear to him, therefore a committee of twenty be appointed, whose duty it shall be, in behalf of the inhabitants of this town, to receive, whenever they shall arrive here, the remains of our venerated fellow-townsman, and to make all suitable arrangements, in deference to the wishes of the bereaved family, for their interment.

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be immediately transmitted to the family of the deceased Ex-President Adams, with assurances of the most respectful sympathy for the loss they have sustained.

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The following gentlemen compose the Committee appointed to make all suitable arrangements for attending the funeral, viz.:

Thomas Greenleaf, Noah Curtis, Josiah Brigham, George W. Beale, James Newcomb, Samuel A. Davis, William S. Morton, Lemuel Brackett, George Baxter, John Savil, Henry Wood, Lysander Richards, William B. Duggan, Lewis Bass, John T. Burrill, Daniel Baxter, Bryant B. Newcomb, Seth Spear, Orange Clark, Josiah Bass.

Voted, That the proceedings of this meeting be entered in the Town Records; and also published in the newspapers.

FUNERAL CEREMONIES.

ON Saturday, March 11th, the remains of Ex-President ADAMS were taken, in the forenoon, from Faneuil Hall, and conveyed to the Depot, in Boston, of the Old Colony Railroad.

The Mayor of the city of Boston, Hon. Josiah Quincy, Jr., then formally consigned the body to the care of the Committee of Arrangements of the town of Quincy, who were waiting to receive it. On the arrival of the train that conveyed the body at the Depot in Quincy, a national salute was fired from President’s Hill, so called from its having belonged to two Presidents of the United States. The body was carried from the Depot to the venerable mansion of Mr. Adams, where it remained until the procession to the church was formed in the following order:

DIVISION I.

Military Escort.

Aids.{ Chief Marshal, John L. Dimmock.} Aids.

Citizens of Quincy.

Marshal.{ Officiating Clergyman.} Marshal

48

Committee of Arrangements.

Marshals.{ Pall Bearers. CORPSE. Pall Bearers.} Marshals.

Family and Relatives.

Marshals. {Congressional Committee of the House I} Marshals.

of Representatives.

DIVISION II.

Sheriff of the County of Norfolk. )

Marshal.{ Lt. Governor and Executive Council. } Marshal.

Governor and Suite.

Secretary of State and Treasurer.

President of the Senate and Speaker

Marshals {of the House of Representatives.} Marshals.

Members of the Senate.

Members of the House of Representatives.

Members and past Members of Congress.

Judges and other Officers of the United Marshals.

States and State Courts.

President and other Officers of Harvard

University.

Marshal. {Municipal Officers of Quincy. }Marshal.

Marshals.{ Members of the Clergy of Quincy and vicinity. }Marshals.

.

Officers of the Army and Navy, and

Marshals. {United States Civil Officers.} Marshals.

Officers of the Massachusetts Militia.

Corporation of the City of Boston.

Eighth Congressional District.

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Societies of which the deceased was a Member.

Marshals {Strangers and citizens generally. } Marshals.

The Committee, charged by Congress to accompany the remains of their late associate to the

place of interment, and who were present in Quincy on the day of the funeral, were as follows:

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Hon. Mr. Bingham, of Michigan.

Mr. CabeIl, Florida.

Mr. Kaufman, Texas.

Mr. Thompson, Iowa.

I. VOLUNTARY ON THE ORGAN.

II. Hymn. J. SHIRLEY, altered. [From Christian Psalter.]

1. The glories of our birth and state

Are shadows, not substantial things;

There is no armor against fate;

Death lays his icy hands on kings.

2. Princes and magistrates must fall,

And in the dust be equal made,

The high and mighty with the small,

Sceptre and crown with scythe and spade.

3. The garlands wither on your brow;

Then boast no more your mighty deeds:

Upon death’s purple altar now

See where the victor victim bleeds!

4. All heads must come to the cold tomb:

Only the actions of the just

Preserve in death a rich perfume,

Smell sweet and blossom in the dust.

 

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III. SELECTIONS FROM THE SCRIPTURES.

 

 

IV. PRAYER.

Almighty God, and most merciful Father—we rejoice that in Thee we have a sure refuge in every time of trouble and sorrow. And that we can look through the clouds that surround us in this vale of tears, and from the shadow of death even, and behold thy face smiling upon us as with Parental Love. Thou doest thy whole pleasure in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay thy hand, or say unto thee, what doest Thou, We would not stay Thy hand, 0 God, if we could; for we know that it is ever lifted and outstretched for our good. Nor would we question the rectitude and mercifulness of Thy appointments; for we are assured that all that takes place is ordered for our good.

We desire to be sensible, on this solemn occasion, how vain a thing our life on the earth is. Surely man that is born of a woman is of a few days and full of trouble. He cometh forth as a flower and is cut down; he fleeth also as a shadow. and continueth not. Thou takest away one in the morning of life, when his leaf is green, and his promise in great. Thou removest another in the midst of his days and usefulness. And thou sparest another still to a good oldl age so that he cometh unto his grave, like a shock of corn fully ripe and in his season. And seeing we are surrounded by these evidences of our frailty and mortality, wherein O God, is our hope? Our hope is in Thee, who changest not. One generation of our feeble race passeth away, and another generation cometh. But Thou art the same from everlasting to everlasting. We rejoice and thank Thee, merciful God, that in the Gospel of Jesus Christ we have a sure ground of confidence and hope. We thank Thee that thou hast sent on earth the Son of Thy love.

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to unfold unto us the principles of the Divine law; to bear in his own person our infirmities and sorrows; to teach us how to live and how to die; and to open to us, by his death and resurrection, the door of an everlasting life beyond the grave. We know and are assured by him, that although this earthly house in which we now dwell, may decay and perish in the dust, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. We would comfort one another’s hearts, on this occasion, with these precious hopes and promises.

We acknowledge, heavenly Father, the dispensation of thy Providence, which has called us together at this time. It hath pleased thee, O God, with whom are the issues of life and death, to remove from life one who has long stood in the high places of the land, a counsellor and leader unto this people. Thou hast changed his countenance. His body, which was perishable, is now about to be committed to the ground; and his immortal spirit has already returned unto God who gave it. We trust that he has been accepted through the mercy of that Gospel upon which he relied; and that his disembodied spirit has already heard the approving sentence, — well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of thy Lord. We thank God, that thy messenger of death found him, and that the last of earth of which he was conscious was spent, in the midst of the discharge of his duties.

Almighty God, from whom cometh all consolation, we supplicate thy blessing upon those whose hearts have been most nearly touched and affected by this Providence; upon her, from whom Thou hast removed her chosen companion through the trials of many years; upon those who looked up to thy departed servant with filial tenderness and veneration; and upon all who were connected with him by the ties of kindred and affection. Will the Lord be gracious unto them? Will the Lord lift upon them the light of his countenance, and give

 

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them that peace which the world cannot give, and which the world cannot take away?

Almighty Father, whose gracious design it is that all events shall be improved by thy children for their instruction, we beseech thee to sanctify this Providence to this ancient Church of Christ, with which thy departed servant was so long connected in the bonds of Christian fellowship; to the religious Society with whom he so many years worshiped the God of his fathers; to his neighbors and friends the inhabitants of this town, the place of his nativity; to his constituents, whose interests he so faithfully served; to the State which rejoiced to number him among her sons; and to the associated Commonwealths, represented on this occasion, which acknowledged and honored him as a leader of this whole people, in the days that are gone. And grant, that the lessons of truth, of integrity, of patriotism, of Christian fidelity, which were taught in his life and in his death, may be deeply impressed upon all hearts. [Italics added for emphasis, Willison ed.]

Almighty Father, who dost employ, in thy Providence, fit agents, to execute the work which it is thy pleasure should be done in the world, — raise up, we beseech thee, and send forth those who shall fill the places of the great and good who Are passing from the midst of us, and grant that they may prosper in the work whereunto they are sent.

We commend to thee, Almighty God, our beloved country. Rule in the hearts of our rulers. Give unto them that wisdom which is profitable to direct, and inspire them with that fear of thee which casteth out all other fear.

We beseech thee, O God, to pardon our sins, and to accept us in our devotions, for the sake of thy ‘nfinite mercy in Christ.

And now that we are about to commit these remains to the ground, dust to dust, and ashes to ashes, we desire to do it, with a firm faith in the resurrection of the dead by Jesus Christ, and in the confident assurance that neither death nor

 

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life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. In his name we come unto Thee, and through him, offer unto Thee everlasting praises. AMEN.

V. HYMN. JOHN Q. ADAMS. [From Christian Psalter.]

1. Lord of all worlds, let thanks and praise

to thee forever fill my soul

With blessings thou hast crowned my days, —

My heart, my head, my hand control:

O, let no vain presumption rise,

No impious murmur in my heart,

To crave the boon thy will denies,

Or shrink from ill thy hands impart.

2. Thy child am I, and not an hour,

Revolving in the orbs above,

But brings some token of thy power,

But brings some token of thy love

And shall this bosom dare repine,

In darkness dare deny the dawn,

Or spurn the treasures of the mine,

Because one diamond is withdrawn?

 

 

3. The fool denies, the fool alone,

Thy being, Lord, and boundless might,

Denies the firmament, thy throne,

Denies the sun’s meridian light,

Denies the fashion of his frame,

The voice he hears, the breath he draws,

0 idiot atheist ! to proclaim

Effects unnumbered without cause !

 

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4. Matter and mind, mysterious one,

Are man’s for threescore years and ten;

Where, ere the thread of life was spun?

Where, when reduced to dust again?

All-seeing God, the doubt suppress;

The doubt thou only canst relieve

My soul thy Savior-Son shall bless,

Fly to thy gospel, and believe.

 

 

VI. Discourse.

VII. FUNERAL ANTHEM.

Vital spark of heavenly flame.

Immediately after the services in the church were concluded, the procession was re-formed, and proceeded to the burying ground, where the body was laid in the family tomb.

-4-

MONUMENTS IN HONOR OF MR. ADAMS’S ANCESTORS. (pg. 15.)

In the burying ground in Quincy are four Monuments, erected by President John Adams in honor of his ancestors. They are solid, simple structures of granite, bearing the following inscriptions:

I.

IN MEMORY OF

HENRY ADAMS,

Who took his flight from the Dragon persecution in Devonshire, in England, and alighted with eight Sons, near Mount Wollaston. One of the sons returned to England; and after taking time to explore the Country, four removed to MedIIeld and the neighboring towns; two to Chelmsford. One only, Joseph, who lies here at his left hand, remained here, who was an original proprietor in the Township of Braintree, incorporated in the year 1639.

This stone and several others have been placed in this yard, by a great-great grandson, from a veneration of the piety, humility, simplicity, prudence, patience, temperance, frugality, industry and perseverance of his ancestors, in hopes of recommending

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II.

Dedicated

to the memory of

JOSEPH ADAMS SENIOR, who died December 6, 1694, and of ABIGAIL, his wife,

whose first name was Baxter, who died August 27, 1692, by a great-grandson, in 1817.

 

 

 

III.

In memory of

JOSEPH ADAMS, son of

Joseph Senior and grandson of

Henry; and of HANNAH his wife whose maiden name was

Bass, a daughter of

Thomas Bass and Ruth Alden; parents of John Adams,

and grand parents

of the lawyer

JOHN ADAMS.

Erected December₁ 1823.

 

 

 

iv.

Sacred

to the memory of

MR. JOHN ADAMS,

who died

May 25, A. D. 1761,

aged 70,

and

of SUSANNA his Consort,

born Boylston,

who died April 17, A D. 1797, aged 88.

The sweet remembrance of the just

Shall flourish when they sleep in dust.

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MR. ADAMS’S ADMINISTRATION. (p. 27.)

In a letter to a friend, under date of February 2, 1837, Mr. Adams, alluding to the time when he

held the office of President of the United States, says:

The great effort of my administration was to mature into a permanent and regular system the application of all the superfluous revenue of the Union to internal improvement —improvement which, at this day, would have afforded high wages and constant employment to hundreds of thousands of laborers, and in which every dollar expended would have repaid itself fourfold in the enhanced value of the public lands. With this system, in ten years from this day, the surface of the whole Union would have been checkered over with railroads and canals. It may still be done, half a century later, and with the limping gait of State legislation and private adventure. I would have done it in the administration of the affairs of the nation. I had laid the foundation of it all by a resolution offered to the Senate of the United States, in 1806, and adopted by that body under another’s name, (the journals of the senate are my vouchers.) It called forth the first report of Albert Gallatin, then Secretary of the Treasury, upon internal improvement."

TRAIT IN MR. ADAMS’S CHARACTER. (p. 33.)

One remarkable quality in Mr. Adams, to which reference has been made in the discourse, was the simplicity of his character. This was apparent in his personal appearance, his manners, his mode of intercourse with his fellow-men, his habits of life, as well as in his public and official conduct. He was entirely accessible to any who sought his society, even the humblest. He exacted nothing on account of the stations he had filled. He gave those, who differed from him in conversation or public

 

[ 58 ]

debate, a fair chance to make the best of their opinions. At St. Petersburg and at London, instead of attempting a style of living in imitation of that which prevailed among the representatives of aristocratic governments, he was content to appear as he was, the representative of a plain republic. Of mere official consequence he seemed to think nothing. He did not find in the stations he had filled a reason for declining any services that his fellow-citizens or fellow-christians might call him to perform. An instance of this is seen in his willingness to act as representative of a small fraction of the people, after having been the acknowledged and honored head and leader of the whole people ; a position which some persons among us thought he ought not to have allowed himself to be placed in. But he had his own ideas of what constitutes true dignity.

Some few years since, Mr. Adams was invited by the school committee of the town of Quincy, to accompany them in their round of visits to the several district schools in the town. He complied very readily; gave his attention, during a session of three hours in the forenoon and three in the afternoon of each day, to the lessons of the pupils; and entered into the humble work before him with as much interest, and addressed the schools with as much animation of manner, as he would have evinced in political discussions, or in managing the affairs of a nation. Lord Bacon has said that "He who cannot contract the sight of his mind as well as disperse and dilate it, wanteth a great faculty." This mark of true greatness was not wanting in Mr. Adams.

 

 

CHRISTIAN PSALTER. (p. 41.)

In 1841, when the author of this Discourse was preparing a new Collection of Psalms and Hymns for the use of the Religious

[ 59 ]

Society to which he ministers, Mr. Adams was kind enough to place in his hands, for such use as he might choose to make of it, an entire metrical version of the Psalms, together with a few other pieces of devotional poetry. From these compositions twenty-two pieces were selected, and are contained in the book published under the name of THE CHRISTIAN PSALTER.

 

 

REMAINS OF PRESIDENT JOHN ADAMS. (p. 41.)

The remains of President John Adams and of Abigail his wife, lie entombed under the portico of the Granite Church, in which the First Congregational Society in Quincy worship. In a letter addressed in 1820, by Mr. J. Q. Adams to Thomas Greenleaf and others, supervisors of the temple and school fund, given by John Adams to the town of Quincy, is this proposal: "I propose that when the Congregational Society in this town shall determine to commence the erection of the Temple, they should adopt a resolution authorizing you to conclude with me an agreement, whereby at my expense, a vault or tomb may be constructed, under the temple, wherein may be deposited the mortal remains of the late John Adams, and of Abigail, his beloved and only wife." In accordance with this request of Mr. Adams, there was conveyed to him by indenture, a "portion of the soil in the cellar, situated under the porch at the entrance of the said temple, and partitioned off by walls, being the central division of the said cellar under the porch, and containing fourteen feet in length and fourteen in breadth." By the same indenture liberty was granted to affix to any part of the walls of the temple, tablets with obituary inscriptions. Accordingly, on the east end of the edifice, at the side of the pulpit, a mural monument was erected, surmounted by a bust of John Adams, from the chisel of Greenough.

 

[ 60 ]

On the tablets, beneath the bust, are the following inscriptions:

LIBERTATEM, AMICITIAM, FIDEM RETINEBIS.

D. O. M.

Beneath these walls

are deposited the mortal remains of

JOHN ADAMS,

Son of John and Susanna (Boylston)

Adams;

Second President of the United States;

Born October, 1735;

On the Fourth of July, 1776,

He Pledged his Life, Fortune, and Sacred

Honor

To the Independence of his Country;

On the third of September, 1783,

He affixed his seal to the definitive Treaty

With Great Britain,

Which acknowledged that Independence,

And consummated the redemption of his

pledge.

On the Fourth of July, 1826,

He was summoned

To the Independence of Immortality,

And to the Judgment of his God.

This house will bear witness to his piety;

This town, his birth-place, to his

munificence;

History to his Patriotism;

Posterity to the depth and compass

of his mind.

 

 

 

At his side

Sleeps, till the Trumpet shall sound,

His beloved and only wife,

Daughter of Win, and Elizabeth (Quincy)

Smith

In every relation of life a pattern

Of Filial, Conjugal, Maternal and Social

virtue.

Born Nov. 22, 1744,

Deceased 28 Oct. 1818,

AEt. 74.

 

 

Married 25 Oct. 1764.

During an union of more than half a

century,

They survived, in harmony of sentiment,

principle, and affection,

The tempests of civil commotion

Meeting undaunted, and surmounting

The terrors and trials of that Revolution

Which, secured the Freedom of their

Country,

Improved the condition of their times;

And brightened the prospects of futurity

To the race of man upon Earth.

 

 

PILGRIM,

From lives thus spent thy earthly duties learn,

From Fancy’s dreams to active Virtue turn

Let Freedom, Friendship, Faith, thy soul engage,

And serve like them thy country and thy age.

 

 

94. AAA94 1848 Daniel Dana, Faith of Former Times.

THE FAITH OF FORMER TIMES.

 

A

  

SERMON,

 

BY DANIEL DANA, D.D.,

 

MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL IN NEWBURYPORT.

  

 

BOSTON:

PRESS OF CROCKER AND BREWSTER,

47 Washington-Street.

1848.

 

The text of this and other superb works are available on-line from:

The Willison Politics and Philosophy Resource Center

http://willisoncenter.com/

Reprint and digital file September 1, 2001.

Willison Editor's note: Daniel Dana, A.M.,( Yale, 1782 ) D.D. (Yale, 1788) carried the torch for solid Reformation theology when many turned away in New England during his lifetime. (See His 1810 Deity of Christ sermon posted here for one of the strongest defenses for Trinitarian Theology available. )

In this piercing sermon, Dr. Dana restates the character of the theology on which New England society thrived upon for the first two centuries. He then examines the corrupting influence of German intellectual developments that seek to turn doctrines of orthodoxy upside down, by way of open denial of the facts of Scripture, or by introducing new, and erroneous meaning to said doctrines, and that in direct conflict with centuries of established scholarship. He draws the necessary conclusions if this movement is successful in American seminaries, and we are now living in a violent society which was its product, just as Dr. Dana correctly projected. He leaves us with the only relief, and that is to return to the eternal truths of the Bible, applied by the Holy Spirit, as the only sure remedy for curing the present raging depravity of the human heart.

The following begins the original text:

[ 2-3 ]

PREFATORY REMARKS.

 

 

 

 

 

This discourse was first delivered, Aug. 1, 1847—the hundredth anniversary of the South Church in Ipswich, the author’s native place. It has been subsequently preached, with some omissions and variations, in several pulpits. By the advice and request of judicious friends, it is now submitted to the public.

The author will not be surprised if his free remarks shall subject him to animadversion. Should error be pointed out, he will willingly stand corrected. Should the formidable charge of obsolete philosophy, or of stereotyped theology be suggested, he will bear it with all patience; simply remarking, however, that he consciously adopts no philosophy, but that of the Bible, and common sense; no theology which disagrees with that of Owen, Flavel, Watts, Doddridge, and other writers long en4eared to the hearts of Christians.

He is aware that many of his ministerial and Christian brethren, who, in their candor, may believe him honest, may yet view him as prematurely and needlessly alarmed. But he must seriously remind them of what they know already; that the greatest errors which have ever wasted the Church, have entered it by a secret, silent, unannounced process. Evils such as these, if opposed only when full-blown, or when they have borne their noxious fruits, are opposed too late. They must, if possible, be crushed in the bud—in the earliest germ.

[ 4 ]

Without fear he puts the question, whether, in some modern modes of explaining human depravity, atonement, regeneration, etc., there are not found the seminal principles of gross and fundamental error.

Never did the writer cherish a more ardent desire to live in perfect friendship with all who love and preach the gospel of his Saviour. But the interests of truth are paramount; and his obligations to maintain it, supreme. He is willing that this discourse should be considered as his dying testimony to the truth as it is in Jesus.

[ 5 ]

 

SERMON.

 

 

 

HEBREWS xiii, 7.

 

Whose faith follow, considering the end of their conver8atwfl.

 

IN this passage, the Apostle, having previously exhorted the Hebrew converts to remember their spiritual guides, or teachers—obviously referring to those who were deceased—proceeds to enjoin them to follow their faith; and this, in view of the end of their conversation.

The instruction of the text, if somewhat generalized, seems to be this: that, would we be united to the company of departed saints, and share in their felicities, we must follow their faith.

The term faith, as found in the Scriptures, will be found to have at least a twofold meaning. It sometimes intends that cardinal grace of the Christian, by which he welcomes and trusts the Saviour, and, being indissolubly united to him, partakes in all the everlasting blessings of his gospel. At other times, faith intends that great system of doctrines revealed in the Scriptures, which have been embraced by the pious of every age, as the basis of their hopes, and the guide of their lives.

It can scarcely be doubted that the injunction of the text embraces faith in both these aspects. Would we follow the pious to their heaven, we must have a faith like theirs, in its nature, its influence, its effects; a faith that conquers sin, that subdues temptation, that purifies the heart, that operates in love to God, and love to man. Let this never be forgotten.

 

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A faith that consists in a mere speculative belief of the truth, saves none. Thousands have possessed it, and yet have perished—perished with aggravated perdition.

Still, it may be the fact, that the injunction before us has an emphatic reference to faith in the other sense. The Apostle, you know, was much in the habit of bringing out the distinguishing doctrines of the gospel ; of expatiating, not only on their evidence, but their infinite importance; not only on the imperious duty of receiving them, and holding them fast, but on the indescribable guilt and danger of rejecting them, or swerving from them. These were his favorite topics. It was then perfectly natural, that, addressing himself to the Hebrew converts, whom he knew to be peculiarly exposed to repudiate the pure doctrines of the gospel, or to depart from them, he should give them instruction and warning on this very point. It was natural that, in bidding them follow the faith of departed ministers, he should he anxious to have them believe, love, cherish, obey and defend the very same doctrines which those ministers taught; doctrines which, while they preached them to others, they cordially believed for themselves ; doctrines which nourished their hearts, sustained their hopes, brightened their dying hours, and now constitute the burden of their everlasting songs.

Permit me, my beloved friends, to be the humble echo of the great Apostle on this momentous topic. Permit me, this day, affectionately to entreat you to follow the faith of the pious of former days; in other words, to cherish and hold fast those doctrines which are plain and prominent in the Scriptures, and which have been preached and professed in the churches of New England, from the earliest time.

That I may ensure myself to be perfectly understood on a subject of this infinite moment, I must briefly specify, and briefly explain, some of the doctrines to which I refer. I say some of them; for to specify, and especially to explain them all, would be the work of a year, rather than an hour. It is likewise a fact, that the gospel system, though rich in a variety of precious truths, rests on a few leading principles, as its grand and supporting basis. If these leading principles be intelligently received, and affectionately cherished, the whole system is maintained. If these principles are repudiated, or given up, the whole system is rejected, or is lost.

Let us, then, begin at the beginning; in other words, with. the native and entire depravity of man. This doctrine our pious fathers viewed as lying at the basis of the gospel; as

[ 7 ]

pervading its whole structure; and as giving form, complexion, and vitality, to experimental and practical religion. They believed, with the Scriptures, that the heart of man is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. And with the Scriptures they believed that this awful malady was not contracted, or superinduced; but, being transmitted from the first fallen parent, is innate and connate, in the case of every human being. They did not conceive that infants are destitute of moral character; or that dispositions leading to sin are sinless dispositions; or that the difference of character between unfallen Adam and his fallen posterity, is a difference in degree, and not in nature; or that mankind universally rush into sin without a corresponding universal propensity. No; these fond and baseless theories are of modern invention. Our pious fathers were strangers to them. They knew, indeed, that human pride and false philosophy had their scores of objections against the humbling doctrine of native depravity. But what was this, in the face of a Thus saith the Lord? What was this, in the face of every day’s observation, and every day’s sad experience? They felt, likewise, that this doctrine of native depravity was as important in its influence, as indisputably clear in its evidence. They considered every defection here, as an undermining of the grand principles of doctrinal, experimental, and practical religion. This was plain, sober sense, as well as sound orthodoxy. Let us follow them in this path; and let us consider every other path as leading to inextricable and fatal error.

Another doctrine dear to our pious fathers, was that of spiritual renovation; or, in their own plain phrase, borrowed from the words of the Saviour himself, the new birth. They had heard the Saviour assert, emphatically and repeatedly, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." And they believed him. They had heard him declare to the most strict and sober of men, "Marvel not that I said, Ye must be born again." And they ceased to wonder at the thing. They saw the change characterized in Scripture as a resurrection—a new creation—a passing from death to life—a participation of a new and divine nature. Not suspecting that these phrases were without meaning, they believed that the change indicated by them was great indeed; a change of heart, and not a mere change of purpose; the introduction of new and divine principles into the soul, and not a mere modification of self -love. A change of this last kind they would have viewed as a meagre, wretched thing; and the hope, and the religion

[ 8 ]

built on it, as false, and fatally delusive. They did not, indeed, hold that every subject of the divine change in view could accurately ascertain its precise time, and manner, and circumstances. But the change itself they viewed as a great and infinitely important reality; a reality never to be dispensed with, in a religious hope, and a religious profession.

And to what source did they ascribe the change, when actually wrought? To the power of moral suasion? To the efficacy of human resolution, or the energy of human effort? No; not at all. They ascribed it to the power of God; to the same almighty agency which created the heavens; which commanded light from darkness, and order from chaos. They did not view the change as strictly miraculous. It interfered with none of the laws of the human mind. It infringed no liberty of human thought, or volition, or action. Still, they viewed it, not as the work of the creature, but of God. How absurd, indeed, to suppose that there is any thing in the depraved heart of man, that should make war upon itself. How still more absurd the idea that depravity should transmute itself to holiness, or hatred to love.

Hence these good men believed that the grace of God, whenever it found its way to a human heart, came in pure sovereignty. In other words, its motives were derived, not from the creature, but from the Creator himself. But this sovereignty was not that capricious, arbitrary, unrelenting thing which thousands imagine. It was a sovereignty of love; of condescending and infinite compassion. So far from driving sinners to despair, it opened the only door of hope. If depraved and guilty creatures can expect nothing from God, but on the ground of some claim which they can offer, their case is wretched indeed. But if his grace is sovereign; if it is the simple out-flowing of his own heart, then there is hope; hope for the guiltiest, hope for the most abandoned. The man who has gone peculiar and horrid lengths in sin, may yet be reclaimed and saved. The guilty being who has stood it out to fourscore, against the mercy and the invitations of heaven, needs not utterly despair.

While our fathers held that conversion was unqualifiedly and entirely the gift of God, they held, too, that there was encouragement to the awakened sinner, indeed to every class of sinners, to seek this infinite mercy. They held that prayer, that the serious reading and hearing of the word, that a diligent and persevering attention to the means of grace generally, was the indispensable duty of all who had souls to be saved, and were not

 

[ 9 ]

willing to lose them. They held that in this way, thousands have found mercy, and that thousands more will find it. Still they believed that salvation was all of grace. They believed that every saved sinner would ultimately ascribe his awakening, his conviction, his conversion, his faith, his repentance, his sanctification—in a word, his whole salvation, from beginning to end, to the free and superabounding mercy of God.

Of course, those good men had some fixed and definite views respecting the divine decrees. How could it be otherwise? They were not cast on a fatherless world. They believed in a providence, particular as well as general; a providence extending to every being, object and event in this lower world. If, then, God governs the world, he governs it according to a plan; and this plan must have been arranged, in all its particulars, from eternity. If otherwise, how can God be immutable? How can he be immutable, if he does any thing to-day, which he did not purpose to do, from eternity?

And this eternal plan and purpose must doubtless have had special reference to the eternal states of men. Accordingly, the Scripture declares expressly of the saved, that they were "chosen of God in Christ, that they should be holy, and without blame, before him in love;" and that God did "from the beginning choose them to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth." Here, then, let all our inquiries and objections cease. God has spoken. The eternal election of his people is a declared and undeniable fact. So our pious fathers believed; and they believed it on the simple authority of God. Nor did they see any thing discouraging in the doctrine. They believed that the door of heaven was as open; that the universal invitations of the gospel were as sincere; that the encouragement to seek salvation was as great; and that the probability that every true and earnest seeker would be a happy finder, was as strong, as though there -were no decree at all. Yes, and even stronger. Let us believe with them in all these points. It is certainly safe. If, after all, the subject should appear to any of us encompassed with inexplicable mystery—and to some pious minds it may—let us, at least, resolve with our beloved poet:

But 0 my soul, if truth so bright

Should dazzle and confound thy Bight,

Yet still his written will obey,

And wait the great decisive day.

There is another great doctrine of the gospel, which was peculiarly dear to our pious fathers, and which, though not to

 

[ 10 ]

be omitted, must be touched with all possible brevity. I refer to the atonement of Christ. According to a modern theory of this doctrine, the sufferings and death of Christ were a kind of symbolical transaction, designed to display the holiness of God, and the evil of sin, and to open the way for the sinner’s pardon; but still involving no satisfaction of the claims of the divine law on transgressors, and making their pardon a real departure from the regular course of the divine law and justice. The other theory views the sufferings of Christ as strictly vicarious; as meeting all the demands of the divine law and justice; and, of course, as making the pardon and salvation of believing sinners, a display of the righteousness of God, not less than of his mercy. The latter view of the atonement, I need not say, was maintained in the churches of our country in its earliest and best days. And which of the two theories is most agreeable to the Bible—which is most fitted to answer the anxious inquiries of the awakened mind, and to fill the hearts of Christians with hope, confidence, gratitude, and joy, you will judge for yourselves. *

I might have mentioned one or two other points in the belief of our fathers; and these of fundamental importance. Yet for want of time, they must be barely hinted. The doctrine of justification by faith, through the imputed righteousness of Christ, is a doctrine which they cordially embraced, and uniformly maintained. With the great Luther, they viewed it as the article of a standing or falling church. The doctrine, likewise, of the future endless punishment of the wicked, they considered as most plainly and abundantly taught in the Sacred Oracles. And they considered its rejection as not only subversive of piety, but as opening the way to every species of error, and of practical wickedness; of course, as awfully destructive to the souls of men.

I have thus stated to you, my beloved friends, what was the faith of the pious of former times; and I have exhorted you to follow this faith; in other words, to receive, cherish and maintain the same views, substantially, of the doctrines of the gospel.

Give me leave, on this interesting subject, to offer a few reasons. And let me say,—

First. This faith of our pious fathers was the result of deep, deliberate and prayerful investigation. Those good men were

 

* See note A.

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not, as some have injuriously supposed, the dupes of bigotry and prejudice. Nor were they the tame and complying followers of every religious guide. No; they had a mind of their own. They had a simple, ardent love of truth. They sought it as silver, and searched for it, as for hidden treasures. And they sought it at its home— the Bible. They familiarized their minds with the Sacred Volume. They richly stored their memories with its great fundamental principles. These principles they employed as a standard, a test, by which to try all doctrines, and thus were secured from fundamental error. For, be it remembered, they studied the Bible on their knees. Distrusting their own understandings, they sought light from the Father of lights. And he who gives liberally to all, gave liberally to them.

Next to the Bible, those good men consulted, in their searches after truth, the best of human productions; particularly, the writings of the puritans and non-conformists; of Hall and Reynolds; of Owen, Bates, Baxter, Howe and Flavel. Who needs be told that theirs was the golden age of theology? Who needs be told that these writers plunged into the very depths of Scripture, and brought forth the truths of God in all their purity, their lustre, their harmony, their beauty, and their practical effect. It was safe to follow such guides ; not indeed implicitly and blindly, but with a generous confidence. In familiarizing themselves with their pages, our fathers found their minds instructed, their consciences quickened, their souls nourished, and their hopes of heaven confirmed. They found, too, a safe and salutary guide for their whole temper and practice.

This furnishes a second argument for following the faith of our fathers. The views which they entertained of scriptural doctrines were eminently purifying and practical They gave birth and nourishment to a religion the best which the world has seen since apostolic times. Here I would speak with caution. I would shun the weakness attributed by Horace to the old man; that of fondly eulogizing the times that are past. I do not believe that in our time, piety is extinct; that pure religion has taken its flight from the world. It is my happiness to know great numbers of Christians, and of ministers, whose characters would be approved by the Apostles, and by the Saviour himself. I admit, too, that among the saints of past days, there was a great mixture, and a great variety of attainment; and not only so, but that the very best of them, deeply conscious of their own defects, would have blushed at their own praise. But

[ 12 ]

after all these admissions, may it; not be maintained, that in a great portion of those fathers, there was a depth, an eminence, a finish of piety, which constitutes at once the example and reproof of the present age ?—They gave days and nights to the study of the Bible. They attributed more importance, and devoted more time, to secret prayer, than is common at the present day. They remembered the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. All its employments, its reading, and its conversation bore the stamp of heaven. They had their Sabbath schools, too, of the best kind; schools in which parents were the teachers, and in which the truths and precepts of religion were poured into attentive minds, from warm and overflowing hearts. They were strangers to those various amusements in which many professors of the present day indulge; and had they been offered, it would have been to them, much less a self-denial to abstain, than to indulge; for their hearts were occupied with greater and nobler objects. They were strangers, too, to those various associations for promoting reformation and improvement at home, and for evangelizing the wide world, in which Christians are now engaged. These associations are a kind of modern invention. But their hearts eagerly grasped at the same sublime objects; and were they now alive, they would doubtless seek their accomplishment with the same zeal, and with equal wisdom; though not always, perhaps, through the same modes and measures. In a word; those good men were examples of all the human virtues. Their hearts glowed with benevolence. Their faces shone with benignity. They intensely loved their fellow-Christians. They loved mankind. They loved their enemies. They could overcome evil with good. They were ready to every good word and work. They were anxious, each in his humble sphere, that the world should be the better for his having lived in it.

It is generally admitted that the best test of truth is its moral and practical influence. The purest, strictest orthodoxy, swimming solitarily in the head, is a worthless thing. But we may safely and profitably follow the faith of those whose religious views and principles have produced the substantial fruits of eminent piety and virtue—have rendered them the consistent, devoted friends of God and man.

Again; let us follow their faith, considering the end of their conversation. Here is a sublime and inspiring idea. Who can doubt that those who, while here, sat at the feet of Jesus, received his instructions, imbibed and exhibited his spirit, and bore his lovely image, are now in his immediate and beatific

[ 13 ]

presence? Who can doubt that those who walked with him in this wilderness, are walking with him in glory? Who can doubt that those who shone with his light on earth, are now shining with the brightness of the firmament in other worlds? And how are their minds penetrated, and filled, and enraptured with those truths which began to dawn upon them here. How are they strengthened to gaze at those mysteries which here were too dazzling for their feeble sight. And what do they think of their conflicts in their Saviour’s cause; of the power which gave them the victory, and of the crown of glory which they now wear? Do they not look down with interest on their fellow-saints on earth, assuring them that with them, too, the conflict will soon be past, and the victory won?

My brethren ; these are no fictions of the mind, but solid truths; divine realities. Let us open our hearts to their inspiring influence. Let them arm us with courage for the Christian conflict. Let us follow the faith of those departed saints, and we shall soon share their felicities, and unite in their everlasting songs.

Superadded to these sublime motives, there are still other considerations which should stimulate our zeal and fidelity. From the truths which our fathers loved, and which—suffer me to say—they now love more than ever, there have been great and lamentable defections. Who that looks over the state of our churches, can doubt it? Are not the distinguishing doctrines of the gospel less understood, less prized, less cherished, and (must it be added?) less preached, than in the days that are past? Do not many Christian professors content themselves with very superficial views of these doctrines, while, at the same time, their bearings are scarcely perceived, and their practical influence little felt? Are there not churches, with orthodox creeds, many of whose members would be disgusted with a distinct and lucid exhibition from the desk, of the very doctrines to which they have given their solemn assent? Is there not another class of hearers, who, with a kind of rabid appetite for what is new and startling, declare their contempt even for the undisputed truths of the gospel, as stale, uninteresting, worn-out things?

One fact there is, which conclusively proves the indifference, at least, of many professing Christians to the doctrines of the gospel. When a new preacher has appeared in a place, the remarks of private circles are generally confined—to what? His talents, his powers of thought, and reasoning, and imagination, his delivery; perhaps to his person, his dress, his voice,

[ 14 ]

his air, his attitude. The old-fashioned question, Did he preach the gospel; did he declare the truth ?—is not so much as mooted.

If a church is vacant, and a young man is presented as a candidate for its suffrages, what is the point on which these suffrages often turn? Is it his faithfully declaring the simple, heart-searching, soul-humbling truths of the gospel? Alas, not at all. Too often, no demand is made for any thing of the kind. If, on a single Sabbath, or perhaps in a single sermon, he appears to possess talent, and power, and eloquence, the point is settled, and he receives the charge of undying souls. Will it be denied that this is a frequent case ?

Will it be denied, that scores of sermons are preached, in which the old-fashioned phrases, depravity, regeneration, conversion, atonement, are carefully retained, while not a single doctrine is inculcated, which answers to these well known and long current phrases? Yet no new religion is intended to be introduced. Nothing but a new philosophy of religion. The form and features remain. Yes, they remain. Nothing at all is wanting, but the heart, and the soul. *

Still, in one point, there is, in many instances, an acknowledged novelty in the modern teaching. It inculcates, confessedly, a new species of religion—a religion built on self-love-—a religion animated throughout by self-love. Yes; this religion, unknown to the Bible, unknown to our pious fathers, proscribed by the great Edwards as the very essence of delusion, and the direct road to ruin, is now very extensively taught as the true religion.

I will offer no farther evidence, at present, of a sad defection in our religious community, from the doctrines held sacred and precious by our fathers. But faithfulness to the subject, to myself, and to you, my beloved hearers, constrains me to declare that we are in danger of still greater and more alarming defections still. Of this, the proof is but too easy.

The road of error, as of vice, is down-hill. It has been already stated that, in our times, words have assumed a new meaning; that new and erroneous doctrines are inculcated under the garb of old and accredited phrases. If this be the fact, how obvious is it, that our churches may be led to adopt a new creed, and a new religion, without so much as suspecting it. In respect to dangerous and destructive error, they may find themselves at the bottom of the hill, before they

* See note B.

[ 15 ]

have consciously commenced a descent. Look back, my hearers, at the state of religious belief in our churches, as it was thirty years since; contemplate what it is at present; and then, if you have the courage for it, ask what it will too probably be in thirty years to come. Long before that time, many of your heads, like my own, will lie in dust. But can we bear the thought, that these regions, once the abode of truth and piety, shall become the scenes of overspreading, overwhelming error, and irreligion, and vice? Shall these churches, once beautified and blest with the Saviour’a image, and the Saviour’s presence, be abandoned by heaven, and become the bane, not the blessing, of our beloved country?

Look at Germany; the birth-place of Luther; the cradle of the Reformation; the abode, for ages, of great and pious ministers, of pure churches, of truth-loving and ardent Christians. Who would not have hoped that this distinguished country would have continued, for many an auspicious century, the blessing of Europe, the light of the world, the champion of pure and primitive Christianity?

And what is Germany now? The seat of learning, of science, of philosophy, of metaphysics, of boundless investigation and discussion, of religious theories without number, of expositions of Scripture without end—the seat of every thing, in short, but truth, and reason, and common sense. If there is a country on earth, in which philosophy, breaking away from the Bible, has pre-eminently displayed its weakness and folly, it is Germany. If there is a spot on the globe which has been a radiating point of darkness and error; of false religion, false and corrupting morality, and universal skepticism, it is Germany.

With truth it may be said, that there is not a doctrine of the Bible, from its first to its last page, which has not been, by scores of its learned men, distorted, denied, vilified, and held up to the public scorn. With equal truth it may be said, that there is not an error which has infected the church, from its earliest birth till now, which has not been gravely defended by scores of its clergy; men who have even put to the blush the absurdities of former ages, by still greater absurdities of their own invention.

But can there be any danger of such awful degeneracy and corruption among ourselves ?—My brethren, let us not shut our eyes. There is real and great danger. The very writings which have been described have already found admission to our country, have received a wide circulation, and are eagerly devoured

 

[ 16 ]

by thousands of readers. The minds of multitudes of theological students have come into contact with them; and not a few have imbibed the sweet poison. Others, it may be hoped, have remained uncontaminated. But is there no danger in breathing infected air?

It is often suggested that many German writers, possessed of fine powers and great learning, exhibit likewise a portion of orthodoxy, together with the substantials of piety. It is said, likewise, that in the case of many of these writers, there is a great retrocession from errors which have long prevailed in that country. Let these facts be admitted, and let them be rejoiced in. But the question still arises Is the dimness of twilight to be preferred to the splendor of day? Or must we gravely plunge into twilight, in order to reach that day which shone upon us long before a single ray of light from modern Germany had dawned upon our land ? *

It cannot be denied that in the best of the writers referred to, there are generally found notions too indistinct and vacillating, of essential gospel doctrines. We may give them the praise, of great and varied learning; of refined thought; often of tender, and apparently pious sentiment. But for clear and accurate statements of Christian doctrine, we ordinarily look to them in vain. Generally, too, they are indecisive, at best, in regard to the proper and plenary inspiration of the Scriptures. And here, in this very spot, is found the baneful and productive source of most of the errors and heresies which prevail throughout our country. The minds of our people have broken loose from the inspiration and infallibility of the Scriptures. And what is the consequence? Truths, doctrines, which beam from their pages with overpowering light, are by thousands doubted, or disbelieved, or ridiculed, or set at defiance.

And what, my hearers, if the same experiment which has been made in Germany, should be repeated in our own country? What if our Theological Seminaries, (and I say it with grief, it is in theological seminaries that error and heresy have been apt to commence their deleterious course,) what, I say, if our Theological Seminaries should become scenes of heresy— fountains of error—schools in which every thing shall be taught, rather than the pure, unadulterated doctrines of the gospel ?—Most of these seminaries, it is believed, are furnished with scriptural and orthodox creeds. † But what if their

* See note C. † See note D.

[ 17 ]

instructors should turn their back on those creeds? What if, by a strange hallucination, they should think it right to inculcate doctrines essentially diverse from those which they have solemnly professed to believe, and promised to teach? And what if their pupils should come forth to the churches, surcharged with learned error, with false philosophy, false metaphysics, false theology; and teaching every thing but the pure doctrines of the word of God? What hope could we then indulge for our country, for the Church of God, for the souls of men, for the cause of pure religion? *

We advance, then, to a new thought. Unless we return to the faith of our fathers, the pure faith of the gospel, the interests of vital and practical piety must languish and die. Truth and piety have a natural connection. God has joined them. Every attempt to separate them must be at once impious and abortive. There is a world of instruction in our Saviour’s prayer, Sanctify them through thy truth. It is the truth, and not error, that sanctifies. Wherever, by an individual, or a church, or a community, the truth is unknown, or forgotten, or disregarded, or trampled down, there, as surely as night follows day, a countless host of evils will enter. Insensibility, worldliness, impiety, neglect of God, of Christ, of prayer, of the soul, of eternity, will soon make themselves manifest.

The reasons of this may be easily assigned. If God has distinctly declared to his ministers, what doctrines they shall deliver, and these doctrines are actually preached, it may be hoped that he will sanction and seal such preaching by the accompanying influences of his Holy Spirit. This is natural. And this is ordinarily the fact. Rarely is the gospel preached in its purity, without some saving effect. But what if the gospel be withheld? Or what if it be mixed and corrupted ?— and all human mixtures are corruptions. Can a blessing be expected in such a case? Will the Most High solemnly prescribe to his ministers the doctrines they shall preach, and will he sanction, by the influences of his Holy Spirit, doctrines materially diverse. It would be wonderful indeed if he did.

The matter may be considered in another view. The doctrines we have briefly detailed to-day, exhibit man not only as a sinner, but as in himself, wholly lost, undone and helpless. They lay him at the footstool of sovereign mercy. Without

* See note E.

[ 18 ]

the interpositions of that mercy, he is undone—undone forever. These, my dear bearers, are the doctrines which break the slumbers of the human intellect, and lay a strong grasp on the inmost heart. All other doctrines are feeble and inefficient. We may preach our own fancies, and our bearers may be amused. But they wilt be neither sanctified nor saved. They will not even be greatly interested or alarmed. Human depravity, human pride and stupidity, strong in their intrenchments, will laugh at our puny assaults. While the pure doctrines of the gospel, simply delivered, will, by the grace of heaven, arouse the conscience, subdue the heart, and save the soul.

That religion, at the present day, is deplorably sunk; that a great portion of Christian professors seem half asleep; and that conversions have become great rarities—these things are generally confessed. The cause of this lamentable state of things are sometimes inquired for. And is it not strange, that in assigning these causes, the principal cause is so often overlooked? —I mean a prevailing and increasing neglect of the distinguishing doctrines of the gospel. How vague and superficial, not to say, how perverse and false, are the views of thousands of professing Christians on this subject. In an age of boasted illumination, every thing engrosses attention, every thing is investigated and understood, excepting that only for which we were made, and on which our eternity depends. If this awful defect is to be traced to ministers; if, in the pulpit, the distinguishing doctrines of the gospel are rarely introduced, or imperfectly developed, or feebly enforced, then is our guilt great indeed; and awful will be our account before our final Judge. And great is the guilt of our hearers, if they turn in disgust from these doctrines when delivered; or give them no marked attention; or stiffer them soon to fade from their minds; or prefer to them the generalities which flatter, or the novelties which amuse, or the errors which destroy.

On one point, I must be indulged a free remark. Much is said and preached, in our day, on the subject of men’s natural ability. And the object probably is, to deprive them of all excuse for neglecting their souls and religion. But many hearers, not comprehending the philosophical distinction, turn from it in disgust, and from whatever of gospel truth may be connected with it. Many others accept the flattering unction; and learning that they can change their own hearts, if they please, resolve to do this disagreeable work when they please; that is, at a future time; a time that, with most, never comes.

[ 19 ]

Thus, by a philosophical subtilty, not to say, a gross error, the soul is lost.

On the whole, we may set it down as an unquestionable truth, that until we return to the faith of our fathers; to the pure, unsophisticated doctrines of the gospel, little can be hoped in favor of religion. Indeed, of the real religion which remains among us, a great portion is the fruit of those old-fashioned, neglected doctrines; and not of the superficial and. modish opinions, which have usurped their place. We have been living, in short, on the fair inheritance which our fathers have left us, and have done little, too little, to recruit and perpetuate it. Yet what of evil may we not anticipate, if it shall continue to waste away? The new doctrines have hard and hopeless work, in conflicting with the ordinary depravity of the human heart. What then will they do in these times, when all minds are afloat; when infidelity, skepticism, and gigantic error rush in like a flood; and when an ocean of worldliness and fashionable vice threatens to engulf our whole community?

Yet, blessed be God ! there is a remnant. There are a few names in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments. Let them stand up, an unbroken phalanx, under the banners of their Saviour. Let them feel their strength; for God is their strength. Let them unite their counsels, their efforts, and their prayers, in defence of God’s eternal truth, and in opposition to abounding error and sin. Let no means be left untried, by which pure religion may be resuscitated and advanced. Let this be done, and we need not despair. Let this be done, and HOPE, like lightning in midnight, will arise in our darkness, and shed its reviving beams around us. God himself will prosper, by his omnipotence, a cause so signally his own. The divine Saviour will revisit and cheer his mourning churches. The Holy Spirit will descend, and shed his richest influences around us. The solitary places of our Zion shall be made glad, and our spiritual wilderness shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.

[ 20 ]

NOTES.

 

Note A. Page 10.

The doctrine of atonement is so fundamental in the gospel, and so vital in religion, that every mistake respecting it must be viewed as full of evil and danger. Painful, therefore, as the subject is, I feel it a duty to expand, somewhat, the brief statement which has been made. Strange as it may seem, it has been contended that the sufferings of Christ involved no infliction of the penalty of the law. On the contrary, they were a substitute for this infliction. The satisfaction made by those sufferings, was made, not to the distributive justice of God, but to his general justice. His distributive justice, as expressed in the law, has received no satisfaction at all. And this representation, so repulsive, is supported by another, still more repulsive; namely, that though God is bound to fulfil his promises, he is not bound to execute his threatenings.

Could it only be said that these views have no support from Scripture, this were surely sufficient for their refutation. But more than this is true. The Scripture indignantly frowns upon them. The great Apostle rejects them with horror. Having explained the mode of the sinner’s pardon and justification through the atonement and righteousness of Christ, he puts the question: "Do we then make void the law through faith ?" And he replies: "God forbid; yea, we establish the law."

But let us listen to the Saviour himself who certainly understood the design of his interposition and advent. "Think not," he says, ‘that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." His atonement, then, was not a substitute for the execution of the law. His obedience and sufferings were, in substance, a fulfillment of its precept, and its penalty. They opened the way for our salvation, not, as has been strangely said, by leaving the claims of the law forever unsatisfied, but in perfect accordance with the immutable principles and demands of the divine law and justice.

The theory in view is as unnatural and unphilosophical, as it is Un-scriptural. It represents the sufferings of Christ—to whom it denies the character of a Surety—as exhibiting to the universe the infinite evil of sin, and God’s unalterable determination to punish it. Men

[ 21 ]

and angels are to be taught to revere the law, and expect the infliction of its penalty upon every transgressor. And how is this lesson inculcated? By inflicting unparalleled sufferings on one who never transgressed the law, but perfectly obeyed it—on a Being of spotless innocence, and divine dignity. In this way we are to learn that God is the immutable friend of righteousness, and the enemy of nothing but sin!

Another objection presses on this theory, and that of the most appalling nature. If the Most High, though bound to fulfil his promises, is not bound to execute his threatenings, where is the evidence that the impenitent sinner will be finally punished, especially that he will be punished everlastingly? On this theory, may he not hope, and confidently expect, final impunity and salvation? On this theory, are not the holiness and justice of God effectually abolished? Is not his truth denied? Is not his law abrogated! Does not Christ himself become the minister of sin ?

 

 

 

Note B. Page 14.

There is a question naturally arising to the thoughtful mind, and which surely claims a reply. Why is it, that in religion, there should be admitted, a vagueness, an ambiguity of language, which in most other cases, is deemed inadmissible. The advocate in a judicial court, for instance, is required to use words in a precise sense, avoiding all that is ambiguous, or equivocal. Pursuing a contrary course, he is deemed a driveller, or perhaps condemned to silence. Shall the temporal interests of mankind be thus scrupulously guarded, and shall the concerns of the undying soul be trifled with? When did the GREAT TEACHER utter himself, but in terms of crystalline clearness? Shall those who teach in his name, envelope themselves and their hearers in obscurity? Shall they, instead of leading their hearers into the broad light of gospel day, involve them in the endless labyrinths of spurious metaphysics) and of a theology divorced from the Bible? Is there not in the English language, an affluence which furnishes to every idea an appropriate expression! Shall clear and intelligible instruction be given on every subject but that which is infinitely the most momentous of all!

 

Note C. Page 16.

In my remarks on modem German writers, it is not my wish to exclude a single particle of light beaming, from any source, on the Sacred Scriptures. To many of these writers I readily concede the praise of much labor and learning, in the departments of history, geography, languages, criticism, etc. Still, if in the eager pursuit of these species of knowledge our young men, the hope of the churches, should be insensibly beguiled of the simplicity of gospel truth, the loss would be great and irreparable indeed. And is there no danger

 

[ 22 ]

in the case? Are these not facts which justify the most painful apprehensions? When young and incautious minds are brought into frequent contact with writers of much learning and much power, but yielding little deference to the authority of God’s word, is it not natural is it not almost inevitable, that their faith should he insensibly shaken?

But on this subject, I wish not to enlarge. I would, however, simply suggest, as arising out of it, two inquiries, not wholly unworthy of attention. Is not the value and importance of German religious literature apt to be overrated? Are not its advantages often gained at a disproportionate expense?

Indeed, when we find one of the most admired of German writers (Neander) gravely speaking of new intellectual necessities as developed by the German mind; and when it is considered that one of these intellectual necessities is that of distinguishing what is divine from what is human in the gospel record, must not the Christians of America take the alarm? Who can tell how soon the intellectual necessities of the German mind may demand the exclusion of every thing divine from the gospel record? Indeed, this is already the fact, if we may judge from the writings of a great proportion of German theologians. Nor will it be denied that numbers of young men in our own country, once promising and hopefully pious, once apparently destined to shine as Christian ministers, have, by familiarity with these writings, been plunged in the vortex of skepticism and infidelity.

 

Note D. Page 16.

I have no bigoted attachment to creeds. Nor will I contend that the man who has taken a lengthened creed, should be trammelled by all the minutiae which it may embrace. But no one will deny that such an one is bound to adhere to those articles which, according to the verdict of common sense, belong to the class of first and fundamental principles. Least of all may it be expected that those who have themselves solemnly assented to a creed, and perhaps repeatedly, will treat the subject of creeds with reproach and contempt.

 

Note E. Page 17.

Should an apology be thought necessary for my free suggestions respecting theological seminaries, my apology, or rather my justification, is at hand. The same apprehensions were entertained and freely expressed, twenty years since, by the venerable and lamented Dr. Porter. In a sermon, preached at the dedication of the Chapel erected for the use of the Theological Seminary in Andover, he utters his thoughts and feelings in these terms:

"We must not imagine that this Institution is free from danger, because it is the object of our own affections and vigilance. While we view its prosperity with cheering anticipations, let us ‘rejoice with

[ 23 ]

trembling.’ That the utmost latitude of inquiry should be encouraged here, is essential to our main business. The students must of course be familiar with error, in all its forms; error as defended by its ablest champions; error as concealed by the subtlety of scholastic refinement, and associated with all the attractions of genius and erudition. Besides, every human heart is ‘deceitful above all things.’ Where then is our certainty of exemption from the dangers that await us? In the strength of our own powers? In the elevated motives of our Founders? In the safeguards of our constitution? Where are other seminaries, which wisdom encompassed with its precautions, and piety consecrated to Christ and the Church? Have we forgotten—can we forget the awful lesson furnished to Christendom, from the school of Doddridge ?—from the schools of Scotland, of Geneva, and of Germany? No, brethren, we are not safe, without the presence of God. If he withdraws, the spirit of piety will decline here. Instructors and students will neglect their closets. The pure word of God will be adulterated by unhallowed and adventurous speculations; and this fountain will diffuse streams of pollution and death. And is it possible that a day may come, when these lecture-rooms and this library, will be converted into instruments of hostility to the truth? When these avenues will be trodden by feet that are strangers to the way of holiness? And this Chapel and this Pulpit be occupied by men who ‘deny the Lord that bought them?’ Our bosoms throb at the thought, that it is possible. But, should such a day come, the friend of Jesus, instead of lingering with delight, as he passes this hill of Zion, wilt cast a weeping eye at this Institution, the offspring of faith and prayer, forsaken of heaven. The graves of its Beneactors will testify against it. The winds that sweep over these rocks and groves, will testify against it. The prayers, and vows, and tears of this day, will testify against it: and God will inscribe, in broad characters, on the walls of this Temple, THE GLORY IS DEPARTED."

It will not be contended that Dr. Porter was a gloomy bigot; a prophet only of evil. He uttered, on this occasion, the words of truth and soberness; the natural apprehensions of an enlightened mind, and a heart awake to the interests and the dangers of a cherished Seminary.

In another part of the same discourse, there is a short passage, full of significance.

"The Professors of this Institution" he says, "assent to the creed of its Founders, not as a ceremony of induction into office; not because it was, substantially, the creed of the great Reformers, and of the New England fathers; but because, in their view, it accords with the word of God. They are at perfect liberty to renounce these opinions, and embrace others; but in that case, they are bound, as honest and honorable men, to relinquish their present station."

The last suggestion of this passage was worthy of the tender conscience, and the noble heart of Rd. Porter. It must find a response of approbation in every reflecting mind.

The question whether a Professor in a Theological Seminary is bound to conform his instructions to the creed he has taken, and the solemn promises he has made, is a question of easy solution. The obligation of a witness in a legal court, to declare the truth, which he has solemnly sworn to declare, is not plainer or stronger. He owes it to himself, as he would maintain the character of an honest and good man. He owes it to the Founders, by whose bounty he is supported,

[ 24 ]

and whose prescriptions he has engaged to execute. He owes it to his pupils, as he would not become the occasion of wounding their religions sensibilities, not to say, of depraving their minds. He owes it to the churches, which claim, and with good reason, the right of knowing the theological views of those who come to them from these seminaries as pastors; and whether they bring with them the pure gospel, or the poison of erroneous doctrines.

The question above suggested, as to the duty of a Professor in a Seminary, is not a mere theological question. It is A GREAT MORAL QURSTION, And so it will ever be regarded in a religious community whose conscience is awake, and whose heart beats with the pulsations of health.

We have heard, indeed, of taking a creed for substance of doctrine. A very convenient phrase. But is there not here, too often a hiatus valde deflendus? Is not the substance of doctrine, in many instances, the very thing not cordially received at the time; and omitted, or contradicted, in the subsequent instructions?

95. AAA95 1849 Daniel Dana, The New Song.

THE NEW SONG.

A

 

SERMON,

DELIVERED IN

 

BOWDOIN STREET CHURCH, BOSTON.

 

BY DANIEL DANA, D. D.,

Minister of the Gospel in Newburyport.

 

 

BOSTON:

PRESS OF CROCKER AND BREWSTER,

47, Washington-street.

1849.

The text of this and other superb works are available on-line from:

The Willison Politics and Philosophy Resource Center

http://willisoncenter.com/

Reprint and digital file February 7, 2004.

Willison Editor's note: Daniel Dana, A.M., [1771- 1859], ( Yale, 1782 ) D.D. (Yale, 1788) carried the torch for the solid Reformation theology in New England during his lifetime. (See His 1810 Deity of Christ sermon posted here for one of the strongest defenses for Trinitarian Theology available. ) Dana served as President, Dartmouth College, 1820-1821.

This sermon highlights one's personal standing before the Deity, and His congregation, with a New Song being the outflow of the experience. Dana ties genuine heartfelt worship into the singing of songs in this world, as a prelude and a practicum for that which is found in the eternal world. ( pp 21-24).

Page numbers in the original are shown in brackets as such: [ 2 ]

The following begins the original text:

 

This Sermon has been preached in several pulpits; and by the advice and request of several judicious friends, it is now submitted to the public.

It contains little more than those plain truths which are familiar and dear to the pious mind, and by which genuine religion is kept alive in the world, Yet as it may too often be justly said of these very truths, that they’ve been so long remember’d, they’re forgot," the author is quite content to act, in the case, the humble part of a remembancer.

Newburyport, June 10, 1849

SERMON.

REVELATION V. 9.

And they sang a new song a new song.

FOR the wisest reasons, our heavenly Father has shrouded in obscurity each of the widely different worlds which lie before us. A distinct view, either of the glories of the one, or the horrors of the other, would confound and overwhelm our feeble faculties. Even were it otherwise, such a view would comport neither with the duties, nor the conflicts, nor the comforts of our present state of being. But, in the inspired page before us, the veil which separates between earth and heaven seems, for a moment, uplifted; and we obtain a glimpse of the sublime felicities and employments of the celestial state. Let us then escape awhile from the low and polluted scenes of earth. Let us rise, in thought, to a superior region. Let us listen to the concert of the blest. Let us catch the notes which resound through the arches of heaven, and which engage the ear of THE HIGH AND LOFTY ONE who inhabits eternity.

[ 4 ]

We will distinctly inquire, what is the song here intended ?—why it is called a new song ?—by whom it is sung ?—and with what emotions?

The song itself is a hymn of praise to the divine Redeemer. The inspired writer informs us that when no created being in the universe was found worthy to unseal and explain the book which was held in the right hand of Him who sits on the throne of heaven, and which contained his eternal counsels and purposes respecting his church, then he "beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, (or living beings,) and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb, as it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth: and he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne." It was on this great occasion that "the four living beings, and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints." Immediately it is added, "And they sung a new song, saying., THOU art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth." It appears, then, that the new song which resounds through the regions of bliss, is a song of praise to the LORD JESUS CHRIST. His name calls forth from the myriads of the redeemed their sweetest,

[ 5 ]

loftiest notes of adoration. His glories, his love, his humiliations, his triumphs constitute the theme of their everlasting hallelujahs. But in paying these divine honors to the Son of God, the redeemed are not alone. "I beheld," says the inspired writer, " and 1 heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." But even this is not all. The whole creation is represented as uniting with redeemed and angelic spirits in adoring the Redeemer. "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, forever and ever."

What, my brethren, shall we say to these things? Is heaven a scene of idolatry? Do its arches

ring with eternal hallelujahs to a creature ? Do glorified saints, and spotless seraphs pay their highest, humblest adorations to a creature? And does all creation unite its voice to swell the mighty chorus of praise to a creature ?—The thought is too full of impiety and horror, to be for a moment admitted. What then is the inference ; the necessary, irresistible inference ? JESUS CHRIST IS GOD. He is worthy of the same honor, the same glory, the same worship, which is due to the eternal

[ 6 ]

l Father. To pay him this tribute, is no idolatry; but the first, the most indispensable, the most delightful of duties. Let those who proscribe this homage, strengthen themselves by such arguments as ingenuity or sophistry can devise. We confidently oppose to them the songs of heaven; the example of glorified saints, of angels, of the whole creation of God. We will cherish this most precious doctrine of our Saviour’s divinity in our inmost hearts. It shall never, never be wrested from us. We will cling to it with the greater tenacity, the more it is denied and opposed. Nor will we fear to adore, while on earth, that Redeemer whom we humbly hope to adore eternally in heaven.

Farther; the redeemed, while. celebrating the glories of their Saviour, celebrate with peculiar emphasis, his suffering and death. These constitute the burden of their everlasting song. "Thou art worthy," say they, "to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests ; and we shall reign on the earth." Here, the sufferings and death of Christ have a prominence which strikingly illustrates their infinite moment and worth. They are acknowledged by the redeemed, as the grand procuring cause of their salvation; as the source of all their blessings, and joys, and honors, in time and eternity. In their Saviour’s blood, they have a real redemption—redemption from sin, and, all its dreadful consequences ; redemption to God, and to

[ 7 ]

immortal glory. They do not regard the death of Christ, as it has been too often regarded, merely as an example of submission, or as a seal of the truth of his doctrines, or as a mere exhibition of God’s regard for his law, or as placing sinners within the reach of pardon.

But they regard it as a proper atonement for sin, and the meritorious price of all spiritual and eternal blessings for his people. Such is the doctrine uniformly and most explicitly taught throughout the sacred Scriptures. Such is the foundation on which the pious of every age have reposed with confidence for time, and for eternity. Deny the atonement; and you blot out the grand peculiarity of the gospel; you blot out the sun from the spiritual heavens, and you tear from the bosom of the Christian his dearest hope. Deny the atonement; and you restore to death its sting, and to the grave its baleful victory. Deny the atonement; and you rob the Saviour of his highest glory; while you strike a note of harshest discord with the eternal song of the redeemed.

But why is this song styled, in the text, a new song?

We reply, first; because there was a period when it was literally new to heaven, itself. The church, under the ancient dispensation, celebrated the glories of God the Creator. They gave him honor for all his wonders of power and mercy wrought in their behalf. Especially did they celebrate, in strains of rapture, the deliverance of his church from Egypt—the type of a more glorious redemption from the bondage of sin and Satan. And all the pious of ancient time looked for-

[ 8 ]

ward to the day of the Messiah with humble faith, and joyful anticipation. From the redemption he was to accomplish, they derived all their comfort in life, their support in death, and their hope of immortal glory. But they could not celebrate this great work as actually finished. Nor, before the advent of Christ, could even the church triumphant celebrate the price of its ransom, and its glory as actually paid. But when the Son of God appeared in flesh; and when, having expired on the cross as a sacrifice, he re-ascended to heaven, clothed with all his mediatorial offices and glories, then a new scene commenced. A new lustre gladdened the regions of immortal light. New raptures of joy were poured into the hearts of its blest inhabitants. They beheld in the midst of them, the Friend, the Saviour, who had recently died, in unutterable agony, for their redemption. They beheld, even in his glorified body, the signatures of those sufferings, perhaps the scars of those wounds, to which they traced their immortal salvation. Hence their new anthems of praise. Hence their new song—a song unheard, even in heaven before "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain "—" Thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood,"

Again ; it is called a new song, on account of its transcendent excellence. Such, sometimes, is the import and force of the term employed. When the Psalmist exclaims, in a rapture of devotion " 0 sing unto the Lord a new song," he calls for a strain of praise more grand and sublime than any which had

[ 9 ]

been known before—praise which might correspond with the new and transcendent display of divine glory and goodness. The song of the redeemed far transcends in excellence all other songs. It converses with the brightest glories of the Deity. It celebrates the most sublime and stupendous of all his works—mysteries into which angels desire to look—a scheme of redemption which employed the counsels of Heaven from eternity; and which, in its gradual development, displays such unsearchable riches of wisdom and power, such matchless combinations of majesty and condescension, truth and mercy, purity and love, as are calculated to pour a flood of rapture into the astonished mind, and to call forth all its faculties, and all its affections, to their highest possible exercise.

In a word; it may well be called a new song, as it will never become old; never lose its attractions; never cease to supply to the most enlarged and exalted minds, materials for delightful contemplation. There are few themes, my hearers, which are absolutely inexhaustible. Most of the subjects of our contemplation, as they lose their novelty, lose likewise their attractions. Some subjects which have attracted, and even surprised us for a while, have, on a more familiar acquaintance, left us no ground of wonder, excepting our former admiration. Far different, in all these respects, is the subject of redemption. To the transient and superficial observer, it exhibits little to surprise, or to interest. But to the careful, devoted student, it discloses unsuspected beauties, and unknown wonders.

[ 10 ]

Every accession of knowledge imparts new delight₇ and excites new astonishment. And he who has penetrated farthest into the mysteries of this divine theme, is most convinced that it is absolutely exhaustless; that it contains new mysteries, not only undiscovered, but by finite minds, absolutely undiscoverable. Yes; in the love of Jesus, there is a height and a depth, a length and a breadth, calculated to afford everlasting employment to the ever expanding, ever active mind of man; calculated to call forth an admiration forever fresh; and a song forever new.

And who are the happy parsons that sing this new and everlasting song?

The inquiry is most interesting. We have already described them under the general appellation of the redeemed?. In the context, they &re introduced to our view under the description of the four living beings, and the four and twenty elders. The former term has been generally understood to mean the ministers of the gospel, to whom pertained the office and duty of spreading the tidings of heavenly mercy throughout the four quarters of the earth. The four and twenty elders are probably to be considered as representing the twelve patriarchs, and the twelve apostles; in other words, the whole church of God, both under the Old and New Testament dispensations. The new and everlasting song of heaven, then, is sung by all the faithful ministers of Jesus, and by all the members of his true church, collected from every age and clime, from every tribe and nation; and by none beside.

[ 11 ]

A more particular and characteristic description of these happy persons, we shall find in another part of this inspired book. In the fourteenth chapter, they are represented as standing, together with their Redeemer, on mount Zion, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. This signifies that they belonged to the divine family; they bore the divine image; they openly and courageously declared themselves, while on earth, as on the Lord’s side ; and they substantiated the sacred profession by a real devotion of heart and life to his service and honor. They are likewise described as undefiled and chaste—virgins— pure in heart, and uncorrupt in deportment. It is declared of them, that they follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. While they rely on his atoning blood for pardon, and salvation, they imbibe his spirit of meekness, love and purity ; they imitate his perfect example ; they adhere to his doctrines, precepts and ordinances ; they resign themselves to the conduct of his word, his Spirit, his providence, though tribulation, persecution, or death itself should be the consequence. it is added, These were redeemed from among men— redeemed by power, as well as by price; redeemed by the Spirit of Christ, as well as by his blood ; redeemed not only from the wrath to come, and an eternal hell, but from the power of sinful propensities, and from this present evil world. In fine, it is declared that in their mouths was found no guile; for they are without fault before the throne of God. That is to say; they were free from hypocrisy and deceit.; their profession

[ 12 ]

of love to Christ, and devotion to his cause, was the truth, and no lie. And notwithstanding ten thousand lamented infirmities and defects, they were chargeable with no habitually indulged sin; no, not in the judgment of the omniscient and heart-searching God.— Such are the persons, and such alone, who sing the new song; for, says the inspired writer, no man could learn that song, but the hundred and forty-four thousand which were redeemed from the earth. None could cordially unite in it, none could taste its sweetness, none could even enter into its genuine meaning, but those whom the grace of Heaven has taught, and sanctified, and separated from a wicked world. It required a spirit, a heart attuned to its sacred strains. Therefore the impenitent and unholy were forever debarred, and self-debarred from having any part in it.

It can be sung only by the redeemed and sanctified followers of the Lamb.

And with what emotions do they sing this new song?

Doubtless the language of mortals is very inadequate to express them. Nor can we even form a conception on the subject, which will not fall far short of the reality. Still, we may be assured that the spirit which animates the new song, is a spirit of the profoundest humility and self-abasement. For what were those who chant it, once, but rebels against their God, and ingrates to their Saviour? And rebels and ingrates they would have continued forever—wretched by their own depravity—doubly wretched by their Maker’s

[ 13 ]

frown—but for his own sovereign and astonishing mercy. This they feel; and this they can never forget. They felt and confessed it, while on earth. But in heaven, their views of their unworthiness are vastly strengthened and enlarged. The glories of a present Deity dart on their minds new convictions of the malignity and odiousness of sin. And when they recollect how low they were originally sunk in guilt ; how long they resisted the call of heavenly mercy ; and what poor returns they rendered, even after their conversion, to the Saviour who redeemed them by his blood, and conquered their hearts by his power, how deep, how overwhelming must be their abasement. With what ardor must they breathe out the confession, that not by works of righteousness which they have done, but according to the riches of heavenly mercy they are saved. With what overwhelming sensibility must they exclaim, Not unto us, not unto us, but to thy name be glory.

Hence we remark, that in proportion to their self-abasement, will be their love and gratitude to their Saviour. All their views of the guilt in which they were originally involved, of the depravity by which they were enchained, of the wrath to which they stood exposed, of the awful, endless ruin which they deserved, and of the astonishing deliverance which they have experienced, will but enhance their sense of their Saviour’s love. And when they contemplate the astonishing forms in which that love has been expressed; when they behold in his sacred body, now glorified,

[ 14 ]

the memorials of the sufferings which he endured for them; the prints of the nails, and the spear; with what a tide of grateful emotions must they be overwhelmed. How must they pour out their very hearts in the song, Worthy is the Lamb that was slam— Thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood. To thee, bleeding Saviour, we owe all our salvation, and all our bliss. Thy dying agonies have redeemed us from eternal death. To thy cross are we indebted for these spotless robes of righteousness, these palms of victory, these crowns of unfading glory, these rivers of immortal delight.

In fine, the redeemed sing the new song with unutterable emotions of exulting joy. If, while on earth, it was delightful to celebrate their Redeemer’s praise if they esteemed those the brightest and most privileged moments of life, in which they could pour their hearts in gratitude to an unseen and distant Saviour; what must it be to find themselves in his immediate presence ; to behold him face to face; to perceive, yes, to see him listening with infinite condescension and complacency, to their songs of praise? If the distant and trembling hope of heavenly blessedness was once so transporting, what must its actual and full possession be? To look back on unutterable woes escaped; to experience an overflowing fulness of present delight; and to know, with undoubting certainty, that this delight will experience neither interruption nor end, what varied sources of happiness are here. But these are not the only sources of happiness to the glorified saint.

[ 15 ]

He enters, with a sacred and generous sympathy, into the joys and felicities of his fellow heirs of salvation. He is transported to find himself in the midst of an immense assembly in which every heart glows with exalted affection to his Redeemer, and every tongue is employed in celebrating his glory. Above all is he transported to see that once bumbled and suffering Redeemer re-invested with his heavenly felicities; wearing those peculiar and immortal honors which his death has purchased; receiving the humblest, loftiest ascriptions of praise, not only from his ransomed people, but from angels and archangels, and from the whole creation of God.

But human language faints and sinks beneath the glories of the scene. Let us borrow, for a moment, the pen of heavenly Inspiration. "These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and be that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them to living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."

Let us close with some reflections.

1. We are here furnished with an answer to the most important question that can possibly occupy our

[ 16 ]

minds. Who of us will be admitted to the joys of heaven ?—Surely, my beloved hearers, there is no question within the compass of human thought; which is important, compared with this. But important and infinitely interesting as it is, it admits an answer. You have seen what is the employment, what the felicity of glorified saints above. They are occupied in an eternal song of praise to their Redeemer. You have seen, too, that it is not every one who can learn that song. From the nature of the case, no unholy person can learn it. No man who is wedded to his sins, can learn it. No idolater of the world can learn it. No enemy of Christ can learn it. None who despise or neglect his salvation, or trample on his commands, can learn it.

—It would be obviously fruitless and absurd for one to undertake to learn to sing, whom nature has denied both an ear, and a voice. And most surely, the unholy and impenitent are equally debarred by their moral state and disposition, from learning the new song. The only difference in the two cases is, that in the former, the disqualification is involuntary; in the latter, it is strictly voluntary But the redeemed can learn this heavenly song. Those who have, experienced a real, actual deliverance from the power of sin, can relish it, and will forever sing it. All who bear the image of a holy God; all who supremely love, who entirely trust, who humbly imitate, and who cordially obey the Saviour, will sing it. All who are pure in heart; who are sincere and upright in their transactions with their Maker, and their fellow-men, will sing

[ 17 ]

this new and everlasting song. Examine yourselves, my beloved hearers; and impartially determine whether you have these characteristics, or not. If you possess them, you have decisive evidence, and the best possible evidence, that you will soon rise and share in the employments and joys of the heavenly world. But if enlightened conscience declares that you are utter strangers to these characteristics, cherish not the hope that, in your present state, you can ever enter heaven, or bear a part in the new song. No: you must be born again. You must be essentially, radically changed in temper, in disposition, in heart, in life.. That Saviour who died for you; that Saviour who never uttered an unkind word; that Saviour from whose lips you will soon receive your final, unalterable sentence—He it is who declares: You must be born again. And this change must take place, not in another world, but in this. The new song, though sung in heaven, is never first learned in heaven. You must learn it on earth; or forever bid adieu to the hope of singing it in a better world.

2. The subject reminds us of the transcendent excellence of the religion of the gospel, and its perfect adaptation to our race. Surely the spirit which animates the songs and felicities of the blest above, must constitute the essential, the vital spirit of religion. And what is this, but genuine humility? Those beatified souls that behold and enjoy the unveiled glories of the Deity, sink proportionably low in self-abasement. This is their happiness. This is their heaven. Take

[ 18 ]

from them their overwhelming sense of obligation for redeeming mercy, and the happiness of glorified saints would be far inferior to that of angels. But we know from the infallible word, that it will be far superior. The remembrance of their original guilt and ruin, and of that unutterable love by which they have been redeemed, is ever fresh in their bosoms. It gives a sweetness to their songs, an elevation to their joys, which angels cannot reach. And while it exalts them in bliss, it sinks them low in humility. This is the spirit of heaven. And this, be it remembered, is the grand, essential preparation for heaven. None who are destitute of a tender, grateful, abasing sense of the Saviour’s condescending, dying love, can join in the everlasting song of the redeemed. None who possess it, can possibly fail of attaining this sublime felicity..

The same humility which prepares for heaven, and which characterizes the felicity Of heaven, is the source of the best enjoyment on earth. It is this which gives a zest to every present. comfort, while it gently extracts the sting from every affliction. Feeling that, as sinners, we have forfeited the mercy of Heaven, we receive the bounties of Providence with tender and delightful gratitude. Conscious that as sinners, we merit only frowns and wrath, we bear the common trials of life, and even its severest calamities, with uncomplaining submission.

Who does not know that the neglect and reproach which we often receive from fellow-creatures, are acuminated chiefly by our own unsubdued pride ? The

[ 19 ]

proud man is a kind of sensitive plant, shrinking from every touch; chilled and shriveled by every wind that blows.. While the humble, man finds shelter and comfort in his own calm...and. undisturbed spirit. While the ono,.too, groans under the. self-imposed burden of resentment for every real or fancied injury, the other effectually eludes the trouble, by cherishing a meek and forgiving spirit.

So true is it, that that religion which trains us for heaven, is our best friend while~ we remain below. It puts a crown on all our comforts. It facilitates the exercise of our best and most difficult virtues. It removes,, or it greatly mitigates, our afflictions. The man who lives daily on the promises, feasts daily on the bread of heaven. The man who, with his Saviour, can pray for his enemies, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do—this man is but a single remove from his Saviour’s presence in glory.

8. Let Christians, in the view of our subject, be willing to die. . You have felt the love of Christ. Those hearts of yours, once cold, and insensible, have known the heaven-enkindled fervor of that sacred flame. In some favored, lucid moments of life, you have enjoyed a real and sweet communion with your Saviour. In those moments, you have indulged the transporting hope of praising him to eternity. And you have felt that eternity will be but long enough for the blissful employment. But it has not been always so. The world, its cares, its seductions have too often quenched these holy fervors. Too often has remaining

[ 20 ]

depravity chained your affections to earth, or dissipated them among a thousand unworthy objects. For this you mourn. You sigh and long for deliverance. And this deliverance shall come. It is near. Soon you shall be with the Saviour you love. There, with a golden lyre, and a seraph’s ardor, you shall praise him as you wish to praise him. No sinful object, no wandering thought, no languid affection shall interrupt your joy. But to arrive at this height of bliss, you must pass through the dark and lowly vale. And why should you shrink from the thought? Why not cherish it with delight? Why not long for the kind messenger that comes to bring you to the presence of your Saviour, and to all the joy which that presence can give?

And is there nothing here, worthy of the attention and the solicitude of the irreligious? Can you doubt, my friends, that there is a holy and happy multitude, once apparently on the way to ruin, who are now surrounding the throne of heaven? Can you doubt that among this number, there are those whom you have known and loved, while on earth, and perhaps have gone in their company to the house of God? Can you doubt that even their blessedness would be greatly increased by receiving you to a partnership in their joys? Can you doubt that the Saviour, who left his heaven, that he might bring down heaven to you, is this moment waiting, with open arms, to receive you? Will you, my friends, can you continue to steel your hearts against such love, and such compassion? Or will you,

[ 21 ]

this day, this happy hour, break your covenant with death, and your league with hell, and yield yourselves, in faith, in penitence, in supreme and ardent devotion, to this heavenly Friend and Saviour? Do this, and joys unknown before, shall spring up in your bosoms. Do this, and you are made for eternity. Do this, and you may look forward to death without dismay, and with delightful anticipation, to the joys of an eternal heaven.

There, with united heart and voice,

There the eternal throne,

Ten thousand thousand souls rejoice

In extacies unknown.

And yet ten thousand thousand more

Are welcome still to come

Ye longing souls, the grace adore;

Approach, there yet is room.

I cannot persuade myself to leave this delightful subject, without offering a word on the dignity and importance of sacred music, considered as a part of the worship of God in the earthly sanctuary. We have seen that glorified saints above celebrate the praises of their God and Redeemer in a song. Thus they express their emotions of impassioned gratitude, and holy love. This is their unceasing employment, their sublime felicity. Nor is there any employment on earth, in which we make so near an approach to the work and bliss of heaven, as that in which we sing, with pious fervor and delight, the praises of God. For here we concentrate all the powers of our nature, our spiritual faculties, and our bodily organs, in the same service, and that of the noblest kind. The excellent [ Jonathan, Willison Ed. ] President

[ 22 ]

Edwards informs us, that in a great revival of religion in Northampton, the pious people spent much time in singing; and that they found the employment remarkably efficacious to excite their religious affections, and to bring down something of heaven to earth. Nor can it be denied, that there is that in sacred music which is peculiarly fitted to solemnize and elevate the mind, to disenchain it from earthly objects, and to rouse all its best and holiest affections into vigorous exercise. If such is the high office of sacred music, it ought surely to be considered as something very different from a mere gratification of sense, or a mere amusement of the fancy. To regard it in this light, is to degrade it. It is irreverent, not to say profane; for it is to pervert a divine ordinance to the purpose of mere unhallowed gratification.

Never let it be forgotten, that when we engage in sacred music, we professedly place ourselves in the immediate presence of the Deity. We make a particular and solemn address to that awful Being ‘with ‘whom is the breath of our life, and the destiny of our immortal souls. Nothing can be more evident than that, in such circumstances, the utmost reverence is indispensably incumbent. If, as all must acknowledge, an air of thoughtlessness and levity, while we are engaged in prayer, is a species of impiety, why should it be thought less so ‘when we are engaged in praise. [ Bold italics added, Willison Ed. ]

Who that contemplates the profound solemnity and awe which pervades the worship of glorified saints and angels in heaven, can avoid being pained at the irreverence manifested in some

[ 23 ]

private circles, and even in some Christian assemblies, while praise is sung to the eternal and omnipresent Jehovah ? Is it not likewise to be regretted, that the performance of this interesting part of divine worship should be confined, as it too generally is, to a very small portion of the assembly? Why should it be so? Is not singing the praises of God a divine ordinance? Has the Christian church fewer materials and incentives for praise, than were possessed by the Jewish church? If a very small portion in our assemblies are constitutionally debarred from an active part in this work, shall the great majority, who have no such disqualification, remain silent? Grant that accuracy and grace of performance are desirable, shall all be excluded who do not completely rise to this standard? Or shall a change in the tunes employed be so exceedingly frequent as to constrain nearly the whole congregation to be mere silent hearers ?

It is likewise important that the music employed in the worship of God, should possess a character and style adapted to this high and sacred purpose. It is needless to say, that such is not the description of all music. Nor can it be denied that a considerable portion of the tunes which, for many years, have been employed in our congregations, are destitute of most of the attributes which should recommend them to the service of the sanctuary. Far from being fraught with that dignity, simplicity and tenderness which are fitted to excite and to express the best emotions of the soul, they have tended rather to dissipate serious thought,

[ 24 ]

to chill the ardor of devotion, to disgust cultivated minds, and to gratify only the frivolous and the gay. They may fill the ear, and they may gratify a vagrant fancy; but they starve the mind. It is, however, consoling to reflect that tunes of this description are, in many instances, sinking into merited disregard, and that a taste—perhaps I may say a demand—for music of a dignified and impressive character is diffusing itself in various regions of our country.

Is it not desirable, too, that with a change so auspicious in the matter of our psalmody, there should be a correspondent improvement in the style of execution?—an improvement which shall render the music of our public assemblies what it ought to be—one of the most solemn, impressive, delightful and. edifying parts of the whole service. It is a sad and humbling evidence of the earthliness of our minds, that we are so capable of celebrating, with little emotion, the glories of the Deity, and the wonders of his creating power, and providential goodness. Still more humbling is it to reflect, that those mysteries of redeeming love ‘which fill angelic minds with admiration, and glorified saints with rapture, should so often leave our hearts insensible and cold. O when shall it be otherwise? When shall we see a whole assembly animated with the spirit of pure devotion, and pouring the fervor of their in most hearts into the songs of Zion? When shall the praises of the earthly sanctuary afford an emblem and anticipation of the songs and felicities of heaven?

96. AAA96 1849 Ashbel Green, writes prayer for John Quincy Adams

THE LIFE

OF

 

 

 

ASHBEL GREEN, V. D. M.

BEGUN TO BE WRITTEN BY HIMSELF IN HIS EIGHTY-SECOND YEAR

AND CONTINUED TO HIS EIGHTY-FOURTH.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PREPARED FOR THE PRESS AT THE AUTHOR’S REQUEST

 

BY JOSEPH H. JONES,

PASTOR OF THE SIXTH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEW YORK:

ROBERT CARTER AND BROTHERS

No. 285 BROADWAY.

1849.

The text of this and other superb works are available on-line from:

The Willison Politics and Philosophy Resource Center

http://willisoncenter.com/

Reprint and digital file December 17, 2001.

Ashbel Green ( 1762- 1848) served as President of the College of New Jersey ( now Princeton University) from 1812 to 1822. His father, Jacob Green, a Presbyterian pastor, played a significant part in the American Revolution, councelling with Washington, that being one of the more prominent tasks he performed. Ashbel also served, with action seen in the militia in New Jersey area campaigns. Later educated at Princeton under John Witherspoon, he delivered the Valedictory Address to an audience consisting of Washington, Congress ( in session here) and the ministers of Holland and France in 1783.

What is remarkable, despite his high standing in society, is his continued service as a minister of the gospel to all the community after leaving the presidency, in particular those of African ancestry. Most notably was the Green's decision to free a slave girl given to Mrs. Green. Betsy Stockton, remained with the Green's as a paid worker, saving her money and gaining an education at the Green's. Miss Stockton later utilized both to good ends, serving as a Christian missionary in Hawaii. Ashbel helped her work with his own gifts, and published her accounts to him of her missions work in the Christian Advocate Magazine, where they were greatly admired. (Ref. : Life of Ashbel Green, 1849 pg. 326 ). It is hard to find a greater example of real life faith.

Dr. Green also served as a central figure in the foundation of Princeton Theological Seminary, a move of truly global import. It was here that the Foreign Missions program came to fruition, with Princeton men proceeding forth to all parts of the globe.

 

Excerpt topic:

The relationship of Biblical Christianity and the U.S. National Government and society. Dr. Green's office of Chaplain of Congress, (while sitting in Philadelphia) proved well utilized, with President Adams requesting him to write a proclamation for a national day of prayer due to the threat of impending war with post revolution France.

Here begins the original text:

REV. ASHBEL GREEN. 553

 

On one occasion, while Philadelphia was the seat of government, and Dr. Green chaplain, the senate being called to order for prayer, he saw a senator still sitting and engaged in writing. Determined to exact at least external reverence for that Almighty Being they were about to worship, he stood silent till the

 

554

senator, startled by the prolonged silence, arose upon his feet, and assumed a becoming attitude. He then proceeded to offer prayer.

John Adams, the elder, President of the United States, applied to Dr. Green to write for him a proclamation, recommending to the people the observance of a day of humiliation and prayer. Having consented to do what was requested by the Chief Magistrate, he determined to write one that would correspond with the character of a President professing religion, and set over a Christian nation. Accordingly he contrived to bring out in the proclamation an acknowledgment of the leading doctrines of the gospel; and what was remarkable, although it passed through the hands of Timothy Pickering, who was then Secretary of State, and believed to be a Unitarian, it was published as written, without any alteration. The proclamation created surprise and admiration. The party opposed to Mr. Adams’ administration, thought it too good to come from his pen. They suspected the author; and one of them, a minister of the gospel, determined to discover the truth, came to his colleague and proposed a question so adroitly, that his silence satisfied him of the fact. *

* Appendix, K.

 

*(K.) 623

Having discovered among Dr. Green’s papers the autograph of this proclamation, we have thought it worthy of a place in our Appendix. We embrace with peculiar pleasure an opportunity to give permanency, as well as publicity, to such a document, which is not less creditable to the Chief Magistrate who approved, than to the chaplain who wrote it. The devout reader will participate in the gratification we feel in discovering such evidence of evangelical sentiment and feeling in the President of this Republic as is exhibited in his calling the nation, not only to humble themselves before God with fasting, but to recognise the operations of "the Holy Spirit" and his "infinite grace in the Redeemer."

"Whereas the safety and prosperity of nations ultimately and essentially depend on the protection and blessing of Almighty God, and the national acknowledgment of this truth is not only an indispensable duty which the people owe to him, but one also the natural influence of which is favourable to the promotion of that morality and piety without which social happiness cannot exist, nor the blessings of a free government be enjoyed: And whereas the United States of America are, at present, placed in a hazardous and afflictive situation by the unfriendly disposition and demands of a foreign power, producing, as their unavoidable consequences, many distressing and unfavourable circumstances of a domestic kind: It has appeared to me that the duty, at all times incumbent, of imploring the mercy and benediction of Heaven on our country, demands, at this time, a special attention from its inhabitants. I have therefore thought fit to recommend, and I do hereby recommend accordingly, that Thursday the 26th day of April next he observed, throughout the United States, as a day of solemn humiliation, fasting and prayer:

That the citizens of these States, abstaining on that day from their customary worldly occupations, offer their devout addresses to the Father of mercies, agreeably to those forms or methods which they have severally adopted as the most suitable and becoming: That Christian congregations do, with the deepest humility, acknowledge before God the manifold sins and transgressions with which we are justly chargeable as individuals and as a nation; beseeching Him, at the same time, of His infinite grace us the Redeemer of the world, freely to remit all our offences, and to incline us, by His Holy Spirit, to that sincere repentance and reformation which may afford us reason to hope for His inestimable favour and heavenly benediction : That it be made the subject of particular and earnest supplication that our country may he defended and protected from all the dangers which threaten it; that our civil and religious privileges may be preserved inviolable, and perpetuated to the latest generations; that our public councils and magistrates may be specially enlightened and directed at this critical period; that the American people may be

 

624

united together in those bonds of amity and mutual confidence for which they have in times past been so highly distinguished, and by which they have obtained such invaluable advantages; that the health of the inhabitants of our land may be preserved, and their agriculture, commerce, arts and manufactures, be blessed and prospered; that the principles of genuine piety and of sound morality may influence the minds and govern the lives of every rank and description of our citizens; and, in fine, that the blessings of peace, freedom, and pure religion, may he specially extended to all the nations of the earth.

Given, & c.

 

97. AAA97 1850 C. VAN RENSSELAER PCUSA Ministerial Educational Operations.

 

A PLEA

FOR THE

  

 

MINISTERIAL EDUCATIONAL OPERATIONS,

IN THE

 

 

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, U. S. A.,

 

 

ON THE BASIS OF SCRIPTURE.

 

BY

 

C. VAN RENSSELAER, D. D.

CORRESPONDING SECRETARY OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION.

 

 

PHILADELPHIA:

BOARD OF EDUCATION,

821 CHESTNUT STREET.

[ CA. 1850 ]

 

Reformers call of men to ministry 5

John Knox's call to the ministry 5/6

 

[ 1 ]

A PLEA FOR OUR EDUCATIONAL OPERATIONS,

ON THE BASIS OF SCRIPTURE.

THE principles of the Presbyterian Church, in her plans of education for the ministry, are believed to be sanctioned by the word of God; and if so, the cause is entitled to general confidence and cooperation. An examination of some of these principles is invited.

I. In the first place, the Church is justified, and required, by the word of God, to make THE PERPETUATION OF THE MINISTRY AN OBJECT OF SPECIAL CONCERN.

Under the Old Testament economy, the most exact provisions regulated the priesthood in its succession and its functions. A whole tribe was set apart for the special service of God in holy things. The higher offices of religion were assigned to a particular family of this tribe, and the succession was carefully and precisely handed down from generation to generation. The duties of the priests and Levites were prescribed with equal care. The time, place, mode, and circumstances for the discharge of official duties, even to the colour of the dress and the tying of the girdle, were authoritatively specified. These Mosaic prescriptions shone, as it were, with "the starlight of Christ," and set forth from distant ages the sacred provisions for the ministry under the New Testament dispensation—provisions which were to have their life, not in the oldness of letter but in the newness of spirit.

Accordingly, under the New Testament economy, the great fact, testifying, at the very beginning, to the spiritual character of its ministry, is the assumption of the office by our blessed Lord himself. As his divinity flashed out before the Magi in the manger, so his prophetic authority was manifested in his youth before wondering men and doctors in the temple. At his baptism, when his public ministry was about to commence, the voice from heaven, "hear ye him," announced the greatness of his prophetic teachings. The synagogue at Nazareth witnessed a memorable scene of grace and majesty, when he declared, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor." Our blessed Lord was indeed himself a minister, a preacher of the word. "For this end," said he, "was I born, and for this purpose came I into the world, that I might bear witness to the truth." Although he came also to offer himself a sacrifice upon the altar of divine justice, to make atonement for the sins of his people, and to set up and establish his kingdom, yet was the office

 

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of a prophet, or teacher of men, intimately and specially connected with the whole purpose of his life. As the missionary of God, he went from village to village in Judea, teaching in the synagogues and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom. The example of the Lord Jesus Christ, therefore, is an exhortation to the Church to honour the Christian Ministry, to respect the office and its work, to make prominent the provisions for its perpetuation, and to give earnest attention to whatever pertains to its character, its enlargement, its usefulness, and its success.

To our Lord’s personal example is added the testimony of his plan to establish this office as a permanent one in the Church. Not only was he himself devoted to the preaching of the word, but he called others to engage in this vocation, and devoted a large portion of his time in the execution of this purpose. The establishment of a holy ministry was one of the chief anxieties of his life. The first care of the Redeemer after his temptation, was to call Peter and Andrew, James and John; and soon after he called others also. After preparing the Apostles for their work, he sent them forth. "As ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand." He gave them no sacerdotal vestments, or breast-plate, or mitre, or oil of consecration; but, commissioning them with the voice of his personal authority, he put them in charge of the proclamation of truth. Shortly after, our Lord sent out the seventy evangelists on a similar mission. The number of labourers was thus increased; the ordinary office of the ministry received a Divine warrant; and eighty-two men were engaged in the great work of teaching and preaching throughout Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. But the ministry was not to be a temporary expedient, to continue only during the life of Christ, and to be confined to the Jews; it was to be a permanent office, and an office for the whole world. After his resurrection, our Lord, with thoughts of wisdom and purposes of love, enlarged the scope of the ministerial commission, saying, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Thus the Saviour consecrated the office again, at his ascension; and the promise of his presence for all time accompanied the enlargement of the commission to all mankind.

Another fact, that discloses the intense interest of the Saviour in perpetuating an able ministry on the earth, is the conversion of Paul. The Pharisee, on his way to Damascus, is met by the Lord of Glory. The relentless persecutor, struck to the earth in wonder, hears a voice out of the cloud, summoning him by name; and to the question, "Who art thou, Lord ?" the answer is given, "I am JESUS, whom thou persecutest." Thus our Lord descended, as it were, from heaven, to call another Apostle into the ministry. This

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was no vision, but a sight. It was the personal reappearance of the Saviour once more among men ; for Paul appeals, in proof of his apostleship, to this very scene: "Have I not seen Jesus Christ, our Lord ?" (1 Cor. 9: 1.) And again, "And last of all, he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time." (1 Cor. 15: 8.) The Redeemer had great purposes to accomplish through the man "breathing threatenings and slaughter." Far higher purposes than his personal salvation; for then Paul, the persecutor, might have been simply taken to paradise, a fit companion of the thief, to praise grace in glory. But the design was to employ him as a minister, in preaching far and wide the cross of Christ. "The Lord said to Ananias, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel; for I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake." (Acts 9: 15, 16.) Does the Church need a more persuasive argument to remind her of the wisdom of attending to the succession of her ministers? Was there ever a more impressive scene than the sight of the blessed Saviour, reappearing in the cloud which wrapped him from his disciples’ sight, and coming down once more to earth to give a personal commission to Paul?

Nor did our Lord limit his condescension to the single case of calling the Apostle of the Gentiles. Every true minister of the Gospel, has, in his call to the sacred office, the testimony of his Master’s interest in perpetuating it. Throughout all time, the Redeemer administers the kingdom of grace, and by his Holy Spirit designates his servants to their sacred work. " When he ascended up on high, and led captivity captive, he gave gifts to men." Not the gifts of honours, or riches, or kingdoms of this world; Christ’s gifts to men were MEN, living teachers and preachers, apostles and prophets, evangelists and pastors, for the perfecting of the saints and for the edification of his body.

The Scriptures everywhere declare, that divine wisdom has connected the salvation of the world with the preaching of the cross. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God; but how shall they hear without a preacher ?" This question should arouse the Church from her lukewarmness, and rally her strength in the cause of ministerial education. How shall the dying millions hear, if men are not sent forth to preach Jesus Christ and him crucified? The foolishness of preaching is Heaven’s wisdom. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, the Trinity in Unity, GOD, is pleading with a lost world for reconciliation, through a living ministry. The angels, ministering spirits, who co-operate with pastors in bringing heirs of salvation to glory, feel intensest interest in an office among men, that has advantages of communication, of social bonds, of natural sympathy, of sight, and presence, and tongue, and influence. The arrangements of the kingdom of grace depend upon preaching the Gospel. Christ on earth, Christ in heaven,

 

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Christ in his word, Christ through his Spirit, Christ in his providence, Christ in his Church, expresses the Divine interest in the office and work of the Christian ministry. The Church, therefore, is not merely justified in giving some prominence, in her operations, to the raising up and sending forth of ministers, but she is under the most sacred obligations to exercise her assiduous care in carrying forward a plan, divine in its origin, and the hope of the Church throughout all ages of time.

II. Another principle, which lies at the basis of the educational operations in the Presbyterian Church is, that the Church is required to USE MEANS for the attainment of the great end in view.

The appeal is again made "to the law and to the testimony." In seeking light from the example of Christ, on the use of means in increasing the ministry, it is perfectly clear that the very subordinate authority of the Church, in comparison with that of her Lord, prohibits the possibility of the imitation of his example in all particulars, on a subject so directly involving the exercise of divine prerogatives. Nevertheless, suggestions of importance arise in contemplating the course pursued by our Saviour.

Our Lord used outward means in calling the apostles and evangelists to the work of the ministry. The minds of his followers were not left to the inward workings of the Spirit, and to their own private convictions of duty. He went forth and sought out those who were to be the future preachers of he Gospel. The object of his visit to the Sea of Galilee was to call Peter and Andrew; and desiring to increase the number of his disciples, and to receive more under his tuition and training for the ministry, he went to James and John, and he called them also, and they followed him. Other instances of the use of outward means are furnished in the case of other apostles. The great truth, elicited by these examples, is that some external agency was employed by our Lord in perfecting the call of his apostles to the ministry. The call of the twelve and of the seventy was not simply by the unseen and secret workings of the Holy Spirit, nor was it by a miracle, as in the case of Paul, but it was in connection with his own personal appeal, and with the employment of the means adapted to secure the end. It is not maintained that the Church may proceed in a similar manner to call her ministers at the present day. All that can be lawfully inferred from these illustrious instances of our Saviour’s works and ways is, that so far as the Church can discover the will of God in his providence, she may lawfully use the means of his appointment. The Spirit alone brings the sons of God into the Church, and into the ministry. But in both cases, the Church is warranted in using means to accomplish the result, which he has been pleased to connect with the use of those means.

The apostles, so far as the circumstances allowed, followed the

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example of their Master. They did not, for they could not, designate in their own name those who were to prepare for the office of the ministry; but they kept the subject constantly in view. They laid down rules to judge of the qualifications of ministers they appealed to religious motives in awakening a desire for the work; they sought out suitable persons for presbyters in every city; they did according to their opportunities whatever properly pertained to the exercise of human agency. The careful reader of scripture will find that the office of the ministry, whilst it is always placed among the secret things of the sovereignty and wisdom and grace of God, is not withdrawn from the action of human instrumentalities. Like the conversion and the sanctification of God’s elect, it has its evangelical position among the means that draw forth the prayers and the efforts of the Church.

The Reformers followed the apostles, as the apostles followed the Lord, so far as the varying circumstances, in either case, gave liberty of imitation and of action. At the period of the Reformation, when there existed a great dearth of evangelical teachers, it was an object of much solicitude with Luther, and Calvin, and Knox, to provide for the emergency. Accordingly, the wants of the Church were held up with unwonted importunity to the attention of the young; and an appeal was made to the prayers and piety of the Church to supply the abounding destitutions. In Scotland, John Knox pressed into the teacher’s office persons, whose qualifications could scarcely have stood the test of the Book of Discipline, but who were yet able to serve the Master as inferior workmen at a time of need. The Church has, undoubtedly, the right of stirring up the consciences of her people; of enlightening their minds in regard to their duty; and of using such authority over them in their designation to the ministry as Providence may seem to justify and demand. Indeed, John Knox himself was urged into the ministry by an ecclesiastical authority, bordering on the peremptory call given to Peter and Andrew at the Sea of Galilee. Calderwood’s record is as follows:

"Mr. Benrie Balnaves, Johne Rough, preacher, and others within the castell, approving the manner of John Knox’s doctrine, travalled earnestlie with him, to tak upon him the preaching-place. He utterlie refused, alledging he would not runne where God had not called him. Whereupon, advising among themselves, and, with Sir David Lindsay of the Month, they concluded to give a charge to the said Johne, and that publiclye, by the mouth of the preacher. So, upon a certane day, a sermon being had of calling of ministers, what power the congregation, how small soever, had over anie man in whom they espied the gifts of God, how dangerous it was to refuse, and not to hearken to the voice of those that desired to be instructed, Johne Rough directed his speeche to Johne Knox, saying, ‘Brother, yee shall not be offended, albeit I speake to you that which I have in charge givin frome all these that are heere

 

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present, which is this: In the name of God, and of his Sonne, Christ Jesus, and in the name of those that doe presentlie call you by my mouth, I charge you that yee refuse not this holie vocatioun; but as yee tender the glorie of God, the increase of Christ’s kingdome, the edification of your brethren, and the comfort of me, whome yee understand weill eneugh to be overburthenned, that yee tak upon you the publick office and charge of preaching, even as yee looke to avoide God’s heavie displeasure, and desire him to multiphie his graces upon you.’ In end he saide to those that were present, ‘Was not this your charge given to me, and doe yee not approve this vocatioun?’ They answer, ‘It was, and we approve it.’ Johne Knox, abashed, burst forth in teares abundantlie, and withdrew himself to his chamber. His countenance and behaviour from that day, till the day he was compelled to present himself to the publick place of preaching, did sufllcientlie declare what was the greefe and trouble of his heart ; for no man saw anie signe of mirthe in him, neither yett had he pleasure to beare companie with anie man for many dayes together." *

This example of Church authority is, indeed, an extreme one; but the importunity of the ministers and people arose, not from any claim of prerogative on their part, but, on the contrary, because the impression was so strong that God himself had designated John Knox for this great work. In like manner, every minister and presbytery may attempt to follow the leadings of Providence, in endeavours to bring suitable persons into the ministry of reconciliation, taking due care to avoid encroaching on forbidden ground. The outward means to be safely employed are chiefly those of public teaching, private exhortation, diligent and careful watchfulness of the young, and the presentation to them of opportunities to nurture the gifts requisite to the sacred calling. A large field of usefulness is undoubtedly presented here, wherein good seed may be sown in the hope of rich and abundant returns.

A powerful agency remains to be stated in reference to the increase of the ministry, and one which has a special warrant from the Lord in his teaching and in his example. The injunction of the Redeemer to his disciples is, "Pray ye to the Lord of the harvest that he would send forth labourers into his harvest." The circumstances under which this injunction was uttered are precisely those that are met by the revelation of the plan of relief. 1. In the first place, there were destitute multitudes; the people were, like a flock, fatigued with wandering, and exposed to danger; they were faint, and without shepherds. This condition of want corresponds with that of the present day; the unevangelized nations are in a state of exposure and of misery. 2. In the second place, the labourers were few. Those, whose duty it was to help the spiritually needy and suffering, were unequal to the task. Their number was small.

*Calderwood’s History, i, 227.

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Here, again, was a condition of things, that has hitherto had a sad parallel in all ages of the world. Our Saviour was "moved with compassion," as he beheld the multitudes without labourers. A divine yearning over the lost, such as brought tears at the sight of Jerusalem, moved his soul on the occasion. This is the true spirit that should animate the Church in her plans for increasing the ministry. No worldly motives, no sectarian zeal, no calculation of mere numbers, no policy of ambition, has any right to Christ’s remedy. A compassionate regard for perishing souls is the true condition of hopeful success. Under these conditions of outward circumstance and inward emotion, our blessed Lord uttered the injunction to "pray."

His example accorded with the precept. On that night he retired for prayer. The harvest-field of living souls rose up to his view in the lights and shadows of its eternal destiny; and his heart of compassion poured out its warm love in prayer. Luke records the event in these words: "And it came to pass in those days that he went up into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." (Luke 6 : 12.) That night of weeping and praying over the woes of a perishing world was all-prevalent with God. As if to show the duty of prayer to "the Lord of the harvest" by his example, and the power of prayer by its reward in the answer of its petitions, on the next day he gave to his Apostles their first commission, "Go, preach." Luke presents the record in the next verse to the one already quoted, "And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named Apostles." (Luke 6 : 13.) This commissioning of his Apostles, in juxtaposition with that night of prayer upon the mountain, and with that injunction to pray to "the Lord of the harvest," is one of the most gracious and instructive coincidences that adorn the life of the Saviour.

The Church learns from this scene: 1st. The duty of prayer to the Lord of the harvest. 2d. The kind of prayer recommended,— importunate, persevering prayer. And 3d. The certainty of the answer in the goodness of Providence.

Prayer to God in reference to the increase of the ministry is prominent among all other kinds of means and instrumentalities. It has the clearest warrant of all; it is in its nature of the highest kind; it gives energy in the use of all other means; and it has received the richest blessings from heaven.

The Church, therefore, in the arrangement of her educational policy, has the right to use the means adapted to increase the number of her ministry—the means of instruction, counsel, admonition, exhortation, and, above all, and beyond all, and chief among all, the means of prayer.

III. A third scriptural principle, which our educational operations rightly keep in view is, that, in the providence of God,

 

 

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MANY OF THE CHURCH’S MINISTERS ARE LIKELY TO BE AMONG THE POOR.

"God’s ways are not as our .ways, nor his thoughts as our thoughts." The ancient covenant people had arranged for the Messiah a splendid temporal kingdom. In their carnal imaginations a state of outward magnificence was the only one becoming to royalty. Robes, crowns, chariots, processions, pomp of power, were among the certainties, in their estimation, of the Messiah’s advent. A stable his birth-place, and a manger his cradle, Jesus came "to confound the wisdom of the wise and to set at nought the understanding of the prudent." He was content with poverty, and he chose it above every other condition of life. The Messiah was reputed to be a carpenter’s son. His mother was an humble maiden of the house of Judah. The most unequivocal testimonials of a low earthly estate accompanied him through life. He did not consider a high social position necessary for the object of his mission. Among all the outer conditions of life, which were open to his choice, our Lord chose poverty. Was there no meaning in this Divine arrangement? Are not the decrees of God "his eternal purpose, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass ?" If the Lord of the New Testament dispensation chose to be lowly by birth—to be among the poorest of the poor,—is it not at least an indication that the sympathies of his life, and the power of his truth, and the glories of his kingdom, were to be independent of the honours and the wealth of this world?

Again. It is a significant fact, that our Lord selected his first apostles from among the poor, and it is not known that any of them had more than a moderate competence. Behold Jesus of Nazareth by the Sea of Galilee, meditating upon the great work of preparing and sending forth ministers of salvation, who should succeed him on his departure. He comes to fishermen’s quarters to make his choice. He finds Simon and Andrew in the act of casting their nets into the sea; and James and John in the act of mending their nets; and here are the first four Apostles of the Church. And of these four, one is the apostle of the circumcision, and another the beloved disciple, who, at Patmos, had revelations of glory. Was it by chance that the Lord passed by the Scribes and Pharisees, and the houses of the rich, like Joseph of Arimathea, and condescended to men of low estate? The fact must ever stand out in the history of the Church, that our blessed Lord, in the exercise of his infinite wisdom, chose his apostles from among the poor. Is there no significance in this choice,—no indication of a plan,—no intimation of what may be likely to occur in the future, and, to a considerable extent, in all ages of the Church?

There may be reasons for the expectation of always having large accessions to the ministry from among the humble classes of society. Society is composed, in a great measure, of the poor, the humble,

 

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under ordinary circumstances to secure their freedom from worldly care.

2d. The fact that many ministers, the largest proportion, will perhaps always come from the middle and lower classes, does not release the higher classes from the obligation of engaging personally in this service. Far from it. The best state of the ministerial profession is not when it is in the exclusive possession of any one class, but when all classes contribute in their just proportion to the preaching of the word of life. It is greatly to be feared that many of our youth, whose position enables them to support themselves, do not examine their duty on this subject with the candour and prayerfulness, favourable to a right decision. God does not exempt the rich from any duties which he enjoins upon the poor.

3d. A third objection has arisen from the apprehension of lowering the influence of the ministry by relying too much upon the children of the poor to perpetuate it. It is quite possible to commit errors in this direction. But the danger is not so much in assisting the poor, as in making too indiscriminate selections from their number. It is the education of the incompetent poor that will impair confidence in the operations of the Church. On this point, the Board has not ceased to be faithful in efforts to form a public sentiment hostile to the reception of dull and unpromising candidates. It would be well, undoubtedly, if the presbyteries raised the standard of mental and moral qualification. Deficiency here is the obstacle which our plans have always found it the most difficult to overcome. The evil in the case is not poverty, but incompetency.

Further, it is a great mistake to confound a lowly condition with a degraded one. The nobility of gifts does not follow distinction of birth, nor is succession of grace coincident with lofty genealogy. There is no process so transforming as Christian education; and where there is real merit in character, poverty can never prevent elevation of social position. All the learned professions welcome the meritorious poor to a participation in their labours and honours. Whilst a watchful guard should be ever kept against the introduction into the ministry of incompetent persons of any grade, the sons, whether of ministers, or of poor elders, or widows, or of the indigent generally, should be encouraged according to their merits and qualifications. If the Church does her duty, God will take care of social position, and preserve ministerial character above degradation.

Reference is sometimes made to the passages in Scripture, which speak in disparagement of the priests who were made "of the lowest of the people." But these passages, where blame is thrown upon Jeroboam for making "priests of the lowest of the people," evidently include in that expression their wicked moral character. The priests were chosen without reference to qualifications; "whosoever would," became one of them. (1 Kings 13: 33.) They worshipped

 

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idols in the high places, and, furthermore, were not of the sons of Levi. (1 Kings 12: 31) Such an unlawful, idolatrous, and wicked priesthood, no doubt, came from the lowest pollution of society. There is not the slightest analogy between such priests and the Apostolic fishermen, or the lowly ministers in the Presbyterian Church.

The great truth will ever hold good, that a majority of the ministers of the Church will probably come from the class to which belonged our blessed Master and his Apostles. This principle is assumed by the General Assembly in establishing her system of operations to assist her youth in preparing for the ministry. It is a principle that has been verified in all ages of the Church.

IV. A fourth principle, which has a scriptural basis, and which our Church incorporates into her plans, is, that the ministry should be an EDUCATED as well as a pious ministry, called of God to their work.

High qualifications enter into all just views of so sacred an office. It is generally conceded that the ministerial character requires piety, and that entrance upon the ministerial office demands the Sanction of a divine call. These views fail to be acted upon in the Christian Church only under particular circumstances, as a low state of religion, which is always a temptation to the intrusion of unworthy persons into the sacred office; or a Church and State connection, where the civil power commonly overbears the religious, and thrusts forward the worldly into ecclesiastical stations; or a hierarchal system of rites and ceremonies, where moral worth and excellence have too often been depreciated by lofty views of Church absolution and authority. All evangelical denominations, especially in this country, acquiesce in the necessity of piety and of a call from God, as requisites for the ministerial office. The Presbyterian Church in the United States has never wavered in her testimony on these two points.

In regard to the importance of EDUCATION to the work of the ministry, there is more difference of opinion; but in our own Church there has always been a uniformity of sentiment on the subject. The principle has the full sanction of the word of God.

Under the Jewish dispensation, the priests and Levites were not ignorant and illiterate men. The Levitical cities were places of learning. The officers of the sanctuary were secluded from the rest of the tribes, and appointed to dwell in towns where they had opportunities of education, adapted to promote intellectual fitness in the discharge of their sacred functions. In later times, there were "schools of the prophets," as at Naioth, Jericho, Ramah, and Gilgal, for the instruction of prophets and sons of the prophets. And in the synagogues, which are commonly supposed to have been established later still, there were scribes and doctors of the law,

 

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who possessed the gifts of teaching in connection with qualifications of learning.*

Under the New Testament dispensation, its Head, the first-born among the prophets, was pre-eminent in all knowledge and learning. Born among the lowly, he was not content to keep down to the natural level of their ignorance. He increased in stature and in wisdom. At the age of twelve, he already astonished the doctors in the Temple; and when he commenced his public work, all the treasures of knowledge abounded in the perfection of his intellectual nature. Does not the wisdom and learning of the Saviour intimate that those who seek, in his stead, to plead with men to be reconciled to God, should strive to possess the highest intellectual attainments within the reach of human effort?

The Apostles, originally illiterate and comparatively unlearned, were three years under the personal training and instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ. They enjoyed his intimate communion; they heard his public discourses; they lived under the light of his example; they witnessed the manifestations of his intellect and heart; and they had the unparalleled advantages of his free and persevering teachings. If never man spake as he spake, so never man taught as he taught. Not only is apostolic instruction a plea for learning in the Christian ministry, but it justifies the course pursued by our Church in requiring that the interval between the call to the office and entrance on its duties should be, in general, a period of preparatory study.

But the fact that immeasurably exalts the position of the Apostles above that of all other ministers, was their miraculous gifts of inspiration and of tongues. The Holy Spirit enlightened their minds, so as to keep their authoritative teachings free from all admixture of error, and gave them the gift of tongues, to communicate freely to others their revelations. Thus gifted with thoughts and with tongues from God, they became the pattern of an enlightened and powerful ministry. Peter, who was called while throwing his net into the sea, was enlightened to become a ready penman of the Lord, and to give to the Church the two epistles that bear his Name; whilst the hand of John, which was mending a net at the Saviour’s call, wrote a Gospel, Epistle, and a great book of Revelation. Apostolic example is the most powerful plea God ever made to the Church in favour of a learned ministry; especially if we include the case of Paul, learned in all Jewish and Pagan knowledge, who was called to be the Apostle to the Gentiles. Let an ignorant ministry stand confounded in the presence of the first teachers in the Church!

The sacred writings aim at keeping up a succession of well-instructed, able ministers of the New Testament. The public

* No illiterate person, or mechanic, was allowed to speak in the synagogue under any circumstances, but only the learned.—See Jennings’ Jewish Antiquities, book II, Chap. 2.

 

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teachers of the Church are required to be learned in the Scriptures; apt to teach; not novices; able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and to convince; nourished up in the words of faith and of sound doctrine; giving attendance to reading; having sound speech, that cannot be condemned; feeding the sheep and the lambs; qualified to take the oversight of the flock; speaking as the oracles of God; making progress, so that their profiting may appear unto all; showing themselves approved unto God, workmen that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.

The spirit and precepts of the Bible are so clearly on the side of extensive theological attainments in the ministry, that institutions of theological instruction were early established in the primitive Church, as at Alexandria. Learning, in subsequent ages, was very much in the hands of the clergy. At the Reformation universities were used in all countries for the training of an able ministry.

The plainest dictates of reason declare that a profession of such responsibility should not be under the control of ignorance, however pious. The destiny of the world is dependent upon the preached Gospel. All the faculties of the human mind have scope for their intensest activity in advancing the Kingdom of God. Shall Law and Medicine be numbered among the learned professions, and Divinity be excluded ? Shall the protection of our rights and the care of our bodies command the attainments of educated men, and the great concerns of life and immortality be committed to the ignorant and untrained?

The plea that piety is the most important qualification, is admitted; but the plea is not to the point. Piety and learning are different things; one cannot supply the place of the other. The heart cannot perform the office of the head. Piety is the most important qualification; but learning, though second to it, comes next, and must be kept next. The two go together; and their separation is calculated to degrade the ministry and to impair its usefulness.

The plea that the direct impulses of the Holy Spirit on the mind of ministers supersedes the necessity of learning, is one of the wildest conceptions of fanaticism. Our Saviour, who was anointed with all spiritual gifts, chose to be learned. The Apostles, although inspired, were trained for their work, and were endued with the gift of tongues. Moreover, inspiration of the kind referred to is believed to have ceased in the Church; and a reliance on the Spirit, except through faith and prayer and the use of means, is unscriptural.

Our own Church has always adopted the plan of thoroughly instructing her youth in theology and its cognate branches of learning, before sending them out to preach the Gospel. Our six Theological Seminaries give testimony to our views of the importance of a learned and pious ministry; and the Board of Education is organized to co-operate in this great work, under the sanction of Scripture.

V. A fifth scriptural principle, which underlies our education

 

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measures, is that PECUNIARY AID should be granted to those candidates whose condition demands it.

Our Lord himself condescended to receive aid from those around him, although the kingdom of nature was at his command. He also accepted aid in behalf of his Apostles, whilst they were in the course of their preparatory training and occupied the position of our theological students. Luke records the case, in the beginning of the 8th chapter of his Gospel. As he went through every city and village, preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God, "the twelve were with him, and certain women," Mary and Joanna and Susanna, "and many others which ministered unto him of their substance." Here was aid for the temporal sustenance of himself and of the members of his theological school. There is surely sufficient similarity in these circumstances to institute a plea in behalf of candidates for the ministry in all ages. If they are in need of support, the substance of the Lord’s friends should be ministered unto them.

The precept that "the labourer is worthy of his hire," has application to the case of students preparing for the ministry. These youth have already entered upon the service of the Church; not, indeed, in the active performance of ministerial work, but in the active preparation preliminary to its performance. They have as really given up worldly occupations and pursuits, as those who are actually ordained to the ministerial office. In their studies, they are devoting themselves to promote the welfare of the Church. They are engaged in public, and not in private work; and like the students in our Military Academy at West Point, they may justly receive aid from the public funds, on the ground of preparing for the public service.

Another class of texts, enjoining on general principles of benevolence a regard for the poor, apply to the cases in question. Many of the candidates for the sacred office are entirely destitute, and really have nothing on which to rely for support, in pursuing their education. "Blessed is he that considereth the poor." (Ps. 41:1.) "The righteous considereth the cause of the poor." (Prov.

29: 7.) "That we should remember the poor." (Gal. 2: 10.) "He hath dispersed; he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth forever." (Ps. 112 : 9.) The duty of a tender regard to the needy, is the subject of the clearest and most positive precepts of the Bible. And why should the candidates of the Church be excluded from the range of such commands and promises?

Still further: those who belong to the household of faith have a special claim for temporal assistance. "As we have, therefore, opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." (Gal. 6 : 10.) Students for the ministry belong to this blessed household of faith, to which all the saints belong, and wherein dwells their elder brother; and in what manner can the wealthy more truly "do good" to these youth,

 

[ 15 ]

than by helping them in the development of their intellectual and moral character, while preparing for their arduous calling? "It is superfluous," says Paul to the Corinthians, "as touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous that I write unto you. (2 Cor. 9: 1.) Why superfluous? Because these Christians were known for their "forwardness of mind," and "brought glory to God for their professed subjection to the Gospel of Christ." (2 Cor. 9: 13.)

Once more: Christ graciously notices and rewards all acts of kindness, however trivial, done to his prophets or disciples. He that receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, or a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall in no wise lose his reward. (Matt. 10 : 41.) Yea, saith the Master, "Whosoever shall give you a cup of water in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward." (Mark 9: 41.) In the eye of faith, Christ is seen in his disciples.

These passages of scripture sufficiently vindicate the support of the indigent by the Church, whilst pursuing a course of preparation for the ministry. The motives involved in these passages are, 1st, The example of Apostolic times, when the women ministered of their substance to the great Teacher and his twelve disciples. 2d, The right of candidates to aid, on the ground of an equivalent in the work of preparation for the Church’s service. 3d, Their actual need of aid, viewed simply as belonging to the miscellaneous class of the meritorious poor. 4th, Their connection with the household of faith; and 5th, The rewards which Christ graciously announces to those who, from love to him, perform the most trivial act of kindness to those for whom he died.

There is no dishonour in receiving aid when it is needed. Our blessed Lord accepted it in his own person, and in behalf of his disciples; and the last act of his life was to commit his own beloved mother to the maintenance and care of John. "Then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy mother And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."

It is believed that all the principles enumerated are scriptural principles, and that the educational operations of our Church deserve the confidence, the prayers, the funds, and general cooperation of all who desire to promote the increase and perpetuation of the Christian ministry.

 

[ 16 ]

HOW DODDRIDGE BECAME A MINISTER.

More than a century ago, there lived in England an orphan boy, of no ordinary promise. From his early childhood, "I want to be a minister," was his chief desire; but being deprived not only of the counsel of a father and the affection of a mother, but also of the necessary amount of money to carry out his cherished desire, his youthful spirit was bowed to the earth, and his noble heart throbbed only with feelings of bitter disappointment and despair.

But a brighter day dawns. There is a prospect for his ardent desire to be gratified. A wealthy lady—the Duchess of Bedford—kindly volunteers to pay all his expenses at the University of Oxford, if he will become a minister of the Church of England. His noble spirit is too proud to sell the religion of his father and mother for the perishable riches of this world, and he most respectfully declines the proffered kindness. God bless thee, noble youth! Wait patiently—never give up—" where there’s a will, there’s a way." The path of duty is always the path of right.

Not long after this occurrence, a poor boy, dressed in the garb of poverty, presented himself at the door of a celebrated minister—Dr. Edmund Calamy—and asked to have a private interview with him relative to studying for the ministry. The minister listened patiently to the recital of his many difficulties and numerous trials, but told him that he thought it entirely unheard of; for a youth like himself to think about entering upon so high and responsible a calling. He advised him to think no more of preaching, but to choose some other calling.

Disheartened at himself, discouraged by his friends, poor, penniless, and forsaken, he knew not whither to go. No smile of encouragement met his eye; no voice of approval sanctioned his noble endeavour. There was a heavenly Friend, however, who had never forsaken him; who had never turned a deaf ear even to his smallest desire who had ever loved him with fatherly affection and motherly tenderness. To that friend he then betook himself, and when engaged in fervent prayer, a postman knocked at the door, and handed him a letter from an old friend of his father—Dr. Samuel Clark—informing him of his willingness to take him under his care, and assist him in his studies, if he was still intent upon studying for the ministry. "This," he exclaimed, "I look upon almost as an answer from heaven, and while I live I shall always adore so seasonable an opening of divine Providence.

The wishes of the poor orphan boy were thus gratified; and before many years had passed away, under the guidance and instruction of his friend, he became a bright and shining light on the walls of Zion.

Youthful reader, this orphan boy was PHILIP D0DDRIDGE—the pious and devoted minister of Christ, the beautiful writer, the faithful pastor, the earnest Christian.

If there be any one into whose hands this article may fall, who, like Doddridge, "wants to be a minister," and is prevented from accomplishing his desire on account of want of means, let me say one word,—never despair! If God wants you to be a minister, he will provide the means. Wait patiently, and pray earnestly. The funds will come in due time; and, if you are a Presbyterian, our Church guarantees assistance to enable you to follow the example of Doddridge in preaching salvation to dying men.

 

17

TESTIMONY OF DR. ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER.

"THE true state of the case is this. The Church wants ministers, and must languish and decline, if she does not obtain a sufficient supply. Every pious young man who has talents to be useful in the ministry, has the ability to make for himself a comfortable living, in some secular business; and in a worldly point of view, every young man of vigorous mind and enterprising disposition makes a sacrifice of his temporal interest by becoming, in this country, a candidate for the ministry. If then, a sufficient number of candidates, from the class able to support themselves, do not offer, is it not the duty of the Church to assist in the education of indigent and pious youth, possessed of good natural abilities? The question to be decided is extremely plain and simple,.—Shall the Church do without a sufficient supply of ministers, or endeavour to obtain such a supply by educating pious young men, who are unable to gain an education by their own means? Suppose the Church to proceed on the principle involved in the objection to this mode of procuring a supply of ministers, what will be the consequence? The appeal here must be made to facts. What has been for twenty years past, the proportion of candidates who have had it in their power to support themselves ? Upon looking over the catalogue of our students, from the commencement of this Seminary, [ Princeton Theological Seminary, Willison ed. ] I find that at least one-half the whole number have required to be aided by the funds of the Church, or by benevolent individuals. Some of these, by spending years in teaching, might have found their way into the ministry; but the greater number would have been discouraged, and would have turned their attention to some other pursuits or, they would have sought an entrance into the sacred office, without any suitable and thorough preparation. Certainly, we have not had a superabundance of good ministers; and surely, no one would wish to see our Church filled with men imperfectly prepared. With all our exertions by means of the Board of Education, the number of our ministers falls far short of the demand.

"From the origin of this Seminary, as was before stated, at least one-half the students have been more or less dependent on charitable funds for their support; and yet it has never been observed by the Professors that these were, as a body, inferior to the others in any respect whatever. Certainly their being beneficiaries has not lowered them in the opinion of their fellow-students, as far as the fact was known; but in a majority of cases, the wants of the needy are supplied with out giving such publicity to the transaction that it becomes known even to their fellow-students.

"If we should now take a survey of all the pastors and evangelists in connection with the Presbyterian Church, whether labouring at home or in the foreign field, there would be found no marked inferiority in those educated on the funds of the Church, in manners,, piety, talents, or usefulness. If all who were thus educated should at once be withdrawn from the field of labour, it would leave such a chasm, or rather such a desolation, as would fill every pious mind with grief and discouragement. If then this plan of providing a supply of ministers for the Church has been found necessary in timees past, why should it not be equally, yea, more necessary hereafter, as the field is every day widening both at home and abroad, and the demand for labourers more urgent, every succeeding year?-

[ 19 ]

I.MINISTERS may aid the Board of Education,

By their sympathies and co-operation in its plans; by their prayers in public and private ; and by bringing the claims of the ministry before pious and gifted young men, and before the churches.

II. ELDERS may aid the Board of Education,

By appointing a day for a regular annual collection in their congregations, whether supplied with pastors, or vacant and by the use of all public and private means within their sphere, as enumerated on this page.

III. PARENTS may aid the Board of Education,

By dedicating their children to God; by giving them a religious education; and by encouraging them, if pious and otherwise qualified, to examine their duty as to entering the ministry.

IV. TEACHERS may aid the Board of Education,

By mingling religious truth with their daily instructions; by affording facilities to indigent youth to obtain an education in their schools; and by setting forth to them the claims of the Christian ministry and the wants of the world.

V. THE RICH may aid the Board of Education,

By supporting one or more indigent students ($100 or $120 to each, a year), and by legacies. "Distributing to the necessities of saints."

VI. FEMALES may aid the Board of Education,

By forming associations to support one or more indigent candidates for the ministry. The most efficient aid has been rendered by these associations, so ornamental to religion and so highly important in their general influences. Could not one be formed in almost every Church by a little effort?

VII. CHURCHES may aid the Board of Education,

By raising up candidates for the ministry; by supporting liberally those already preparing; and by praying to the Lord of the harvest.

VIII. HOUSEHOLDS OR FAMILIES may aid the Board of Education,

By engaging to educate a young man to preach the Gospel. Surely there are many pious households that are able to do this. Some have begun this year.

IX. YOUNG MEN may aid the Board of Education,

By offering themselves to the ministry; or by agreeing together to educate a young man for the ministry. If twenty in a church give $5 each, or ten give $10 each, for seven years, it is done. Young men, "ye are strong." Unite in aid of the young men’s cause.

X. SABBATH-SCHOOLS may aid the Board of Education,

By sending Samuels and Timothys into the ministry, and by learning early to contribute to this, and to all objects of benevolence.

XI. THE POOR may aid the Board of Education,

By their mites, which are often the chief gifts in the treasury; by their prayers; and by giving their children to the Lord.

XII. ALL may aid the Board of Education,

By prayer, sympathy, efforts, gifts, and every way in which a self sacrificing Christian may do the will of the Lord of the harvest.

98. AAA98 1851 A. Alexander, Biography, William Tennent, Jr.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

 

 

OF THE

 

 

FOUNDER AND PRINCIPAL ALUMNI

OF THE

 

 

 

 

LOG COLLEGE.

TOGETHER WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE REVIVALS OF RELIGION

UNDER THEIR MINISTRY.

 

COLLECTED AND EDITED

 

BY

ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER, D.D.

 

 

PHILADELPHIA:

PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION,

No. 821 CHESTNUT STREET.

 

The text of this and other superb works are available on-line from:

The Willison Politics and Philosophy Resource Center

http://willisoncenter.com/

Reprint and digital file February 25,, 2001.

This document was scanned from an original copy of Dr. Alexander’s work (1851).

It is to be noted, that mention of Princeton University's origins in the Log College, 1726,is prominently displayed on a bronze plaque mounted on the right side of the Main entrance door to Nassau Hall, its original building. Dr. Miller's walking staff, carved from a remaining log long ago, was on display at Princeton Seminary, Speer Library, as of June, 2001.

The following begins the original text, page numbers are marked in brackets.

[ 2 ]

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, by

A. W. MITCHELL, M. D.

in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Stereotyped by SLOTE & Mooney,

Philadelphia. Printed by Wm. S. MARTIEN.

[ 3 ]

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.

THE LOG COLLEGE………………………………………………………7

CHAPTER II.

MEMOIR OF THE REV. WILLIAM TENNENT, SEN…………………..13

CHAPTER III.

MEMOIR OP THE REV. GILBERT TENNENT……………………....….24

CHAPTER IV.

MEMOIR OF THE REV. GILBERT TRNNENT Continued,……………...38

CHAPTER V.

MEMOIR OF THE REV. GILBERT TENNENT, Continued,……………53

CHAPTER VI.

MEMOIR OF THE REV. GILBERT TENNENT, Concluded…………….68

CHAPTER VII.

THE LOG COLLEGE. THE GERM PROM WHICH

PROCEEDED THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY………………………76

CHAPTER VIII.

THE NEW LONDON SCHOOL…………………………………………...86

[ 4 ]

CHAPTER IX.

MEMOIR OF THE REV. JOHN TENNENT……………………………… 98

 

CHAPTER X.

MEMOIR OF THE REV. WILLIAM TENNENT, JR.……………………. 109

CHAPTER XL

REMARKS ON THE PRECEDING NARRATIVE………………………..147

CHAPTER XII.

ANECDOTES OF THE REV. WILLIAM TENNENT, JR,……………….150

CHAPTER XIII.

MEMOIR OF TEE REV. CHARLES TENNENT,..………………………160

CHAPTER XIV.

MEMOIR OP TIED REV. SAMUEL BLAIR,…………………………….164

CHAPTER XV.

MEMOIR OF THE REV. JOHN BLAIR,…………………………………197

CHAPTER XVI.

MEMOIR OF THE REV. SAMUEL FINLEY D D,………………………204

CHAPTER XVII.

MEMOIR OF THE REV. WILLIAM ROBINSON,………………………215

CHAPTER XVIII.

MEMOIR OF THE REV. JOHN ROWLAND,……………………………234

CHAPTER XIX.

MEMOIR OF THE REV. CHARLES BEATTY,…………………………247

APPENDIX………………………………………………………………..251

 

[ 5 ]

DEDICATION.

TO THE REVEREND PRESBYTERY OF NEW BRUNSWICK.

DEAR BRETHREN,—There is a propriety in dedicating this book to you, as it owes its existence to your appointment of the author to deliver a centenary discourse on the 8th of August, 1838. A copy of this discourse you were pleased to ask for publication, a compliance with which the preacher respectfully declined, because he found that all the facts and documents relative to the origin of the New Brunswick Presbytery could not be included in a single discourse; but he determined to make use of such materials as he possessed, or could obtain, to form a small volume, and lay it before your reverend body. This purpose he has been enabled imperfectly to carry into effect; and he now solicits your candid and favourable attention to a work, which is intended to give the people of the present age an opportunity of seeing what the state of things in this region was a hundred years ago.

As most of those connected with the New Brunswick Presbytery, in its earliest days, were educated at Mr. Tennent’s school, at Neshaminy, commonly called the LOG COLLEGE, to give some appearance of unity to the work, the history contained in it is connected with this humble, but useful Institution.

[ 6 ]

And as the time when this Presbytery had its origin was a period favoured with remarkable revivals of religion; and the men, who then composed this Presbytery, eminent instruments, in carrying forward this good work; it was judged to be expedient to give as distinct and full an account of the outpouring of the Spirit of God in those days as could now be obtained. And as narratives were written by those most intimately conversant with this great revival, which were printed in books now rarely to be met with, it was thought best to rescue these documents from oblivion, and give them unaltered in the very words of the Original writers.

The editor cannot but think that the biographical sketches here given from authentic authorities, will be acceptable to the present members of the Presbytery of New Brunswick; and he is persuaded, that the congregations in which the displays of divine grace were so wonderful a century past, will be benefited by a perusal of the narratives here given. Many pious people among us are not aware that the ground on which they tread has, as it were, been hallowed by the footsteps of the Almighty. And who knows but that prayers then offered in faith remain yet to be answered?

I am with sincere regard,

Your brother in the gospel of Christ,

ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER.

[ 7 ]

CHAPTER I.

 

THE LOG COLLEGE.

 

 

Association gives interest to places—Log College—Name—Site—Size—— Utter Desolation—Country around—Dr. James P. Wilson—Relic— Suggestion of a Monument—Importance of the Institution.

 

By association, objects which have nothing interesting in themselves, acquire an importance, by reason of the persons or things which they constantly suggest to our minds., The rock of Plymouth has nothing in it which renders it intrinsically superior to thousands of other rocks in the country; and the site of Jamestown has notlting but its interesting associations to engage the attention of any one. But these spots, as being the first habitations of the European settlers, in this part of the new world, are invested with an interest which is felt by all; and this interest, instead of growing weaker by the lapse of time, gathers new strength every year. Indeed, it is only a recent thing, that the public attention has been particularly called to these objects. And though there may be an excess in the emotions cherished by some, and an affectation of lively interest in others; yet, it cannot be doubted, that there is a foundation in human nature for the interest which is excited by particular objects, places, and scenes. And the more intimately these associations are related to religion, the deeper and more permanent the feeling becomes. By the abuse of this principle much superstition has been generated; but the moderate and judicious use of it may, undoubtedly, be conducive to piety. Sacred, or holy places, figure largely in all false systems of religion: and under the old dispensation,

 

 

[ 8 ] THE LOG COLLEGE.

the people of God were encouraged to reverence those places where the worship of God was appointed to be celebrated. Under the gospel dispensation, it is true, we have no holy places or houses, to which the worship of God is confined; but in every place, whether by sea or land; whether in the grove, on the mountain top, or in the open field, or the lonely vale, God may be worshipped. Yet, who does not entertain peculiar feelings of interest in relation to those places, where Christ was born—where he was brought up—where he preached and wrought miracles—but, especially, where he suffered and died, and where he was buried and arose again—and where he ascended to heaven, in the presence of his disciples? This feeling is natural, and associated with love to Christ, but it readily becomes excessive, and degenerates into superstition. There never was a book in which there is so little to foster superstition, as the Bible. We never there read of the apostles, when they came up to Jerusalem, resorting to any of these places, or expressing the smallest degree of veneration for them. The natural tendency of the human mind seems to have been counteracted, for the very purpose of preventing superstition; just as the natural passions of the evangelists seem to have been restrained in writing the gospels.

Of late, considerable curiosity has been manifested to ascertain the place where the first Presbyterian church, in this country, was formed; and the history of the first Presbyterian preacher who came to America, which had sunk into oblivion, has, of late, been brought prominently into view. Such researches, when unaccompanied with boasting and vainglory, are laudable. And to gratify a similar curiosity, in regard to the first literary institution, above common schools, in the bounds of the Presbyterian church, this small book has been compiled. That institution, we believe, was, what has been called The Log College. The reason of the epithet prefixed to the word 'College,’ might be obscure to a European; but in this

 

[ 9 ] THE LOG COLLEGE.

country, where log-cabins are so numerous, will be intelligible to all classes of readers. This edifice, which was made of logs, cut out of the woods, probably, from the very spot where the house was erected, was situated in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, about twenty miles north of Philadelphia. The Log College has long since disappeared; so that although the site on which it stood is well known to many in the vicinity, there is not a vestige of it remaining on the ground; and no appearance which would indicate that a house ever stood there. The fact is, that some owner of the property, never dreaming that there was anything sacred in the logs of this humble edifice, had them carried away and applied to some ignoble purpose on the farm, where they have rotted away like common timber, from which, if any of them remain, they can no longer be distinguished. But that some small relic of this venerable building might be preserved, the late Presbyterian minister of the place, Rev. Robert B. Belville, some years ago, rescued from the common ruin so much of one of these logs, as enabled him, by paring off the decayed parts, to reduce it to something of the form of a walking staff; which, as a token of respect, and for safe keeping, he presented to the late Rev. Samuel Miller, D. D., one of the oldest Professors of the Theological Seminary at Princeton, New Jersey. [ Note: as of June, 2001, this staff was on display at Princeton Seminary's Speer Library, Willison Ed.]

The site of the Log College is about a mile from that part of Neshaminy creek where the Presbyterian church has long stood. The ground near and around it lies handsomely to the eye, and the more distant prospect is very beautiful; for while there is a considerable extent of fertile, well cultivated land, nearly level, the view is bounded to the north and west by a range of hills, which have a very pleasing appearance.

It may not be improper to observe, that the late Rev. James P. Wilson, P. D., the learned and admired pastor of the First Presbyterian church, in Philadelphia, was so pleased with the scenery and circumstances

[ 10 ] THE LOG COLLEGE.

of this neighbourhood, that he purchased a small farm, which is, I believe, as near to the site of the Log College as any other dwelling, except the one on the farm on which it was built. To this farm he retired when no longer able, through bodily weakness, to fulfil the arduous duties of the pastoral office. And here, in calm serenity, he spent the last years of his life.

If I were fond of projects, I would propose that a monument be erected to the founder of the Log College on the very site where the building stood, if the land could be purchased; but at any rate, a stone with an inscription might be permanently fixed on or near the ground. The tradition respecting this humble institution of learning exists, not only in the neighbourhood, but has been extended far to the south and west.

The first Presbyterian ministers in this country were nearly all men of liberal education. Some had received their education in the universities of Scotland; some in Ireland; and others at one of the New England colleges. And though there existed such a destitution of ministers in this new country, they never thought of introducing any man into the ministry who had not received a college or university education, except in very extraordinary cases; of which, I believe, we have but one instance in the early history of the Presbyterian church. This was the case of a Welsh-man by the name of Evans, who, living in a place called the Welsh Tract, where the people had no public means of grace, began to speak to them of the things of God, on the Sabbath, and at other times; and his labours were so acceptable and useful that the presbytery, after a full trial of his abilities, licensed him to preach, and afterwards ordained him to the whole work of the ministry. They required him, however, to go through a course of study, under the direction of certain members of the Presbytery. There is, indeed, another case that may possibly fall into this class. "The people of Cape May were without a pastor; Mr. Bradner, a candidate for the ministry, was willing to

 

[ 11 ] THE LOG COLLEGE.

serve them, but had no authority to preach. In this emergency three of the nearest ministers, Messrs. Davis, Hampton, and Henry, on their own responsibility, examined and licensed him."* But as he was before a candidate, and a Scotchman, there is a strong probability that he was a liberally educated man.

There seems to be no written record of the existence of such an edifice as that which we are describing by any contemporary writer, except in the Journal of the Rev. George Whitefield, the celebrated evangelist, who traversed this country several times, preaching everywhere with a popularity and success which have never been equalled by any other. It will be proper, therefore, to extract the paragraph which relates to this subject; as he gives the dimensions of the building, and expressly says that it had obtained the name of "THE COLLEGE." "The place," says he, "wherein the young men study now, is in contempt called The College. It is a log house, about twenty feet long, and near as many broad; and to me it seemed to resemble the school of the old prophets, for their habitations were mean; and that they sought not great things for themselves is plain from those passages of Scripture, wherein we are told that each of them took them a beam to build them a house: and that at the feast of the sons of the prophets, one of them put on the pot, whilst the others went to fetch some herbs out of the field. All that we can say of most of our universities is, they are glorious without. From this despised place, seven or eight worthy ministers of Jesus have lately been sent forth; more are almost ready to be sent, and the foundation is now laying for the instruction of many others." The Journal, from which the preceding extract is taken, was printed in Philadelphia, by Benjamin Franklin, the same year in which Mr. Whitefield visited the Log College. From this testimony it appears, that the name College was given to the building out of contempt, by its enemies; but

* See Records of the Synod of Philadelphia

[ 12 ] THE LOG COLLEGE

in this, as in many other things, that which is lightly esteemed among men, is precious in the sight of the Lord. Though as poor a house as perhaps was ever erected for the purpose of giving a liberal education, it was, in a noble sense, A COLLEGE; a fountain, from which, as we shall see hereafter, proceeded streams of blessings to the church. We shall again have occasion to advert to Mr. Whitefield’s Journal, when we come to speak of the founder of this College; but we shall now proceed to finish what we have to say respecting the site and the building.

When the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States determined, in the year 1811, to establish a Theological Seminary, for the more thorough training of her candidates for the sacred office, there was much diversity of opinion respecting the most eligible site for the institution. Between Princeton, New Jersey, and Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, the chief competition existed; but there were a few persons who were strongly in favour of placing it on the site of the Log College. The Rev. Nathaniel Irwin, then pastor of the church at Neshaminy, and a man of profound understanding, was earnestly desirous that it should be planted on the ground where a building had once stood, to which the Presbyterian church owes much. And to manifest his sincerity and zeal, Mr. Irwin left, in his will, one thousand dollars to the Seminary, on condition that it should be ultimately located on this

 

CHAPTER II.

[ 13 ]

MEMOIR OF THE REV. WM. TENNENT, SEN.

 

 

A minister of the Irish Episoopa1 Church—Emigrates with his family to America—Applies for admission into the Synod and is received—Settles permanently at Neshaminy—Erects the Log College—Visits Whitefield, and is visited by him—His character and death.

WE come now to give some account of the founder of the LOG COLLEGE. The Rev. William Tennent, sen., was a native of Ireland, where he was brought up and received a liberal education; but at what col1ege or university is not known, It is probable, however, that he obtained his learning at Trinity College, Dublin, as he belonged originally to the Episcopal Church of Ireland, in which he took orders. By a small memorandum book kept by the Rev. William Tennent, sen., it appears that he was married to a daughter of the Rev. Mr. Kennedy, May, 1702 in the county of Down, in the north of Ireland; that he was ordained a deacon, in the Episcopal church of Ireland on the 1st day of July, 1704; and ordained priest on the 22d of September, 1706. After entering the holy ministry, he acted as chaplain to an Irish nobleman. But there is no evidence that he was ever settled over a parish in that country; the reason assigned by the author of the Memoir of William Tennent, jr., was that he could not conscientiously conform to the terms imposed on the clergy of that kingdom. He remained in Ireland until he was past middle age. The truth is, that very little is known of Mr. Tennent until he arrived in America. From Dr. Elias Boudinot, who was very intimate with the whole family, we learn that Mr.

[ 14 ] THE LOG COLLEGE.

Tennent, in Ireland, became acquainted with the hey. Mr. Kennedy, a distinguished Presbyterian preacher, who, having suffered persecution in his own country, exercised his ministry in Holland with great success. The only other notice of this zealous and evangelical preacher which has been found is in the "Vindication" by the Rev. Samuel Blair, in which, speaking of the objections made to the revival, he says, "Several have very sufficiently answered the objections against the work itself, as Mr. Edwards in New England, Mr. Dickinson in New Jersey, Mr. Finley in Pennsylvania, Mr. Robe and Mr. Webster in Scotland, and Mr. Kennedy in Holland." He then remarks that Mr. Kennedy had published Mr. Edwards’s "Narrative," with attestations from Scotland, translated by him into the Dutch language. It would be very desirable to obtain some further information of this Mr. Kennedy, who is spoken of as a man of like spirit with Edwards, and Dickinson, and Robe, and Webster, and Finley. But, probably, there remains no earthly record of his labours, his sufferings, and successes.

Our attention has been directed to this man, not merely because Mr. Tennent became acquainted with him, but especially because he married his daughter, who was the mother of his four sons, and emigrated with him to America. And it is exceedingly probable that from this man, Mr. Tennent imbibed his love of the Presbyterian system. Mr. Tennent’s eldest son was no doubt called after his grandfather Kennedy, whose name was Gilbert.

In the Memoir of William Tennent, Jr., it is said that his father arrived in America in the year 1718; but in the sketch of the life of Gilbert Tennent, in the Assembly’s Magazine, for May, 1805, "that he came over in 1716," which last is believed to be the more accurate statement. Upon his arrival, he settled first in the state of New York, where he resided for some time at East Chester, and then at Bedford. Not long after his emigration to America, Mr. Tennent applied

 

[ 15 ]. THE REV. WM. TENNENT, SEN.

 

to the Synod of Philadelphia, to be received, as a minister, into their connexion. The Synod did not act hastily in this affair, but after full deliberation, agreed to receive Mr. Tennent as a member of their body. Before doing this however, they required him to lay before them, in writing, the reasons which had induced him to separate himself from the Episcopal church. And these reasons were ordered to be entered on record. The minutes of the Synod, as found in the printed book of records of the Presbyterian church, is as follows: "Mr. William Tennent’s affair being transmitted by the committee [of overtures] to the Synod, was by them fully considered, being well satisfied with his credentials, and the testimony of some brethren here present; as also, they were satisfied with the material reasons which he offered concerning his dissenting from the Established Church of Ireland; being put to a vote of the Synod, it was carried in the affirmative to admit him as a member of the Synod. Ordered, that his reasons be inserted on the Synod book ad futuram rei memoriam.. The Synod also ordered that the moderator should give him a serious exhortation to continue steadfast in his now holy profession, which was done."*

"The reasons of Mr. William Tennent for his dissenting from the Established Church in Ireland, delivered by him to the Reverend Synod, held in Philadelphia, the 17th day of September, 1718.

"Imprimia.. Their government by Bishops, Arch-Bishops, Deacons, Arch-Deacons, Canons, Chapters, Chancellors, Vicars, wholly anti-scriptural.

"2. Their discipline by Surrogates, and Chancellors in their Courts Ecclesiastic, without a foundation in the word of God.

"3. Their abuse of that supposed discipline by commutation.

"4. A Diosean Bishop cannot be founded jure divino upon those Epistles to Timothy or Titus, nor any where else in the word of God, and so is a mere human invention.

"5.The usurped power of the Bishops at their yearly visitations, acting all of themselves, without the consent of the brethren.

"6 Pluralities of benefices.

"Lastly. The Churches conniving at the practice of Arminian doctrines inconsistent with the eternal purpose of God, and an encouragement of vice. Besides, I could not be satisfied with their ceremonial way of worship. These, &c., have so affected my conscience, that I could no longer abide in a church where the same are practised. Signed by

"William Tennent."

 

[ 16 ] THE REV. WM. TENNENT, SR.

This transaction took place on the 17th day of September, 1718; it is probable, however, that Mr. Tennent’s application was first made to the Synod the previous year; although nothing appears on the records relative to this matter. But in the short account of the Rev. William Tennent, sen., in the Assembly’s Magazine, it is stated, that after some delay, he was received. And the minute recited above seems to speak of it as a thing before under consideration; for it would be very abrupt and unusual to speak of a first application in the language here used—" Mr. Tennent’s affair," &c., without any notice of any application made by him. It is probable that the application to Synod was made in the year 1717, which was the next year after his arrival.

Whether Mr. Tennent had the pastoral care of a church in the state of New York, does not appear; but about the year 1721, he received an invitation to settle at Bensalem, in Buck's county, Pennsylvania, to which place he removed his family, and continued to supply that small Presbyterian congregation until the year 1726, when he received a call to the Presbyterian church at Neshaminy, in the same county. In this place he continued the remainder of his life. And here, within a few steps of his own dwelling, he erected the building which has already been described; which, though humble and even despicable in its external appearance, was an institution of unspeakable importance to the Presbyterian church in this country. [ Bold Italics added, Willison Ed.]

It may be proper to remark, in this place, that from all the accounts which we have, it appears, that at this time, the state of vital piety was very low in the Presbyterian church in America. And the same was true of the churches in New England. And this was remarkably the fact in regard to Great Britain. The ministers composing the Presbyterian church, in this country, were sound in the faith, and strongly attached to the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechism; as were also their people; and there were no diversities

 

[ 17 ] THE REV. WM. TENNENT, SEN.

 

or contentions among them respecting the doctrines of the gospel; but as to the vital power of godliness, there is reason to believe that it was little known or spoken of.

Revivals of religion were nowhere heard of, and an orthodox creed, and a decent external conduct were the only points on which inquiry was made when persons were admitted to the communion of the church. Indeed, it was very much a matter of course, for all who had been baptized in infancy, to be received into communion at the proper age, without exhibiting or possessing any satisfactory evidence of a change of heart by the supernatural operations of the Holy Spirit. And the habit of the Preachers was to address their people as though they were all pious, and only needed instruction and confirmation. It was not a common thing to denounce the terrors of a violated law, and to insist on the absolute necessity of regeneration. Under such a state of things, it is easy to conceive, that in a short time vital piety may have almost deserted the church, and that formality and "dead orthodoxy" have been all that was left of religion. And nothing is more certain, than that when people have sunk into this deplorable state they will be disposed to manifest strong opposition to faithful, pointed preaching; and will be apt to view every appearance of revival with an unfavourable eye. Accordingly, when God raised up preachers, animated with a burning zeal, who laboured faithfully to convince their hearers of their ruined condition, and of the necessity of a thorough conversion from sin, the opposition to them, both in Great Britain and this country, was violent. The gospel, among people in such a condition, is sure to produce strife and division between those who fall under its influence and those whose carnal minds urge them to oppose it. It was in such a state of the church that Mr. Tennent came to this country. [ Bold italics added, see Jonathan Edwards' "Men are Naturally God's Enemies" for a fuller explanation available at jonathanedwards.com, Willison Ed.] What his own course of religious experience had been, we have no information; but he seems to have imbibed a warm, evangelical spirit, and to have been, in this country, distinguished for his zeal

 

[ 18 ] THE REV. WM. TENNENT, SEN.

and efforts in promoting vital piety. When Mr. White-field first visited Philadelphia, Mr. Tennent lost no time in calling upon him. Though he lived nearly twenty miles from Philadelphia, yet no sooner did he hear of the arrival of this evangelical and successful preacher, than taking with him some of his pious friends, he repaired to the city, and from Mr. Whitefield’s Journal, we learn that the visit was very acceptable to him; for he says, "At my return home [from visiting a family] was much comforted by the coming of one Mr. Tennent, an old gray-headed disciple and soldier of Jesus Christ. He keeps an academy about twenty miles from Philadelphia, and has been blessed with four gracious sons, three of which have been, and still continue to be, eminently useful in the church of Christ. He brought three pious souls along with him, and rejoiced me by letting me know how they had been spoken evil of for their Master’s sake. He is a great friend of Mr. Erskine, of Scotland; and as far as I can learn, both he and his sons, are secretly despised by the generality of the Synod, as Mr. Erskine and his friends are hated by the judicatories of Edinburgh, and as the Methodist preachers (as they are called) are by their brethren in England." This testimony of Mr. Whitefield goes to show that the course pursued by old Mr.. Tennent and his sons was different from that of the other ministers of the Synod, to whom he stood in the same relation as Whitefield, Wesley, and their coadjutors, to time great body of the clergy in England. Mr. WhitefIeld, on his return from New York, went to Neshaminy, and spent some days with Mr. Tennent.

Here again we are glad to have the opportunity of using the very words of Mr. Whitefield.

"Nov. 22. [1739.] Set out for Neshaminy, (twenty miles distant from Trent Town,) where old Mr. Tennent lives, and keeps an academy, and where I was to preach to-day, according to appointment. About 12 [o’clock] we came thither, and found about three thousand

 

[ 19 ]THE REV. WM. TENNENT, SEN.

people gathered together, in the meeting-house yard. Mr. William Tennent, jr., an eminent servant of Jesus Christ, because we stayed beyond the time appointed, was preaching to them. When I came up, he soon stopt; sung a psalm, and then I began to speak, as the Lord gave me utterance. At first, the people seemed unaffected, but in the midst of my discourse, the power of the Lord Jesus came upon me, and I felt such a struggling within myself for the people, as I scarce ever felt before. The hearers began to be melted down immediately, and to cry much; and we had good reason to hope the Lord intended good for many. After I had finished, Mr. Gilbert Tennent gave a word of exhortation, to confirm what had been delivered. At the end of his discourse, we sung a psalm, and dismissed the people with a blessing: 0 that the people may say amen to it! After our exercises were over we went to old Mr. Tennent’s, who entertained us like one of the ancient patriarchs. His wife, to me seemed like Elizabeth, and he like Zachary; both, as far as I can learn, walk in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless. Though God was pleased to humble my soul, so that I was obliged to retire for a while; yet we had sweet communion with each other, and spent the evening in concerting what measures had best be taken for promoting our dear Lord’s kingdom. It happened very providentially that Mr. Tennent and his brethren are appointed to be a Presbytery by the Synod, so that they intend bringing up gracious youths, and sending them out from time to time into the Lord’s vineyard. The place wherein the young men study, now is, in contempt, called THE COLLEGE, &c. Friday, Nov. 23: "Parted with dear Mr. Tennent, and his other worthy fellow-labourers; but promised to remember each other publicly in our prayers."From the preceding extract we learn that Mr. Tennent was a man of congenial spirit with Mr. Whitefield, and that he was hold in high esteem by this distinguished

 

[ 20 ] THE REV. WM. TENNENT, SEN.

after his reception, he delivered before that an elegant Latin oration. The writer of a sketch of the life of the Rev. Gilbert Tennent, inserted in the May number of the Assembly’s Magazine, for the year 1805, says, respecting the Rev. William Tennent, sen.: "He was eminent as a classical scholar. His attainments in science are not so well known; but there is reason to believe they were not so great as his skill in language. His general character appears to have been that of a man of great integrity, simplicity, industry, and piety."

Mr. Tennent was, by his position at Neshaminy, a member of the Presbytery of Philadelphia; but when the division of the Synod took place, he attached himself to the New Brunswick Presbytery, to which his sons Gilbert and William belonged.

It appears from the published records of the Synod of Philadelphia, that in the year 1787, a complaint was made to the Synod, by a part of the congregation of Neshaminy, against the Rev. William Tennent,

[ 21 ] THE REV. WM. TENNENT, SEN.

pastor; and also an answer to the same, from another part of the said congregation. Both of these papers were read, article by article, and both parties heard at length what they had to say. Mr. Thomson was directed to prepare a minute which should express the mind of the Synod, in relation to this matter; which being done was adopted, viz. "That the reasons advanced by the disaffected party of that congregation, in justification of their non-compliance with the Synod’s judgment in relation to them, last year, and their desire to be freed from Mr. Tennent as their pastor, are utterly insufficient, being founded (as appears to us), partly upon ignorance and mistake, and partly (as we fear) upon prejudice. It is therefore ordered, that the moderator recommend it to said people to lay aside such groundless dissatisfactions and return to their duty, which they have too long strayed from; otherwise, the Synod will be bound to treat them as disorderly." This minute was unanimously approved.

The matter referred to, as having been before the Synod the preceding year, was, that though Mr. Tennent had so long acted as the pastor of the church at Neshaminy, he had never been formally installed. In regard to which, the Synod had come to the following judgment: "That it appears evident to the Synod, that Mr. Tennent having in all respects acted and been esteemed, and looked upon, not only by the Synod, but by the congregation of Neshaminy, and particularly by the appellants themselves, as the minister and pastor of the people of Neshaminy, that he is still to be esteemed as the pastor of that people, notwithstanding the want of a formal instalment among them."

For some time before his death his health was so feeble, that he was unable to perform the duties of the pastoral office, and his pulpit was supplied by the Presbytery. In the year 1742, we find the following minute on the records of the Presbytery. "Mr. Wilham Tennent, sen., gave in to Presbytery a paper, setting forth his inability, by reason of advanced age, to

 

[ 22 ] ] THE REV. WM. TENNENT, SEN

discharge the work of the ministry unto the congregation of Neshaminy, over which, for divers years past be has been overseer—desiring the Presbytery to grant to said congregation of Neshaminy, such supplies as they can." We find his name enrolled among the members of the New Brunswick Presbytery, in the following year (1743), and in the same year, he is mentioned as present when the Presbytery met to ordain Mr. Beatty as his successor. It is evident from this, that he had resigned his charge, for Mr. Beatty is not said to have been ordained as his colleague. This seems to have been the last meeting of Presbytery which he ever attended. His connection with the congregation was, no doubt, dissolved at the time when he presented the paper stating his inability to fulfil the duties of a pastor; for, in the same year, a call was presented to Mr. William Robinson, which he declined; and after this, in 1743, Mr. Beatty having accepted the call of the people, was ordained their pastor in the month of October.

It is stated in the sketch of the life of Gilbert Tennent, in the Assembly’s Magazine, that the Rev. Willliam Tennent, sen., died in the year 1743; but this is not correct; for we find a record in the minutes of the New Brunswick Presbytery for the year 1746, of the following import: "It is reported to the Presbytery that Mr. William Tennent, Sen., deceased, since our last." The exact date of his death was May 6, 1746, aged 73. This was communicated to the author by the Rev. Dr. Miller, who transcribed it from his tombstone.

He died at his own house, in Neshaminy, and came to the grave in a good old age, like a shock of corn fully ripe. He was buried in the Presbyterian burying-ground, where his tomb may be yet seen.

Mr. Tennent, as far as we know, never published anything. We have, therefore, no means of ascertaining his abilities as a writer; but the benefit he conferred on the church by his school can never be forgotton.

 

[ 23 ] ] THE REV. WM. TENNENT, SEN

The Presbyterian church is probably not more indebted for her prosperity, and for the evangelical spirit which has generally pervaded her body, to any individual than to the elder Tennent. Some men accomplish much more by those whom they educate, than by their own personal labours. This should be an encouragement to such ministers as are obliged to resort to teaching for their own support. If they are so favoured as to be the means of bringing forward a few pious youth, and preparing them for the ministry, they may do more good than if their whole lives had been spent in doing nothing else but preaching the Gospel. And it is good policy for Presbyterian ministers to establish schools, in their charges, wherever they are needed. And this they may do, without subjecting themselves to the drudgery of teaching all the time. Pious young men might be found, to whom such a situation would be a favour; and such institutions are often necessary to enable a minister to educate his own sons. When the means of acquiring a liberal education are brought to the doors of the people, many will avail themselves of the privilege, who would never have thought of going abroad for the mine purpose. The truth of this remark has been verified in almost every place where a good school has been established.

It is to be regretted that our materials for a memoir of the Founder of the Log College are so scanty but his usefulness must be estimated by the character of his pupils, of some of whom we shall have it in our power to give a more particular account; and to this part of our work we shall now address ourselves.

 

99. AAA99 1851 William Adams, Christianity and Civil Government.

Christianity and Civil Government

A DISCOURSE,

DELIVERED ON

 

SABBATH EVENING, NOVEMBER 10, 1851

By

 

REV. WILLIAM ADAMS, D.D.,

PASTOR, THE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

NEW YORK:

CHARLES SCRIBNER,

(LATE BAKER & SCRIBNER.)

145 NASSAU STREET AND 36 PARK ROW.

1851.

The text of this and other superb works are available on-line from:

The Willison Politics and Philosophy Resource Center

http://willisoncenter.com/

Reprint and digital file September 6, 2005.

William Adams, clergyman, born in Colchester, Connecticut, 25 January 1807; died at Orange Mountain, New Jersey, 31 August 1880. was graduated at Yale in 1827. He studied for the ministry at Andover theological seminary. The University of New York gave him the degree of D.D. in 1842, and Princeton College that of LL. Was a founder, Union Theological Seminary, 1836, and its President, 1874-80.

For much more, see: Appleton's Cyclopedia of Biography available at Virtualology.com

Willison Editor's Note:

We have provided below, pertinent quotes from Dr. Adam's discourse, in order to highlight for the modern reader crucial themes he addressed in establishing Biblical Spirituality as the only foundation for a successful experiment in self government.

All highlighted italics are added for emphasis.

Excerpt 1. Pg 10

"There must be a religious basis beneath the pillars of the state; nor will we ever believe that a subject so intimately related to the well-being of man is forever to be secularized away from Christian rule; and that because it would be indecorous for the teachers of religion to mingle in the petty affairs of party politics, therefore, they have no duty to perform, and no lessons to impart relative to the claims of government as derived from the Gospel of the Son of God."

Excerpt 2. Pg 12

"I do not propose to settle every point of casuistry; but, if possible, would state the broad principles of Revelation pertaining to the civil power; principles which may reconcile apparently incongruous sentiments, remove impending obscurities, and establish the identity between good citizenship and practical Christianity."

Excerpt 3. Pg 14.

"The most frightful evil which Christianity teaches us to deplore, is anarchy and licentiousness. "Speaking evil of dignities," "despising governments," is an inspired description of the most dangerous of men. Men are not to be left in all things to follow their individual will. Related to others of their species, they are to be restrained by the beneficent power of public law. The natural liberty of man is, in some respects, diminished by the necessary restraints of society."

Excerpt 4. Pg 15.

"Not that Tiberius and Nero were good men; not that a ruler cannot do wrong; not that we are to approve of everything he does or requires; but government, of which even bad men may be the agents—government is an ordinance of God, and as such is to be honored as a necessary and benignant provision for human happiness. It may be abused; it may be perverted; (and of the remedies in such cases I am to speak hereafter), but all government must not and cannot be destroyed. The worst form of tyranny which ever lorded it over injured men, would be paradise in comparison with the entire destruction of all restraining and ruling power. "

Excerpt 5. Pg 17.

Brawling, riotous, ferocious resistance to all governments, is a sort of liberty which finds no favor from the spirit of Christianity. We should respect, revere, honor magistracy as the exponent of God’s legislation for human happiness. The more free our institutions, the more established our rights, the more we should honor the ruling power which protects and blesses us. A self-governed people should never fail in the sentiment of loyalty; for in the degree in which they are deficient here they rebuke and condemn themselves.

Excerpt 6. Pg 18.

For it has been the policy of despotism, in all ages, to make it appear that there is but one form of civil government sanctioned by heaven; that every attempt to change this is to be branded as impiety, and therefore, a revolutionary spirit is to be held, in all cases, as essentially atheistical and wicked. The world is full of books concerning the "divine right of kings" and the notion which prevailed for ages was, that God anointed kings as his exclusive agents and vicegerents; and therefore religion required passive obedience to them, however cruel, capricious, and unjust their demands.

Excerpt 7. Pg 20.

The weightiest matters, the most important inferences, therefore, are dependent upon the position we have assumed that the Word of God nowhere prescribes the precise form in which government shall be organized. Government in some form it recognizes as essential and divinely authoritative: but it no where instructs us that there is any one form to modify which would be disloyal to God.

Excerpt 8. Pg. 21.

"Did not God ordain a royal house over his ancient people ?" Admit that it was so. Are we anywhere instructed that the same form of government is authoritatively prescribed for all times and all people ? Look carefully at all the facts of the history. The form of government prescribed for the Jewish people was that of a republican commonwealth, with such legislation for equality and justice as might provoke the most profound admiration in this self complacent age. But the people themselves were clamorous for a change. They saw the splendors of royalty in the nations which surrounded them; and longed to be like them. For this they were rebuked; they were forewarned of the. consequences of their choice; With their passion being unappeasable, God gave them a king in his wrath, because of their incorrigible wickedness: and the very words, God save the King, which England has adopted as her national anthem, were shouted by the people, when Saul was anointed king, under a solemn protest from the mouth of Samuel, who, in God’s name, assured them that the permission allowed them was a rebuke and punishment for their folly in rejecting a government which was incomparably better."

Excerpt 9. Pg. 23.

"But the question whether a bad government may not be exchanged for a good one, and this for a better, is one which Christianity more than tolerates; itself proposes, and resolves."

Excerpt 10. Pg. 23.

"Governments are not the property of the officials by whom they are administered. They were ordained for the benefit of all; to use the very language of the New Testament, that we may lead quiet and peaceable lives; and the wisdom of God is greatly to be admired in devolving so much the responsibility of deciding the form in which government shall be administered upon those for whose welfare it was ordained. Do not believe that passive obedience to odious tyranny, when a better administration is perfectly feasible, is the only Christian virtue."

Excerpt 11. Pg. 24.

"The old Continental Congress of the United States were not sinning against the Most High God, when they judged that they could erect for themselves a better form of government than any across the seas. George Washington was no rebel against his Maker for espousing the same opinion. When President Langdon, of Harvard University, put himself at the head of Col. Prescott’s column on Cambridge Common, on the eve of the 17th of June, 1775, and offered up a devout prayer beneath the stars for the success of the expedition then starting for the neighboring heights of Charlestown, he was no Judas, treacherously leading a band with swords and lanterns against the Christ of God. Christianity is no indifferent spectator of the patriotic struggles and revolutions which aim at the reform of abuses. Her own spirit is in the wheels. And when Christianity holds up before the world this compendious doctrine: Obey government’s and make governments better, she has promulgated a law, which, for its sublime simplicity and consistency challenges the homage and admiration of the world."

Excerpt 12. Pg. 25.

Most of the errors which prevail in our times, as to the organizations of society, are the offspring of a Pantheistic philosophy, which overlooks and neglects our individuality. Now the gospel of Christ reverses this order entirely. It commences its great reforms with the heart of the individual man. It begins not with the remote circumference—the nation, to work inward; but at the heart of each individual and works outward to society.

Excerpt 13. Pg. 26.

Do you ask for the process of improvement? Briefly stated, it is as follows. First, the Gospel kindles the spirit of liberty. It supplies the individual with an adequate stimulus and motive power. It bursts like the morning sun on the statue of Memnon, and makes the motionless marble to sing. It puts beneath a dead and unthinking nature the mighty lever of Christian truth, and lifts man up in God’s image, to do God’s work. Clothed with the authority of the skies it comes to every man and says—" you are God’s child, in God’s image, whether in ebony or ivory; for you Christ died, for you the costly expenditures of redemption, and the mansions of glory." Taught the worth of his soul, man stands erect. He dilates with a great inspiration. An unknown importance attaches to his every act. New motives has he in the education of his offspring, the acquisition of property, in the maintenance of his rights. Freedom there will be——for such a man must have room in which to live and work. Before this quickening, ennobling power of religion, there must be uprising against wrongs, abuses must be reformed, oppression must be resisted, and he who has learned that he is to sit on a throne in heaven, will have no tyrant’s foot upon his neck while he lives on the earth."

Excerpt 14. Pg. 27.

"By one ray of celestial light, Christianity solves all the problems which for ages perplexed the whole subject of’ civil government. Addressing its spiritual teachings to the individual, it makes him loyal to God, puts in his heart the love of justice, liberty, and virtue; makes him at once free and obedient; bold, earnest, courageous, yet acquiescent with his whole soul, in the wholesome laws which look at equity, righteousness, order and peace. It is not true, that despotism and lawlessness are the only alternatives presented to man. Christianity, by its intermediate and conservative power, changes the whole aspect of this controversy. It teaches man how to reform without destroying; how to resist wrong without practising wrong; to find liberty and hold himself back from licentiousness; to advance yet always in the right direction; to make progress, yet always steadying himself by stern faith in truth, in duty and in God. "

Excerpt 15. Pg. 28.

"Thus is it that Christianity enlightens, modifies, and improves the governments of the world, as its power increases over the hearts and minds of individuals. It turns blind submission into rational obedience; tempers the passion for liberty with the love of order, and places mankind in a happy medium between the extremes of anarchy on the one hand, and oppression on the other; and when this slowly-advancing power of Christianity is universal, there will be order, peace, liberty, and righteousness throughout the world."

Excerpt 16. Pg. 31.

"We are a Christian people. We are not a nation of atheists. We cannot deny the existence and supremacy of God. This question of the supremacy of the Almighty, in its naked, abstract form, never was presented in any legislation to the American people. If it were, it would be decided with wonderful unanimity. The people of France once presumed to decide the question; and they pronounced the infatuated opinion that there was no God; and the pressure of divine law taken off, volcanic explosions and earthquakes ensued, the rumblings and reverberations of which have not yet ceased."

Excerpt 17. Pg. 37.

"There is no truth in Theology more clearly defined than the necessity of informing, instructing, and regulating the conscience by correct rules. A man who is conscientious in doing wrong is the most dangerous of his race. He has the propelling power without the helm or the brake."

Excerpt 18. Pg. 42.

"The same question [ legitimate revolution, ] was revolved and resolved by our fathers in their memorable struggle for independence. They were burdened with evils. They sought their removal. They petitioned, they remonstrated. By all legal and prescribed methods they sought for relief and redress. At length the question stared them full in the face, whether, painful as it was, difficult as it was, it was not better, on the whole, for their posterity, for their country, and for the world, to forego all connection with the mother country and establish a new government for themselves. That question was decided, thoughtfully, calmly, solemnly, prayerfully. We believe it was decided wisely; that it was decided in accordance with the will of God; for it was decided according to Christian expediency; the endurance of incidental evil for an ultimate greater and more glorious good."

Excerpt 19. Pg. 43.

"Be thankful to God that you live in a land where questions of law are not decided arbitrarily by the will of an individual; but in open court, with prescribed modes, with fair investigation, free discussion, the solemn forms of justice, and where proper redress is available for all obnoxious legislation. Each and every man undertaking to decide for himself what is legal and what is obligatory is anarchy; ruinous to man, and hateful to God. Prove yourself a Christian citizen by referring that interpretation to those whose province and duty it is to decide.

That decision being given, and the law proved to be law——you ask again what is your duty.."

Excerpt 20. Pg. 46.

"The right of revolution is yours. But BEWARE THAT YOU DO NOT MAKE A MISTAKE. Interests too vast, too solemn, for ourselves and the world are at stake, to justify rashness. In other matters you may trifle; but you must not trifle here. Mistakes elsewhere may be innocent; but they are not innocent here."

Excerpt 21. Pg. 48.

"I see the eyes of millions from every part of the world turned towards us, eagerly watching the great experiment of self-government. I see the exiled and the sad from every land hastening for shelter to our shores; finding liberty, home, and hope, beneath the protection of wholesome laws. I see the unparalleled blessings which Divine Providence has conferred upon us in the past, the present, and which open before us in the future. I see a nation of freemen, stretching from state to state, from sea to sea; free thought free labor, free religion, a free Bible; schools, homes and churches; a nation involving in its success the hopes of the world."

[ 3 ]

Submittamus nos tum Deo, tum aliis, tum iis qui irnperium in terra gerunt: Deo quidem omnibus de causis; alii autem aliis propter caritatis foedus; princibus denique propter ordinem, publicaque disciplinae rationem.

Gregory Nazianzen:

ORAT. 17.

[ 4 ]

TO

THE PEOPLE OF HIS PASTORAL CARE,

WHO AIM TO REGULATE THEIR LIVES BY RELIGIOUS RULES

TO EXPLAIN THE DUTIES OF CITIZENS ACCORDING

TO CHRISTIAN ETHICS, IS AFFECTIONATELY

AND RESPECTFULLY

INSCRIBED BY

THE AUTHOR,

[ 5 ]

REV. WILLIAM ADAMS, D.D.

DEAR SIR :——Having listened with high gratification, to your excellent discourse on the application of Christianity to Civil Government, and feeling assured that an extensive distribution of it would be eminently useful, we take leave to request a copy of it for publication.

Very respectfully and truly,

Your Friends and obdt. Servts,

HIRAM KETCHUM.

JAMES BOORMAN.

BENJ. L. SWAN.

S. S. ROWLAND.

W. R. CROSBY.

AMORY GAMAGE.

SAM. M. BLATCHFORD.

JOHN TENBROOK.

CHARLES A. BULKLEY.

GEORGE BACON.

A. R. WETMORE.

DAVID LEAVITT.

A. FISHER.

18. T. HAINES.

NORMAN WHITE.

JOSEPH B. VARMUM, JR.

JOHN C. BALDWIN.

STEPHEN M. CHESTER.

JAMES B. THOMPSON.

FREDERIC BULL.

JOSEPH HYDE.

GENTLEMEN :—I defer to your judgment in transmitting, for your disposal, the discourse which, in terms so kind, you have requested for publication. The substance of it, as some of you

[ 6 ]

may remember, was preached in June, 1848; long before any discussion had arisen in this country relative to the Fugitive Slave Law. The circumstances which gave rise to it were the remarkable revolutions then in progress in Europe. It seemed to me that Christianity could not look with indifference on those uprisings of patriotism and freedom; while her restraining power was greatly needed to prevent freedom from degenerating into anarchy.

It is well known to you that when the last Revolution in France was in progress, a host of theorists made their appearance, who proposed to take advantage of that event, for re-organising society on new and peculiar principles. Of the eleven men who were hastily called to the provincial government of that country, four were the prominent leaders of a party or sect, which, with several minor distinctions, passed under the general name of Communists. The smooth roots of speculation, all of a sudden, brought forth the stinging nettles of political peril and trouble. Interested as is my profession in every event relating to the happiness of man, I was at some pains to procure the principal French writers whose opinions had been most active in the new order of things, and acquaint myself with the Philosophy of those movements which contemplated great changes as to Social Inequalities, Labor, Tenure of Property, Law and Government. During the last year I prepared and delivered a series of Discourses on the application of Christianity to these social questions; under the sober conviction that the religion of the New Testament has promise of the "life that now is as well as of that which is to come;" that it is something more than a bridge to help us across the river of Death, even a light by which to journey, a hope by which to toil, a motive by which to live day by day; and that its oil is not merely for the extreme unction of the dying, but for rendering the limbs of the athlete supple and strong in the arena of present duty. When in this series of related topics the time arrived for introducing the subject of Civil Government, events had occurred in our own country which gave an unexpected interest to the subject, and a new application to the argument. So that while a part of the discourse was actually written with special reference to the changes going on in the Old World, a part was prepared with

[ 7 ]

particular reference to events then transpiring under our own government.

I have no apology to make for introducing this topic into the sacred desk. " Preaching politics," as that expression is generally understood, is a habit to which neither judgment nor taste incline me; but the explication of a doctrine set forth distinctly and frequently in the very words of Inspiration, might be admitted to be within the proper province of the Christian ministry, even if we did not see its immediate bearing on the supremacy of religion and the substantial happiness of man.

At the time this discourse was first delivered (10 Nov.,) the pulpit, so far as my information extends, had made no expression of the views here exhibited. I could not then, as I might now, avail myself in the construction of my argument, of the better reasonings and reflections of many in my profession. As I would not presume to dictate to others so I have not borrowed my sentiments from others. That these should meet with universal approbation is more than I anticipate. I assume no infallibility and no authority; but shall be sufficiently gratified if it should be thought that, in the expression of my deliberate and independent sentiments, I have not violated the law of Christian meekness and modesty. I will not conceal that it has been a source of pleasure to me to be informed by some of our most intelligent fellow-citizens, who have listened to this discourse, that it has contributed its share for the relief of their minds on certain points where many are perplexed with the fear of going wrong. Should the same result be accomplished in other cases, it will be to me an occasion of devout joy. I am, gentlemen, with very true regard,

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LET every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers

that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of

God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to

good work; but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power ? do that which is good, and

thou shalt have praise of the same. For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do

that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a

revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not

only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For, for this cause pay ye tribute also; for they are

God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues;

tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom

honour.

THE subject suggested by this passage of inspired Scripture involves matters vital to human happiness. For long ages mankind have been theorizing and experimenting, toiling and suffering in their vain attempts to reach the truth pertaining to civil government. Extreme doctrines have been set forth on either side; inculcating abject submission and lawless freedom. Curious theories have been elaborated as to the origin and authority of government; the right and the wrong of undertaking any modifications of the ruling power; and it would seem that upon this subject the world had

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"ever been learning and never been able to come to the knowledge of the truth." At this present hour, the whole surface of civilized society is rolling and heaving, like the bosom of the sea, because of the internal forces which are at work pertaining to the uses and abuses of political power. Nor is this to be wondered at when we consider the immediate connection which subsists between the administration of the state, and the dearest rights, and highest interests of mankind.

We believe that the world never will arrive at a state of repose and satisfaction on this subject till the great principles relative to civil government contained in the Word of God are made the basis of human sentiment and practice. There must be an ethical osteology in the body politic. There must be a religious basis beneath the pillars of the state; nor will we ever believe that a subject so intimately related to the well-being of man is forever to be secularized away from Christian rule; and that because it would be indecorous for the teachers of religion to mingle in the petty affairs of party politics, therefore, they have no duty to perform, and no lessons to impart relative to the claims of government as derived from the Gospel of the Son of God.

Most of the theories which have been promulgated as to the origin and province of government, have been elicited by special and local questions; and accordingly they have, in most instances, been too partisan in their character and too meagre in their induction. A change in the government of

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Berne led Louis Van Haller to conceive his remarkable theory concerning civil government. This may be the process by which truth is smelted out at last. A practical case arises in the administration of the state which elicits differences of opinion. Those opinions may be extreme and extravagant on either side; but they excite thought; they lead to comparisons and judgments; and the effervescence of contrary qualities results in a third quantity, which is nearer the truth than either of the elements which entered into its composition.

It is impossible to deny that circumstances have arisen in our own country which lend to this subject an unusual interest and importance. Sentiments have been broached as to the proper province and prerogatives of government, as to obedience to government and resistance to government, as to the conflicting claims of private conscience and of public duty, which have agitated the country, and by which the minds of many well-meaning men have been sadly confused and perplexed. They are told on the one hand that it is a religious duty to obey governments, and they believe it: they hear much, on the other hand, of the worth and glory of a good conscience, the memory of Christian and patriotic martyrs, and they are convinced that somewhere there is a place and a right of resistance to political power, though they are sorely perplexed to discover and define it: and just in this unhappy, undecided, double-minded condition, multitudes of our own citizens are thrown at this very instant; so that

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our topic is one not of abstraction but practical and pressing importance.

Let me premise that my object is not to advocate or discuss any particular law; much less to promote any political measure. The ministry of religion knows "no man after the flesh." I do not propose to settle every point of casuistry; but, if possible, would state the broad principles of Revelation pertaining to the civil power; principles which may reconcile apparently incongruous sentiments, remove impending obscurities, and establish the identity between good citizenship and practical Christianity.

I begin with stating a few of the more obvious doctrines of the New Testament concerning civil government.

1. Government—civil government, is an ordinance of God, and as such is to be respected and obeyed.

The language of Scripture is very explicit.

"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers, for there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever, therefore, resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God—and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation." The bare mention of a passage like this plunges us, at once, into the midst of those great questions which have exhausted the wisdom of the prudent, and convulsed the world with changes. "In what sense is government ordained of God ?" "Is the duty here enjoined a passive obedience to governments of all forms, and in all acts ?" " Are no changes in

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civil governments ever countenanced and aided by religion? Is resistance to political power in every case, an act of disloyalty to God? If exceptions are allowed—when, why, and what are they ? " Let us not be deterred by the difficulties which environ the subject upon which we are entering; for, with the Word of God, like a lamp, in our hand, we may take our way without fear of losing our path.

I repeat, then, the first and most obvious teaching of the New Testament, on this subject; Government is ordained of God, for the welfare of his creatures, and as such is to be obeyed. No mention is here made of the form in which government is to be administered. The expression is generic. "The powers that be," " rulers," "higher powers," are the terms employed, without specifying their names, their office, or the mode of their appointment. Some government is essential to human happiness. Society could not exist without it. There must be restraint, law and order. A ruling power of some sort, under some name, there must be. This necessity exists independent of our choice. It grows out of that constitution of things which God himself has created. The theory of a social compact, as set forth by Rousseau in his famous work—" Sur le Contrat Social," and adopted by other politico-philanthropic writers is alike visionary and atheistic. It is just such a theory as might have been expected from a man so vainly fond of paradox that, when the Academy of Dijon proposed the question, "Whether science and

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civilization were serviceable to human happiness," he was forward to espouse the negative side, though against his convictions of truth, because affording him a better opportunity to distinguish himself by startling novelties.

The Being who made us, made the necessity of law and government. Governments never did originate in the mere preference and contract of individuals, who, up to that time were without any government at all. Compacts, constitutions may, indeed, be framed by men, and between men, regulating the form in which government shall be administered; but the reality, the necessity of some government depends not at all upon human choice. Talk of a state of nature! When, where was there ever a tribe of uncivilized savages who did not recognize the necessity of some form of law among themselves, rude, barbaric though it was, hereditary or delegated, the will of the oldest, the richest, or the strongest. The bloodiest pirate-ship that ever prowled on the windward station has its laws. There can be no association of men without them. There is a liberty which is fostered by the gospel, but that liberty is not lawlessness. The most frightful evil which Christianity teaches us to deplore, is anarchy and licentiousness. "Speaking evil of dignities," "despising governments," is an inspired description of the most dangerous of men. Men are not to be left in all things to follow their individual will. Related to others of their species, they are to be restrained by the beneficent power of public

15

law. The natural liberty of man is, in some respects, diminished by the necessary restraints of society. Human passions are to be confined within certain limits. There may be, there are, degrees of merit in the several forms in which government is administered; but to destroy all government would make Mercy weep and Compassion mourn. Tiberius Caesar was upon the throne when Jesus Christ paid the tribute which the Roman, in justice, could not claim. Nero was Emperor when Paul wrote to Titus—" Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates," and Peter wrote——" Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether it be to the King as Supreme, or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him, for the punishment of evil-doers, as free, and not using your liberty as a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God." It would, as we think, be a forced and artificial interpretation of the clause—for the Lord’s sake, in this passage, to understand it as requiring obedience only to such enactments as are made from religious principle, with special regard to God’s will. Nero was never suspected of enacting or executing any law from such a motive. Its obvious import is, that we should obey government from a principle of obedience to God. Not that Tiberius and Nero were good men; not that a ruler cannot do wrong; not that we are to approve of everything he does or requires; but government, of which even bad men may be the agents—government is

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an ordinance of God, and as such is to be honored as a necessary and benignant provision for human happiness. It may be abused; it may be perverted; (and of the remedies in such cases I am to speak hereafter), but all government must not and cannot be destroyed. The worst form of tyranny which ever lorded it over injured men, would be paradise in comparison with the entire destruction of all restraining and ruling power. Who, for all the gold that ever was coined, would venture himself and his family in Naples, in Madrid, in Paris, in New York, a single day, in the absence of all law, and government to protect him? We shudder at the thought of a vast population let loose to follow inclination unchecked and uncontrolled; their passions clashing in turbulent confusion, and destroying each other by the conflicts of physical force. The ruling power, says the gospel, is God’s minister for good. Somewhere, under some name, in some form, there is a power which governs; yes, which governs; which holds the will of the individual in subjection to public laws. These laws may not be perfect, but the idea that every man is to be a law unto himself is Utopian, and unchristian. We look, with unspeakable interest, on the struggles of men in the Old World who are striving for a more liberal government, for laws more humane and just; we believe that the Gospel aids and encourages such aspirations and struggles (and it will be for me in the sequel to show how this influence of the Gospel is to be reconciled with the obedient spirit now under consideration) but wherever there are men

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who have conceived the idea of demolishing all governments and all laws, lifting aloft the blood-red flag as the sign of universal anarchy—to them we say, the Gospel has no sympathy with licentiousness. The "jus divinum" of Kings may have been monstrously abused, but government is no invention of king-craft. Law is not a device of man. It is an ordinance of God. Its necessity is laid in infinite goodness, and never can it be abrogated. The God who made us has ordained that there should be a power—how appointed, how invested, I do not now say; a power—that is the word—not mere mawkish sentimentalism, but a power that wields the sword, a sword not of feather, not of lath, but of veritable steel, the symbol of authority which, in God’s name, shall punish the evil-doer, and stand as a barrier against wild and atrocious lawlessness. Brawling, riotous, ferocious resistance to all governments, is a sort of liberty which finds no favor from the spirit of Christianity. We should respect, revere, honor magistracy as the exponent of God’s legislation for human happiness. The more free our institutions, the more established our rights, the more we should honor the ruling power which protects and blesses us. A self-governed people should never fail in the sentiment of loyalty; for in the degree in which they are deficient here they rebuke and condemn themselves.

2. We are now prepared to advance to a second position, which is, that the Word of God, while it enjoins obedience to government, no where

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prescribes the form in which that government shall exist: but has left this as a thing capable of improvement, to the experience and preference of men themselves, within the limits of certain general principles of equality and equity, liberty and law, which are, to the last degree, reasonable and essential.

This statement, if it can be verified, will dispose at once of a thousand questions, by which the minds of men have been embarrassed, in reference to this subject. For it has been the policy of despotism, in all ages, to make it appear that there is but one form of civil government sanctioned by heaven; that every attempt to change this is to be branded as impiety, and therefore, a revolutionary spirit is to be held, in all cases, as essentially atheistical and wicked. The world is full of books concerning the "divine right of kings" and the notion which prevailed for ages was, that God anointed kings as his exclusive agents and vicegerents; and therefore religion required passive obedience to them, however cruel, capricious, and unjust their demands.

We can readily understand how such notions have crept into English theology and English literature. In the reign of Henry VIII., when the king’s proclamation had the force of law, Cranmer declared, in emphatic words,—I quote his own language—-" that God had immediately committed to Christian princes the whole cure of all their subjects, as well concerning the administration of God’s word, for the cure of souls, as concerning

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the ministration of things political." In the reign of James I., Sir Robert Filmer, the author of the famous treatise on Patriarchal Government, asserted that the Supreme Being regarded hereditary monarchy, as opposed to any other form of government with exclusive favor, a theory which called forth the immortal treatise of Algernon Sidney, a legacy of wealth to the nations. James himself frequently enraged and alarmed his Parliament by telling them that they had no more business to inquire what he might lawfully do than what the Deity might lawfully do. The philosopher Hobbes, writing during the reign of Charles I., affirms that in a literal, not a metaphorical sense, kings are the representatives of God; lords of our faith and our lives, and authoritative interpreters of Scripture. L’etat c’est moi,"—I am the state—said Louis the Fourteenth as he stalked into the hail of his Parliament, with a riding-whip in his hand. The same doctrine of the exclusive divine right of kings is asserted by Bishop Horsely in his celebrated sermon before the House of Lords in the year 1793; a discourse which awakened the indignant rebuke of Robert Hall in his eloquent "Apology for the Freedom of the Press and for General Liberty ;" and I have perused a sermon, by a Protestant clergyman, in our own country, in which the extreme doctrine is, I will not say argued but declared, that to the duty of submission to an established government there are no limitations and no exceptions; that obedience in the state and obedience in things spiritual, are

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parts of the same Christian virtue, and that those revolutions which we are accustomed to favor with our good wishes and .aid, are in fact rebellion against that patient obedience to civil authority which is enjoined by God.

The weightiest matters, the most important inferences, therefore, are dependent upon the position we have assumed that the Word of God nowhere prescribes the precise form in which government shall be organized. Government in some form it recognizes as essential and divinely authoritative: but it no where instructs us that there is any one form to modify which would be disloyal to God.

"Does not Peter, in his general Epistle, require us to honor the king ?" Unquestionably. Were we aiming at strict historical exactness, we should say that the Roman Emperors were republican magistrates named by the Senate; but royalty, kingship was the form in which government was embodied, when the Apostle Peter wrote his epistle: and Christianity, in all consistency, required its disciples to obey even a heathen monarch rather than rush into the fearful chaos of no government at all. But what has this fact to do with the question whether a better form of government might not be made in the place of that which then existed? The simple fact that our Lord and his disciples conformed to certain institutions existing in their day, in the absence of all specific directions, no more proves that we are to make those same institutions our model and our law, than that we are

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to imitate, in every respect, their dress and domestic customs as Orientals. Paul wrote his epistles to the churches on parchment with a stylus; is this an argument to prove that we should never employ what is better—a printing press? The same Apostle coasted along Asia Minor, and pushed into the Adriatic in a ricketty and unseaworthy vessel, without a compass; is this a reason why we should not traverse the same waters in a. steam-ship, by the aid of a binnacle? The Apostles practised obedience, on Christian principles, to the only form of civil government which then existed; is that an argument to prove that government is not susceptible of improvement, and that, in the progress of events, we may not frame one which is better?

"Did not God ordain a royal house over his ancient people ?" Admit that it was so. Are we anywhere instructed that the same form of government is authoritatively prescribed for all times and all people ? Look carefully at all the facts of the history. The form of government prescribed for the Jewish people was that of a republican commonwealth, with such legislation for equality and justice as might provoke the most profound admiration in this self complacent age. But the people themselves were clamorous for a change. They saw the splendors of royalty in the nations which surrounded them; and longed to be like them. For this they were rebuked; they were forewarned of the. consequences of their choice; With their passion being unappeasable, God gave

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them a king in his wrath, because of their incorrigible wickedness: and the very words, God save the King, which England has adopted as her national anthem, were shouted by the people, when Saul was anointed king, under a solemn protest from the mouth of Samuel, who, in God’s name, assured them that the permission allowed them was a rebuke and punishment for their folly in rejecting a government which was incomparably better. The language cannot, therefore, be employed as an inspired demonstration of the exclusive claims of royalty.

Admit that the form in which government is to be administered is prescribed in the Word of God, and that this exclusive form is royalty, and by that admission you make all improvements in government impossible; all revolutions in government acts of impiety; and all Christian patriots who have resisted despotism, rebels against heaven. The doctrine of Scripture is perfectly consistent with itself. Government is essential, and government is to be obeyed. But the form in which government is to be administered, and the spirit of its legislation admit of degrees of improvement. Law is not a stereotype letter which changes not from age to age, but a beneficent agent, which, in the gradual progress of Christian civilization, must conform itself more and more to the genial legislation of the gospel. Government is not a colossal figure, seated upon a throne of everlasting rock, holding the same old sceptre of iron, century after century,

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never to be modified in form, dress, or utterance. The alternative of government or no government, never has been, and never will be presented to man. But the question whether a bad government may not be exchanged for a good one, and this for a better, is one which Christianity more than tolerates; itself proposes, and resolves. There is a sense in which it is perfectly proper and Christian to speak of "the divine right of kings ;" and. with equal propriety may we speak of the divine right of presidents and governors; the divine right of mayors and sheriffs; the divine right of constables and policemen; for these are all ministers of law; and God is not a God of confusion but of order. Government is divinely appointed, inasmuch as it is conducive to human happiness. The world at the close of the first demiurgic day was better than chaos and old night. The tyranny of one, be that one Nero or Caligula, is better than the tyranny of ten thousand. A diseased eye is better than total blindness; for the diseased organ is susceptible of remedies. Remedies have been employed, defects have been supplied, evils have been corrected, and under the benignant influences of Christianity, civil government has been constantly improving, and it will improve till its whole form and spirit are accordant with the beneficent ends for which it was ordained of God. Governments are not the property of the officials by whom they are administered. They were ordained for the benefit of all; to use the very language of the New Testament, that we may lead quiet and peaceable lives;

and the wisdom of God is greatly to be admired in devolving so much the responsibility of deciding the form in which government shall be administered upon those for whose welfare it was ordained. Do not believe that passive obedience to odious tyranny, when a better administration is perfectly feasible, is the only Christian virtue. The Barons of Runnymede were not sinning against God, in securing chartered rights for their country; for these were better than the imperious will of King John or Henry III. Parliamentary reforms are not necessarily assaults upon Christianity. The old Continental Congress of the United States were not sinning against the Most High God, when they judged that they could erect for themselves a better form of government than any across the seas. George Washington was no rebel against his Maker for espousing the same opinion. When President Langdon, of Harvard University, put himself at the head of Col. Prescott’s column on Cambridge Common, on the eve of the 17th of June, 1775, and offered up a devout prayer beneath the stars for the success of the expedition then starting for the neighboring heights of Charlestown, he was no Judas, treacherously leading a band with swords and lanterns against the Christ of God. Christianity is no indifferent spectator of the patriotic struggles and revolutions which aim at the reform of abuses. Her own spirit is in the wheels. And when Christianity holds up before the world this compendious doctrine: Obey government’s and make governments better, she has pro

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promulgated a law, which, for its sublime simplicity and consistency challenges the homage and admiration of the world.

Most of the errors which prevail in our times, as to the organizations of society, are the offspring of a Pantheistic philosophy, which overlooks and neglects our individuality. Now the gospel of Christ reverses this order entirely. It commences its great reforms with the heart of the individual man. It begins not with the remote circumference—the nation, to work inward; but at the heart of each individual and works outward to society.

You have observed, perhaps, with surprise, that the New Testament contains so •few directions for rulers and Governments in their distinctive capacity. The reason is, that the directions which Heaven has enacted for the individual man, are capable of an extension and application to any number of men; that is to society, to nations, and the world. Man is a microcosm; a little world in himself. One man is the likeness and representative of every other. And the. Supreme Being who has revealed all the legislation of the universe in ten precepts, and these epitomized in two: who has comprised the expression of all our lawful desires in. one brief formula of prayer; has, with the same sublime comprehension made known his will as to the Government of the world, in those few and simple principles which the gospel plants in the heart of a child. The government of God does not concern itself primarily and immediately with what is public and national. Its proper kingdom is the human soul.

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This rectified, ennobled and blessed national prosperity flows from it as a legitimate consequence. God’s method of making good governments is to make good men. Do you ask for the process of improvement? Briefly stated, it is as follows. First, the Gospel kindles the spirit of liberty. It supplies the individual with an adequate stimulus and motive power. It bursts like the morning sun on the statue of Memnon, and makes the motionless marble to sing. It puts beneath a dead and unthinking nature the mighty lever of Christian truth, and lifts man up in God’s image, to do God’s work. Clothed with the authority of the skies it comes to every man and says—" you are God’s child, in God’s image, whether in ebony or ivory; for you Christ died, for you the costly expenditures of redemption, and the mansions of glory." Taught the worth of his soul, man stands erect. He dilates with a great inspiration. An unknown importance attaches to his every act. New motives has he in the education of his offspring, the acquisition of property, in the maintenance of his rights. Freedom there will be——for such a man must have room in which to live and work. Before this quickening, ennobling power of religion, there must be uprising against wrongs, abuses must be reformed, oppression must be resisted, and he who has learned that he is to sit on a throne in heaven, will have no tyrant’s foot upon his neck while he lives on the earth.

The more you rouse the energies of man—the more of impetus you apply—the more needful is the power of control and restraint. Give to man

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nothing but stimulated strength and he is a maniac, burning, breaking, tearing, destroying whatever is in his path. Restrained he must be. But how? Christianity puts the power of control in the very heart which it rouses to life. It makes the man the master of himself. Not one whit does it abate from the spirit of liberty and of life. It does not clog him with weights, nor cripple him with blows, nor cage him within prison-bars; but it puts law in the heart and conscience at the helm. By one ray of celestial light, Christianity solves all the problems which for ages perplexed the whole subject of’ civil government. Addressing its spiritual teachings to the individual, it makes him loyal to God, puts in his heart the love of justice, liberty, and virtue; makes him at once free and obedient; bold, earnest, courageous, yet acquiescent with his whole soul, in the wholesome laws which look at equity, righteousness, order and peace. It is not true, that despotism and lawlessness are the only alternatives presented to man. Christianity, by its intermediate and conservative power, changes the whole aspect of this controversy. It teaches man how to reform without destroying; how to resist wrong without practising wrong; to find liberty and hold himself back from licentiousness; to advance yet always in the right direction; to make progress, yet always steadying himself by stern faith in truth, in duty and in God. When God put the planets in motion, they were not left with the impetus of a single force. The centrifugal and centripetal were so combined as to make them move in regular and harmonious orbits.

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Man, started on his career by the conscious spirit of liberty and power, you might think, was like a comet threatening to burn the earth; but obedient to the same power which projected him into being, he turns at the right point and comes back around his centre in a beautiful circle of light and blessedness. Taught by the religion of Christ, he carries in his own bosom a combination of forces, impelling and restraining, stimulating and controlling, and he stands before you in all the power and beauty of a self-governed man. Man must be governed; by physical force, if not by internal principles. Begin, as God does, with the heart of individual man; acquaint him with his destiny, and qualify him for it; and you may leave all other questions to an easy, natural, and inevitable solution. Thus is it that Christianity enlightens, modifies, and improves the governments of the world, as its power increases over the hearts and minds of individuals. It turns blind submission into rational obedience; tempers the passion for liberty with the love of order, and places mankind in a happy medium between the extremes of anarchy on the one hand, and oppression on the other; and when this slowly-advancing power of Christianity is universal, there will be order, peace, liberty, and righteousness throughout the world.

These general principles conceded, a practical question is already answered: ‘May human governments ever be resisted?’ Unquestionably. You cannot deny it without condemning all the Christian patriots who have lived and died in a righteous cause. If governments may be modified and

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improved, of course, there are cases in which they may be resisted, even forcibly, if necessary; a bitter medicine, actual cautery, or amputation being indispensable to save life. Our American Revolution, for example, can be justified on Christian principles. We cannot go so far as Bishop Berkley, that genial and generous man, and acute reasoner, who has undertaken to demonstrate that it is as much our duty to submit to the most ferocious tyrant, as to submit to the supreme benevolence of God; or rather that to obey such a tyrant is to obey Supreme Benevolence.

We exclaim with Pope:

The divine right and authority of government resides in its tendency to promote the peace, protection, order, and happiness of society. This is the object of God’s benevolence; and whatever secures this has the sanction of his will. Government possesses this divine right only as tending to public happiness. It is instrumental and not primary, mediate and not ultimate; and when the public happiness, instead of being, on the whole promoted by obedience, would, upon the whole, where every consequence indirect as well as direct is taken into account, be promoted by shaking off that power which is inconsistent with its great object, remonstrance, even rebellion itself, if that name can fitly be given in such

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circumstances of dreadful necessity, to the expression of the public will, has more truly its divine rights than established authority, when forgetful of that end and object for which God has sanctioned it at all.

"The speculative line of demarcation where obedience ought to end, and resistance must begin is," as Mr. Burke truly says, "faint, obscure, and not easily definable. It is not a single act, or a single event which determines it. Governments must be abused and deranged, indeed, before it can be thought of; and the prospect of the future must be as bad as the experience of the past. When things are in that lamentable condition, the nature of the disease is to indicate the remedy, to those whom nature has qualified to administer in extremities, this critical, ambiguous, and bitter potion to a distempered state. Times and occasions and provocations will teach their own lessons. The wise will determine from the gravity of the case; the high-minded from disdain and indignation at abusive power in unworthy hands; the brave and bold from the love of honorable danger in a generous cause; but with or without right, a revolution will be the very last resource of the thinking and the good."

"The last resource of the thinking and the good !" says this eloquent writer, but still a resource! And when the necessity occurs, in which the Christian patriot, ‘before obedient to the ruling power, feels that he has now another duty to perform, when he sees with sorrow that a cause which is good in itself will demand the use of means,

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from which, with any other motive, he would have shrunk with abhorrence; he will lift his voice sadly indeed, but still loudly; he will lift his arm with reluctance, but when it is lifted, he will wield it with all the force which the thought of the happiness of his country and of the world, as, perhaps, dependent upon it will inspire;’ for Christian benevolence has made a calculation in which his own happiness, and his own life are not to be counted as elements. If he emerges from the struggle successful, like our own Washington, in the serene evening of his days, he may look back with manly and permitted melancholy at the sacrifices and sufferings which the struggle has cost; and upward, too, with Christian gratitude and joy, at the HIGHER GOOD, and the GREATER HAPPINESS, present and prospective, which the dread necessity of the sword has secured; and thus Christianity vindicates the righteousness of the cause.

Some may be disappointed if we stop at these general principles. They press us with the question, whether there is not a Power and an authority higher than human government; and whether we are not under an obligation to obey the former in all cases, whenever it comes into conflict and collision with the latter. That question, my brethren, has but one side. I speak as an American citizen, and as a Christian minister. Stated in this form, it admits of no discussion. We are a Christian people. We are not a nation of atheists. We cannot deny the existence and supremacy of God. This question of the

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supremacy of the Almighty, in its naked, abstract form, never was presented in any legislation to the American people. If it were, it would be decided with wonderful unanimity. The people of France once presumed to decide the question; and they pronounced the infatuated opinion that there was no God; and the pressure of divine law taken off, volcanic explosions and earthquakes ensued, the rumblings and reverberations of which have not yet ceased. We must not be drawn into a false issue. The minds of many good men have been thrown into a false position. They have really thought that it was a matter of debate whether there was a Power higher than human go eminent. They know, they feel that there is a God, greater, wiser, and better than man. We all believe it. You must not deny it, or doubt it. If you take for your premises a denial of this truth, imbedded in our hearts, your logic and your legislation will surely be refuted. W cannot admit that, at this period of time, this truth is to be debated. We drew it in with our mother’s milk. Our bones are full of the strength of it. It has been taught us in our homes, in our schools, in our churches. The supremacy of God is recognized in our courts of justice, in our halls of legislation, in every judicial oath, in all the solemn forms in which government is administered. It rests as the foundation stone of our Republic, and it cannot be dug up or disturbed.

Prove to us a Christian people what God would have us to do, and our duty is plain. Convince us, by infallible evidence, that God demands a specific

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act, and we will do it, though it leads us to lion’s dens, or furnaces of fire. We will dare to do it in the face of all interdicts, of all opposition, even, as Luther said when on his way to Worms, if there were as many devils in our path, as tiles upon the houses.

But the real question, and the only question which can arise among a religious people is this:

what IS the will of God? How shall we arrive at a knowledge of what God requires of us in a particular case? The general direction is given us in the inspired Scriptures by God himself, that we must obey Government: not for wrath, that is, through fear of punishment, but for "conscience sake." Before you can bring the sanction of God’s name to countenance resistance to human law, it is incumbent on you to show, by substantial and satisfactory proof that the authority of God requires that resistance. Perhaps you are mistaken. It may be that you are misinformed and have misjudged. The question is, whether the will of God requires or does not require you to obey the civil law. It is a " petitio principii,"— a begging of the whole question—to justify your resistance to human law, on the ground of obedience to a Divine law; unless you can furnish adequate proof that the divine law compels you to that resistance. That is the question, the only question, and the whole question that can be presented to a patriotic and Christian citizen. Convince us by infallible proof, that God requires of us to oppose, at all lengths, a given law, then we will oppose it manfully and courageously.

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But how do you prove this? By what process do you arrive at such an authoritative and infallible conviction? This is the whole gist of the subject. When Peter and John, (a case so often cited, and as often perverted,) refused obedience to the Jewish Sanhedrim, who had prohibited their preaching— saying so gallantly and courageously, "whether it is right in the sight of God, to hearken unto God, or unto men, judge ye;" they had infallible, they had Supreme authority to justify their resistance. Their Divine Lord, the personification of divine law had commanded them to do that definite and distinctive thing. It was not a matter of doubtful propriety, of uncertain inference with them, what to do; that one thing—to preach the gospel—remission of sins in the name of Christ, they were positively directed to do. The same Being, who created governments, and requires us to honor and obey them, commanded them, in explicit terms, to do that very thing, even though opposed by kings, governors and councils. Their noble conformity to that command was justified by the very highest authority; and they went on calmly, fearlessly doing their Lord’s will; and when the wrath of kings waxed hot against them they were meekly ready for the sacrifice, and unresistingly bowed their necks to the sword.

But the question is, how we, with no Divine Lord and Master at our side, to instruct and authorize us in every given case, how we shall be sure that we have the sanction of God in a religious opposition to any human law? Do you say that feeling—your own feelings, instruct you as to what God would have you to do? But feelings

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are of contrary qualities. They differ in different men. They depend very much upon habits of association and education. Your feelings may be right or wrong. We would have you to prove to us that they are right. In obedience to the law of God, the feelings of the heart are all and everything. Outward service, with no concurrence of the heart, is impious mockery. But it is otherwise in respect of human enactments. It is no sin to feel that they are imperfect. But the separate question of duty still recurs, must not the law be obeyed, notwithstanding the feelings oppose it? Which shall be ascendant, principle or impulse?

Is your conscience a correct exponent of God’s will and law? Here we have need of the most careful analysis, the most cautious discriminations. We are all accustomed to admit that the man who follows a good conscience, in a good cause, even unto death, is the noblest of his race. Such a man is above your pity, above your jest. But the glory of the act lies in the emphasis of the qualifying word, a good conscience and a good cause. Therefore to infer that every conscience, in every cause is the highest law for human conduct is a most perilous sophism. We read in the Word of God of an evil conscience, a weak conscience and a defied conscience. What is Conscience? I will not delay or perplex you with the metaphysics of the schools. I will not pronounce whether it is an act of the mind or a faculty of the mind. I will not say whether it is an original or a derived faculty. If the latter, I will not trace its pedigree, or decide which theory was right, that of Adam

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Smith or of Sir James Mackintosh. A more general answer will suffice; it is the mind itself, pronouncing judicially upon its own acts. It is the testimony of the mind approving actions which it thinks to be good, and reproaching itself with those it believes to be evil. It is the judgment of the mind in view of certain rules. It does not originate the rule. It is not the legislative power that enacts laws, but the judicial power that decides on our conformity to law. It is a faculty which itself needs to be instructed. A sun-dial can be of no use except it be fixed by a true meridian; and even then the old fashioned inscription is verified, "Nihil sine lumine"—Useless without the sun. Clothe every conscience with the authority of law, if it be not rightly instructed, it is the ringleader in mischief. Saul of Tarsus verily thought within himself that he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus. As the conscience is the mind itself and the mind is the man, the man may be ignorant, he may be imbecile, he may be prejudiced, he may be wilfully ignorant, he may be self-interested and self-willed; he may have a small share of that wisdom that "looketh before and after," and, consequently, his opinion cannot be authoritative to himself or to another. Sincerity of judgment is no proof of its correctness. "There is a way that seemeth right to a man, but the end thereof is death." He ought to know more and judge better than he does.

Because there is a sweetness and a glory in the testimony of a good conscience, acting in religious matters, under the clear light and positive teachings

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of Revelation, many infer, most fallaciously, that there is a sacredness and divine authority even in their errors of judgment if they but endow them with the name of conscience.

Nemo suae mentis motus non aestimat aequos

Quodve volunt homines, se bene velle putant.

There is no truth in Theology more clearly defined than the necessity of informing, instructing, and regulating the conscience by correct rules. A man who is conscientious in doing wrong is the most dangerous of his race. He has the propelling power without the helm or the brake. So far as the conscience is accurately informed, by the light of nature, or by the Revelation of God, it is of use and value; but the weight to be attached to the judgment of an individual on other matters, even though it passes by the name of conscience, is to be proportioned to our estimate of his intelligence, wisdom and goodness. As Jeremy Taylor has expressed it, in that Thesaurus of philosophy and erudition, the "Ductor Dubitantium," "a man may be conducted by an abused conscience, so long as the legislative reason is not conjoined to the judge conscience, that is, while by unapt instruments we suffer our persuasions to be determined." Beyond the fact that a man follows his own conscience there lies another question, ‘Is his conscience RIGHT? Is it correct, true; and good?’ A good conscience is one that is intelligently acquiescent with the will of God. The question then immediately recurs, how do we know in a given case, not defined in the Revealed Word, what

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the will of God is? We have no Urim and Tliummim to furnish us with an infallible decision. ‘We have no holy of Holies from which the voice of God proceeds in audible directions. We have no visible Form of supreme law to whom we may go as the disciples to Christ, saying " Lord, what wilt thou have us to do ?" who will resolve for us every point of casuistry by an infallible interpretation. We do not believe in any Pope as the vicegerent of God. The Pantheist is perfectly consistent when he makes the instinct, the feeling of the individual man the supreme law, for his language is that ‘man is God;’ and according to him the idea of mistake or wrong is an absurdity. But we believe in man’s personality and individuality, moreover in his errors and sins.

I will not shrink from the responsibility of answering this question; how may we hope to arrive at the knowledge of God’s will, and what are the elements of a good conscience?

We arrive at that high conviction by the calm exercise of our own reason; by intelligent thinking; by honest judgments, and by the use of all human and inspired wisdom which we can command. It will not be communicated to us miraculously. We must think; we must study; we must compare; we must judge; we must pray. We must take the Word of God, and inquire how this or that course of conduct will square with this divine and infallible law. Perhaps we shall not all be perfectly agreed in our judgments. There are different degrees of intelligence, comprehension, honesty and candor among men. So long as

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differences of capacity and character exist, there will be differences of opinion. Perfect unanimity of sentiment is not to be expected in a world of imperfection. We arrive at ultimate truths by a long process of discussions and experiments; it may be, by mistakes and corrections, but truth is the ultimate result if candor and kindness are at the helm.*

Now, in forming our opinion as to the will of God, in a particular case, where definite instructions are withheld, there is one consideration, which must be our religions guide. It is an inseparable element of a good conscience in distinction from a rash, prejudiced, or ignorant conscience.

That is an intelligent LOOKING AT CONSEQUENCES.†

* No shadow of ambiguity can rest upon the course to be pursued by one who receives religious principles at large, or particular instructions immediately from Heaven, and who is commanded to promulgate what he has so learned. Whosoever has a commission of this sort may calmly discharge his duty, and may leave all consequences to Him who has foreseen every contingence. This being obvious, it seems not less so that the absence of miraculous attestations ought to make some difference in the conduct, or at least in the style of those who insist upon conformity to their opinions. If the man who derives his opinions simply (by his own confession) from his personal study of the scriptures, and who has enjoyed none but ordinary aids, and who can advance no pretensions which other men may not also challenge, is entitled to speak in the tone, and to exercise the authority of a prophet or apostle, then where was the necessity of the extraordinary powers with which prophets and apostles were endowed?

We should not for a moment hold controversy with a man whether he ought or ought not to promulgate the will of God when he knows it, and to challenge the obedience of all men to that will. This duty is granted, but we may surely ask him to exhibit his credentials. We shall be the first to submit to his dictation, when we have actually seen the seal of heaven in his hand, and are satisfied on the capital point of his divine legation.

The occult and fundamental principle of all religious rancour, and fanaticism, whether it be avowed or not, is this assumption of divine authority in behalf of what is simply an individual opinion. "I THINK SO" is the whole residuum that can be found after evaporating the prodigious pretensions of the zealot demagogue. What is this will of God? This authority of Heaven? This sacred cause of Truth and Righteousness? Nothing, absolutely nothing more than "I THINK SO." Strip the schismatic declamation of its finery and its sublimity, of its thunder and its fire, and there remains just this meagre and scarcely visible particle, the intrinsic value of which it would be impossible to express—SATURDAY EVENING. Art. Charity and Conscience.

† A right conscience is that which guides our actions by right and proportioned means to a right end .—DUCTOR DUBITANTIUM.

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I know that it is fashionable in some quarters, to cry out against the philosophy of expediency, as if it were synonymous with a mean, time-serving policy. Society has not a greater danger to apprehend than that which arises from this one mistake. I cannot ‘take it for granted,’ all at once, that any law is to be resisted, and resisted forcibly, without looking at the consequences of that resistance. These I must weigh and compare, in forming my judgment as to what the will of God

is. Give me an express command from the mouth of the Lord, and I have nothing to do with consequences. Should the edict be as from the King of Babylon, that no man should pray, we would do as Daniel did, for God has commanded us to pray. But in the absence of specific directions, in cases confessedly intricate and involved how may I know

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what the will of God is, but, among other things, by a sagacious and benevolent comparison of effects and results Without this, so far as they come within the range of my judgment, I am a blind man; and I am striking in the dark. The great law of Christian expediency is the law of God’s own kingdom; and may be defined as the using of the best means for the best ends. Those ends must come under my consideration as an intelligent Christian. Imperfections, incidental evils may be in the way, but in studying to know my duty as a Christian, I forswear my reason, if I do not calmly and solemnly measure results.

Admitting that the right of revolution resides in every people; that those for whose advantage government was instituted, possess the right to modify the form of that government, or resist its action when needful for their greater good; it must be the first question to be decided, whether the proposed change or resistance does involve that greater good, the prospect of which alone justifies the change. That question has been revolved and decided by every martyr and patriot who ever suffered for freedom and for truth. It is the settlement of that one question which makes the difference between a patriotic revolution, and lawless rebellion. That was the question which was agitated and decided in Great Britain in 1688. The leaders of the people saw the perils of revolution. They took into account, on the one hand, all the evils and all the hopes which attended a change; and on the other hand, all the evils and advantages there were in a continued succession. Weighing these together, they decided that the

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evils they endured and must endure under the reign of the bigoted James, more than counterbalanced all the advantages which could accrue from his administration of the state. Looking into futurity, acting for posterity as well as for themselves, they decided that the interests of the Protestant religion, that the general order, stability, and happiness of the country required a change in the government, and the adoption of a new succession. The action had regard beyond incidental evils to an ultimate good. The action was justified by Christian expediency, and so was one, as we believe, which secured the favor and blessing of God.

The same question was revolved and resolved by our fathers in their memorable struggle for independence. They were burdened with evils. They sought their removal. They petitioned, they remonstrated. By all legal and prescribed methods they sought for relief and redress. At length the question stared them full in the face, whether, painful as it was, difficult as it was, it was not better, on the whole, for their posterity, for their country, and for the world, to forego all connection with the mother country and establish a new government for themselves. That question was decided, thoughtfully, calmly, solemnly, prayerfully. We believe it was decided wisely; that it was decided in accordance with the will of God; for it was decided according to Christian expediency; the endurance of incidental evil for an ultimate greater and more glorious good. That same question is to be met, answered, decided intelligently by every man, before he is justified in resistance to government and law. I do not say

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that the case cannot arise in which resistance is justifiable. Far am I from affirming that human laws cannot be wrong, and that we must always give to them an indiscriminate approval. But when the question of duty arises as to acquiesence or resistance, and I set myself to quadrate my conscience with the will of God, I must, in the absence of definite directions, in settling and deciding what is right and what is duty, take into account the consequences which follow my decision. The divine right of government is in its tendency to public happiness; and the divine right of resistance is to be inferred from the tendency of that resistance to a greater happiness than could follow acquiesence; and until that tendency is made clear and certain, he that resisteth the power resisteth God.

Both of the Revolutions from which I have drawn my illustrations derive all their splendor from the great principle on which they rest, that the public good is the great end of government.

As to the question of the constitutionality of any law; that belongs not to the department of Christian ethics. That is a matter of simple legal and judicial decision. When the inquiry is raised, is this or that enactment legal and constitutional, we refer it to the proper tribunal for investigation. The language of the town clerk of Ephesus to the vociferous mob that would have done violence to Paul was truly sensible. "Ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly; the law is open, and there are deputies; let them implead one another." Be thankful to God that you live in a land where questions of law are not decided arbitrarily by the will of an individual; but in open court, with

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prescribed modes, with fair investigation, free discussion, the solemn forms of justice, and where proper redress is available for all obnoxious legislation. Each and every man undertaking to decide for himself what is legal and what is obligatory is anarchy; ruinous to man, and hateful to God. Prove yourself a Christian citizen by referring that interpretation to those whose province and duty it is to decide.

That decision being given, and the law proved to be law——you ask again what is your duty on Christian and ethical principles, in reference to a law which you dislike: I answer unhesitatingly; obedience to law, till such time as you can make it sure that the evils which that law entails so far overbalance all the good which obedience to law secures, that you are justified in resistance, for the sake of a surer, a higher, and a greater good. We do not say that the law itself may not be distasteful to your sensibilities; we do not say but that you may regret the necessity of its enactment; we do not forbid you to deplore the circumstances which gave it existence; we do not forbid you to use all proper means to substitute alawwhich is better; we do not deny the right of private judgment, nor the right of resistance, nor the right of revolution; but in God’s name, we do insist, before that last right be resorted to, and as you would justify your resistance on Christian principles, that you should convince yourself and convince others, that the benefits to be secured by resistance or revolution, are vastly greater than any which follow acquiesence under constitutional order and security. To this narrow point we must come at last. You

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must not begin with natural rights and abstract rights, and push them in a blind, headstrong manner, in straight lines; for society is organized with a modification of our natural rights; and the advantages of a well-organized and well-governed social state are secured by the sacrifice of individual interests and personal preferences; and the question is, whether this state and order of things is not better than the resolution of society into its original elements (if such a thing were possible), each individual being left to assert and defend his own rights, in his own way, and by his own strength.

Our Divine Lord beheld the sufferings of his countrymen under Roman oppression. Jewish taxation was farmed out in a way to occasion the Jewish nation unprecedented suffering. The Pharisees, designing to entrap him, asked whether it was lawful to pay tribute to Caesar. "To whom," asked he- in calmest majesty, "do you take tribute; of children, or of strangers ?" They say "of strangers." Then, replied he, are the CHILDREN FREE. But he did not take his stand on this natural right and refuse the tribute. Acquiesence even in an unjust law, was better than any advantage which could be attained by a premature, inopportune, and abortive resistance. So he sent to the sea and procured the coin for himself and his disciples. A beautiful illustration, we must all admit; of the great law of Christian expediency. Let the best thing be done, that can be done, in given circumstances.

Certainly it is your right to eat meat, but for "meat do not destroy the work of God." The absence of all imperfection, of all defect, is more than can be demanded of anything human. But do

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not destroy life for the sake of remedying blindness, deafness, or lameness. Do not demolish the temple for the sake of repairing a defect in its facade. Do not break the costly vase because of an unseemly stain on its surface. Do not overturn law and government to remove an incidental evil. If the evil, in your sober judgment, in your calm and religious reason, is so vast, so accumulative, so progressive, as to throw into shade all the benefits which accrue from a government administered according to charters and constitutions, the course before you is plain. The right of resistance is yours. The right of revolution is yours. But BEWARE THAT YOU DO NOT MAKE A MISTAKE. Interests too vast, too solemn, for ourselves and the world are at stake, to justify rashness. In other matters you may trifle; but you must not trifle here. Mistakes elsewhere may be innocent; but they are not innocent here.

Do evils of such helpless, hopeless, overshadowing enormity exist in our own country, and under our own government, that resistance, the "last resource of the thinking and the good" is necessary? Evils there are. But are they of such a character as to overbalance the good? Slavery is an evil. We allow no man to surpass us in our utter detestation of the system. It existed in the country when our stern-souled fathers were called to frame the government. It existed by no choice or fault of theirs. When deliberating as to the formation of a constitution they were compelled to recognize the existence of an evil which they deplored ;

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They have transmitted to us a priceless heritage, though the evil still inheres. Would to God that it never had existed. But can we soberly, intelligently, and religiously decide that it is so great, intolerable, and incurable, that we are justified in defying law, tearing the constitution, revolutionizing the government; risking the advantages enjoyed by us and our children, for the sake of its removal?

Every man, I think, will pause ere he rushes on such a decision. Circumnavigate the globe; where do you find a government better than our own; one which better answers the ends of government! Go to Madrid, to Vienna, to Constantinople, to Rome, to Petersburgh, to Rio Janeiro, to Mexico, and be thankful for your own chartered, free and liberal government. It is the product of long history, of ancient events, ages of human experience. The roots of it lie back in the eventful scenes of other centuries. The scholar’s lamp, the patriot’s scaffold the martyr’s cell, the Christian’s prayers, all the hopes Of good men in ages past have been converging, in the sweeping current of history, to the production of these liberal yet secure institutions in which we rejoice. I see the forms of our own fathers, wise in counsel, valiant in deed, Christian in purpose, who won for us the battle, and bequeathed to us the heritage. I see the ministers of God, whose spirits walked on every field of conflict, and whose prayers and preaching brought down the sanctions of religion to a cause which never could have triumphed had it not been good. All these come

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thronging back, peopling the air, as if incapable of enjoying their repose, while any uncertainty overhangs the fruit of their sufferings and toils. I see the eyes of millions from every part of the world turned towards us, eagerly watching the great experiment of self-government. I see the exiled and the sad from every land hastening for shelter to our shores; finding liberty, home, and hope, beneath the protection of wholesome laws. I see the unparalleled blessings which Divine Providence has conferred upon us in the past, the present, and which open before us in the future. I see a nation of freemen, stretching from state to state, from sea to sea; free thought free labor, free religion, a free Bible; schools, homes and churches; a nation involving in its success the hopes of the world. Then I turn my tearful eye to that dark spot in. our history—that great mystery of Providence; but I seem to see "the stars in their courses fighting" against it. I feel that the evil is subordinate and incidental; not primary and intentional; and comparing evil with good, the smile of gladness will shine through the tears of my regret. I cannot, I dare not, I will not take the torch of Erostratus and apply it to a temple which is the wonder of the world, and a glory unto God. I will wait. I will hope. I will pray. My faith in God bids me be calm, patient, hopeful; believing that trials will consolidate our institutions, wisdom and goodness will perfect them, and that, with God’s blessing, they will stand for us, for our children and children’s children, a beneficent shelter and guardianship for an intelligent, industrious, contented, united, Christian people, to the end of time.

A

Br DANIEL DANA, D. D.

PUBLISHED BY REQUEST OF THE PRESBYTERY.

NEWBURYPORT:

1851.

The text of this and other superb works are available on-line from:

The Willison Politics and Philosophy Resource Center

http://willisoncenter.com/

Reprint and digital file September 1, 2001.

Willison Editor's note: Daniel Dana, A.M.,( Yale, 1782 ) D.D. (Yale, 1788) carried the torch for solid Reformation theology when many turned away in New England during his lifetime. (See His 1810 Deity of Christ sermon posted here for one of the strongest defenses for Trinitarian Theology available. )

This, and another of his sermons, "The Faith of Former Times" are fervent calls to oppose Deism Atheism and un-orthodoxy which, as he projected, and modern times proves, would undo the whole moral fabric of American society. May we learn and apply his wisdom, lest the church "be cast off as a useless encumbrance" no longer serving its Divine appointment as the leaven for peace and harmony in a savage culture.

The following begins the original text:

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Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. Matthew, 9, 15.

My dear and reverend brethren will readily agree with me on the importance of turning these periodical assemblages to the best practical account. As seasons of mutual intercourse, and sympathy, and encouragement, they are delightful. As occasions for the transaction of ecclesiastical affairs, they are important. There is still another view in which they are deeply interesting. They invite us to contemplate the state and progress of piety, and to inquire into the condition and aspects of spiritual religion in our churches. And here on this vital point, there is obviously one question which absorbs all the rest. Do our churches at large enjoy the presence of their Savior? If so, all is well. Let them be thankful and rejoice. If, on the other hand, this presence is withdrawn,

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and so far as it is withdrawn, they have reason for humiliation and grief.

Such is obviously the instruction of the text. And it will be in perfect keeping with this instruction, to apply it to the spiritual, rather than the corporeal presence of the Savior.

Such is my present object. I would bring to my ministerial and Christian brethren the mornentous question: Do our churches, and the churches generally, enjoy the spiritual presence of the Savior.

To discuss this question, and especially to decide it, is a most momentous affair, and involves no common responsibility. Yet it is a responsibility from which I dare not shrink. So soon to bid a last farewell to my dear brethren, I am willing to leave behind me my most serious views of the most serious of subjects.

With reference, then, to the great question before us, it may be stated that the presence of Christ with his churches will ordinarily manifest itself in frequent and powerful revivals of piety. It may be said, indeed, that this presence, uniformly enjoyed, will preserve religion in such a state of constant vigor, as to preclude those special inter-positions called revivals. But this theory is unsupported by facts. From the earliest era of Christianity, few, very few, have been the churches

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which have preserved, for a long period, the spirit and power of religion. The purest and best have had their declines; and when they have not become extinct, they have owed their prolonged existence, and their prosperity, to occasional visitations of the Divine Comforter.

Such has been the experience of the churches of New England. They have had their sad and awful declensions. But their Savior has not wholly forsaken them. By the occasional visitations of his Spirit, he has rekindled the half extinguished flame of piety, and bid them live. Such were his gracious interpositions, more than a century since, through the preaching of Edwards, of Whitefield, and other distinguished men. To similar interpositions in subsequent time, our churches owe, in no small degree, their present existence.

But where are we now? How rare have been, of late, these precious occurrences. We bless God that they are not utterly unknown. Yet from a great majority of our churches, has not the Savior awfully withdrawn? Are not the influences of his Spirit deplorably withheld? Are not our spiritual heavens as brass, the earth as iron, and the rain, powder and dust?

And what is the consequence? Even apparent conversions are few, and real conversions fewer

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still. Multitudes of our churches are diminished, and are still diminishing in numbers. Is it not remarkable, my hearers, that when the standard of religion is obviously depressed, and examinations for church-membership more superficial than formerly, so few, so very few, come forth as candidates ? When we consider that of these few, so small is the proportion of youth, and especially of young men, do we not anxiously inquire, what is to become of our churches, and of religion itself, in the next age?

And what is to become of the ministry? When candidates for the sacred office are scarcely sufficient to supply the vacancies at home, who shall break the bread of life in our new settlements so rapidly multiplying? Who shall go forth to the ends of the earth, and tell its countless, perishing millions, of a crucified Redeemer?

But we have, thronging around us, other evidences that the Savior has, at least comparatively withdrawn. With pain and grief of heart, I advert to that low state of religion in our community, which living Christians confess and lament, and which gives joy and triumph to a careless world.

Has not the Sabbath lost much of its reverence, even in the eyes of Christian professors? Where is the abstinence from secular cares and employments, from worldly conversation, from reading

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not religious, and from needless visiting, which once marked the day of God? Are the places of Christians in the sanctuary uniformly filled? Is the stated prayer-meeting, is the sacramental lecture conscientiously attended? is the worship of the sanctuary marked with deep seriousness, with pious delight, with profound reverence ?

I advert, with inexpressible reluctance, to a practice which increasingly prevails in our cities, and from which, I pray God, that our country congregations may keep themselves pure. I refer to the custom of sitting in prayer; a custom sanctioned neither by piety nor decorum; a custom which would almost seem to say that we have worshipped our Maker with too much reverence in former time, and may now approach, on terms of greater familiarity, the High and Holy One whom prostrate angels adore. Many pious persons have doubtless been insensibly betrayed into the habit. But it must be hoped that, on consideration, they will abandon it; or at least, that their example will prove as little contagious as possible.

Most of our churches, I trust, maintain the habit and form of monthly prayer for the conversion of the world. What a season of delight to the spiritual Christian. To cherish compassion for a dying world; to unite his prayers with the inter-

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cession of the Savior, for its conversion ; to listen to the actual triumphs of his mercy among the perishing ; to anticipate the universal gathering of the lost race into his arms; and actively to bear a part in accomplishing the sublime design— what wonderful privileges are these. Are they embraced with ardor, are they enjoyed with delight, by all who hear the Christian name ? Alas the story is often but too significantly told by the almost deserted monthly concert.

What shall we say to this fact, that real Christians so often walk habitually in darkness? Have they not the same Bible to enlighten them, the same Savior to comfort them, the same Holy Spirit to witness their adoption, that ancient saints were favored with? Holy, happy men! They could speak the language of assured confidence. "We know in whom we have believed." "We know that we have passed from death to life." "We know that when this earthly tabernacle shall be dissolved, we have a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." If Christians at the present day, as is too often the case, want this confidence, and these heavenly consolations, the fault, generally, must all be their own. And how much do they lose by it. How much does religion lose by it. How much does the world, dying around them, lose by it.

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Christians often meet each other in the social circle, and can converse freely on the topics nearest their hearts. And what are the topics which ordinarily engross them? Are they the love and the loveliness of their Savior, the wonders of redemption, the worth of human souls, the methods to be used for their conversion, the miseries of the perishing heathen, the aspects of religion in the world, the glories of that heaven on which they are bordering ? Many Christians, it maybe hoped, delight to pour out their hearts to each other on these and kindred topics. And many, it is to be feared, pass them, amid their mutual interviews, in the most astonishing silence.

Christians are ordained by the Savior to be the light of the world; and not only its light but its salt. They are to diffuse a healthful savor through the mass. In a word, it is the design of Heaven that the church should instamp its character on the world, and thus reclaim it to the proper and original design of its creation. But it is a serious question, whether a process the very reverse of this, is not going on in our community. Is not the world communicating its stamp, its image, its spirit to the church? Is not the line which separates the two, becoming, from year to year, less and less distinct? And is there no danger lest it be wholly effaced? Do not Christian professors

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adopt the same projects, and embark in the same schemes, as worldly men, and too often with the same ardor, and in the use of the same unlawful or questionable means? Are they not almost equally attracted by the honors and distinctions of the world! Do they not obsequiously yield to the laws and caprices of the tyrant Fashion, to the neglect of the plain injunctions of conscience and the Bible? Are not various forms of dissipation and amusement, which were once considered as excluded and renounced by a profession of religion, now familiarly introduced into the bosom of Christian families? In a word, may not the men of the world, the irreligious, with too much reason say to many Christian professors, "You may believe what you please, and you may profess what you please. But you give us the countenance of your example. With this we are content; and shall consider you, with all your pretensions, as substantially on our side."

Having thus exhibited some of the defects and departures of Christian professors, it would be improper to pass in silence that which is the principal cause of all. If, as has been truly said, "apostasy begins at the closet-door," so do all important deviations from the Christian spirit and practice. We cannot, indeed, follow the professor to his closet but we can sometimes discern with certainty

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those things in his spirit and walk, from which a truly devout and praying spirit would have effectually secured him. Adopting this rule of judgment, we can scarcely doubt that many professors at the present day, have much less of the spirit of prayer than most of their predecessors. The closet has less of their time, and less, too, of their hearts. Its duties, if not wholly omitted, are performed superficially; perhaps in much haste. In their performance, the soul has little sense of its wants, little communion with the Savior, little enjoyment of God. In short, too many professors deprive themselves, in a greater or less degree, of that which is the principal instrument of holy living. And it must be confessed, there is much in the state of the times, to promote this evil. The world has assumed new phases, and arrayed itself in new attractions. The improvements, in science and art have been wonderful. The sources of wealth have multiplied. The modes of acquisition have multiplied. The materials of enjoyment have multiplied. Novelties without end have pressed themselves on the public attention. Political strife and animosity have raged with unusual violence, and even good men have been too often drawn into the vortex. If, in these circumstances, professors of religion have had strong motives to be familiar with their

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closets, they have likewise had strong temptations to forsake, or to visit them heartlessly. But these temptations, unless resisted, have been fatal to their souls. Can it be sufficiently lamented that thousands in the community should fall into these snares, and fall to rise no more!

I have thus specified, with great freedom, certain points which indicate a low state of religion in great numbers of our churches, and which indicate, of course, that the Savior’s presence is not enjoyed among them. But I fear that the evil is not even yet searched to the bottom. One of its principal sources is yet to be explored.

All genuine religion is built on truth. The church is built on truth. The sublime honor which her great Head has conferred on her, is that of being the pillar and ground of the truth. It is by asserting, maintaining and defending the pure doctrines of the gospel, that she vindicates her own character, and secures her prosperity. If faithful in this point, she may hope for the presence and smiles of her Savior. If unfaithful, she may expect him to frown, and to withdraw. In inquiring, then, as to the presence of Christ with his churches, we naturally inquire in what degree the distinguishing doctrines of his gospel are maintained by them, and in what degree relinquished. And this is the present question.

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The gospel, in common with all other systems, has certain first and fundamental truths on which the whole structure rests as its basis. If these truths are maintained in their purity and power, the building stands. If they are relinquished, or adulterated, it falls to ruin.

From these cardinal principles, I shall select a few; and from the nature of the case, a few are sufficient.

Our race is in a destroyed state, and sin is the destructive malady; If the malady is to be reached and cured, it must be first understood. An essential mistake here is like that of the physician who should apply to one malady the medicine suited only to another.

The doctrine received and maintained in the New England churches from the first, and I may say, the doctrine of the Bible, is simply this: that every individual of the human family is the subject of a sinful depravity; that this depravity is native, and derived from him who is the father of the race, and its covenant head; that apart from the redemption of Christ, it subjects every human being to the displeasure of a holy God, and to everlasting misery in the world to come.

The doctrine which is recently inculcated, and is extensively pervading our churches, is this: that all sin consists in action; that the idea of a

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nature proper sinful is absurd that every human being commences existence substantially as did Adam; that each forms for himself his own character; and that no one is subject to divine displeasure and condemnation, till they are incurred by actual, voluntary transgression of known law.

The New England doctrine has been, from the first, that human beings, thus depraved and lost, must owe their recovery to the sovereign power and grace of God; that regeneration is purely and simply the work of the Holy Spirit; that it implies the production of a new nature, or the infusion of new and spiritual and holy principles into the heart—principles from which proceed under divine influence, the holy acts of the subsequent life.

The new doctrine denies entirely the existence of holy principles and dispositions,as distinct from holy acts. It asserts that as the holiness of Adam did not exist when he came from the hand of the Creator, but commenced with his own holy volitions and actions, so it is with human beings now. They become holy, not by the act of their Creator, but simply by their own voluntary choice; in other words, by the right use of their own free agency. Thus the glory of their conversion, that greatest of all blessings, that turning point of their immortal destiny, is transferred from God to themselves.

I am compelled to add, that with this sad mistake

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respecting the Author of regeneration, there is often connected an equal mistake respecting its very nature. The sinner is viewed, not as passing through a painful process of conviction— conviction of sin, of guilt, of just exposure to divine wrath, of helplessness, of dependence on sovereign mercy, (all this is dispensed with,) but as coolly, comparing the happiness to be found in God, with that to be found in the world, and as making his choice accordingly. Here is a religion of pure self- love; for it is obvious, from the bare statement, that self-love, and that simply, is its spring, its source, its foundation. Concerning this religion, I shall make but two remarks, each distressing in the extreme. First; it is the very religion embraced by thousands at the present time. Secondly; it is a religion which never yet carried a soul to heaven, and never will. Must it not then be said, where are the JEREMIAHS to exclaim, O that our heads were waters, and our eyes fountains of tears, that we might weep over the triumphs of fatal error—error issuing forth from pulpits, and from seminaries of theology, infecting the churches, and leading immortal souls to ruin.

The great divines of New England, it is well known, laid much stress on the doctrine of the atonement. In common with enlightened Christians

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of every age, they received it as the grand peculiarity of the gospel, and the only foundation of human hope. They viewed it as strictly a propitiatory sacrifice to the divine justice. They viewed the obedience and sufferings of Christ as meeting all the demands of God on the sinner, and as constituting a substantial fulfillment, in behalf of the believer, both of the precept and the penalty of the divine law.

By the modern theory, these views are altogether repudiated. It represents the atonement as a mere symbolical transaction—an exhibition— a striking display, indeed, of divine benevolence, and a powerful dissuasive from sin; but no proper compliance with the demands of the divine law, and justice. On the contrary, in the case of every pardoned sinner, the law of God is rather dispensed with, than maintained and fulfilled.*

I have no pleasure in protracting these remarks. But there is one point farther, too important to be omitted. The new theory inculcates the most extravagant notions respecting human ability. Sinners are able, at aniy moment, by a simple resolution, to change their own hearts, to repent, to believe, to make their own salvation sure. Now, whatever a plausible philosophy may utter in support

*The subject of this discourse, and its ocasion, impelled the writer to repeat the substance of some thoughts which are found in a sermon published by him, some years since, on "the faith of former times." [ Willison note: The sermon mentioned here is available at www. willisoncenter.com ]

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of these opinions, they directly contradict reason and common sense. They are repudiated by the experience of every human being, and emphatically, by the experience of Christians. And who can deny that so far as admitted, they cherish in sinners that self-sufficiency and self-dependence which have proved the ruin of thousands?

My hearers will now judge whether the errors which have been brought to view are of small importance or not. It is often suggested that the two theories are not so flagrantly opposed, but that a little candor and liberality might reconcile them; and that to denounce the modern opinions as heretical, savors of a blind and bigoted attachment to old and long established creeds. But this is dwelling on the mere surface of the subject. The two theories have almost no point of mutual contact. Nor can I easily doubt that the generality of my hearers perceive at once, that if the one theory be true, the other must necessarily be false; that if the one agree with the Bible, the other must be anti-scriptural, unfounded and dangerous.

There are certain tests by which some of the excellent old divines recommend that all doctrines should be tried. They are such as these: Does the doctrine proposed humble the sinner? Does it exalt the Savior? Does it promote practical holiness?

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Taking this safe and wholesome ground, let me propose a few questions.

If, in the full belief of the entire depravity of human nature, thousands of sinners have remained unhumbled, is the doctrine likely to humble them, which neutralizes, if it does not absolutely deny, that depravity ?

Again: Does that doctrine exalt the Savior, which takes his work out of his hands—which leaves him little or nothing to do, either in bearing men’s sins, or in subduing their hearts, and strengthening them to holy obedience ?

And again: does that doctrine tend to promote holiness, which keeps the sinner ignorant of the extent of his depravity, and thus precludes him from taking the first step in genuine, evangelical obedience? Does the doctrine which discards in—bred, in—dwelling Corruption, tend to make Christians more humble. more watchful, more holy, or less so?

To some, it may appear strange and incomprehensible, that views so plainly anti-evangelical as those which have been detailed, should obtain such favor and currency as have been actually witnessed. I am unwilling to close the discussion without offering a few thoughts on the subjectt.

The new theory, I cannot apprehend, is to

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be traced, often, to loose views of the inspiration of Scripture. On the topics mentioned, the Bible certainly speaks a language perfectly explicit and intelligible. Brought to its test, the errors described vanish at once into thin air. But what is this, to those who deny or doubt the infallibility of Scripture.

Is such denial, and are such doubts, rarities in our community ? No, my hearers, they are not. They spring in luxuriance on every side. They have already usurped (I grieve to say it) some of our pulpits. They threaten to overwhelm the land like a flood. So far as they prevail, they uproot every thing, they destroy every thing. In their baleful march, they trample down every thing sacred and precious. And be assured, they will least spare those doctrines which are the dearest to Christian hearts, and the most powerful supports of religion in the world.

But many who in terms confess the inspiration and authority of the Bible, give it the most disrespectful treatment. Not humble enough to receive cordially its heart—harrowing, soul—humbling doctrines, they institute a quarrel against them. Determined to abide by a favorite system of their own, they wrest the Scriptures into conformity to it. And alas! nothing is easier. Let the mind be once blinded by pride, prejudice or false philosophy,

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and it can work wonders with the Bible itself. No text so plain, but it can he perverted to speak a new language. No doctrine so solemnly and explicitly revealed, but it can be explained away.

Truth compels me to say that there is a spirit in the age, extremely unfavorable to the reception of gospel doctrines in their simplicity. Nothing, now, is to be taken for granted. Nothing is to be received as established truth. The wisdom of ages gone by is to pass for nothing. Every thing is to be investigated anew; and we are the selected instruments for the investigation. My brethren; the Bible may not be approached in this spirit. To such arrogance and self-sufficiency, it makes no revelations. It is a sealed book. While to the humble, the docile, the child-like, it spontaneously and richly unfolds its choicest mysteries. O could our great men, our admired men, our ambitious young men come, in humility and self-distrust, to the feet of Jesus. He would teach them more in one hour, than they have learned in years of bold and self-complacent investigation.

There is another thought which must not be suppressed. Within the last thirty years, our theological dialect has undergone a strange metamorphosis. Words, whose meaning was definitely and well understood in years past, are now employed

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only in an allied, perhaps a contrary sense. It is a fact, that in the very same terms which were formerly employed, the very opposite doctrines are now taught. Nor is it a fact less curious, that from the same sermon, different hearers carry away different, perhaps opposite ideas. Without bringing the charge of direct dishonesty, we may yet safely say, that such modes of instruction are of all modes most undesirable. Hearers way think they are advancing in knowledge, when in fact their movement is retrograde. Inquirers after knowledge may be going in quest of disappointment. Christian bearers may find their ears filled, while their minds are starved. Others may be ever learning, and never coming to the knowledge of the truth.

This equivocal use of words, I must declare, is a tremendous evil. But is it a necessary evil? Is not the English language sufficiently affluent to afford an appropriate term for every idea ? In legal courts, it is well known, the pleader is required to use words in a simple, well understood, and definite sense. Shall such accuracy be required in the trifling affairs of time, and when some petty interest is at stake; and shall gross inaccuracy and confusion be admitted where the soul’s eternal well-being is concerned, and where a single mistake may be irremediably fatal?

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Let it not appear strange, if I suggest that the recent defections in the church from Bible truth have done much to spread the spirit of scepticism and infidelity through the community. Indeed, this is their direct and obvious tendency. These defections take it for granted that the Bible has remained for eighteen centuries; a sealed book that the great at body of the Christian church, from its first existence till now, has grossly misunderstood and perverted it and even that the Reformation of the sixteenth century, instead of bringing an accession of light, was but a plunge into deeper darkness. And if the modern views be correct, who sees not that the venerated writers of the last two centuries, Owen, Howe, Flavel, Scott, Edwards, Bellamy, Dwight, have been pouring into the minds of millions, error and delusion, instead of sober truth, and substantial religion ? But the very idea of all this is most pernicious. It perplexes inquiring minds. It subverts the faith of the unestablished. It furnishes food to the caviller, and triumph to the infidel. And it lands millions of minds on the shores of unbelief and atheism.

With these suggestions, the present state of things in our country entirely accords. Never was there a period in which the general mind was so vacant of all religious belief. Never a period in which the truths of revelation have so much

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lost their influence on the community at large?

It is too plain to admit a doubt, that thousands, not to say millions, in various regions of our country, have absolutely brought themselves to the conclusion that the Bible is a fiction, and eternity a dream; that the present world is all, and the world to come, nothing.

Lest my apprehensions on this subject should appear too hasty, or too sombre, I feel myself impelled to quote some remarks from a highly respectable British periodical; begging my hearers to determine for themselves, during the reading, how far the state of religion and of infidelity in our own country, resembles that in the parent nation.

"There is coining upon the church," says the writer, "a current of doubt, deeper far, and darker than ever swelled against her before—a current strong in learning, crested with genius, strenuous, yet calm in progress. It seems the last grand trial of the truth of our faith. Against the battlements of Zion, a motley throng have gathered themselves together in array. Atheists, pantheists, doubters, open foes, secret foes, and bewildered friends of Christianity, are in the field." * * *

Their purposes are various; in this, however, they all agree, that historical Christianity ought to go down before advancing civilization."

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To these remarks, another able British writer adds his sanction. " To the dangers of the crisis thus graphically portrayed, we are not," he says, "insensible." But we are more alarmed on account of ‘bewildered friends,’ than open enemies. We are above all eager to resist that species of theology, so popular among scholars and men of learning, which is based on intellect, rather than on the teachings of the Holy Spirit; which strives to reduce Christianity to the level of human philosophy, and pursues its researches by the same lights which guide the bootless speculations of the metaphysician."

Pardon me, my hearers, if, to fortify my suggestions still farther, I add a quotation from a respectable Journal of our own, its Editor not being a professor of religion, but a very acute observer. "It is evident," he says, "that in our own State (he is an inhabitant of Massachusetts) deism, pure and unadulterated—the deism of the school of Paine and Voltaire, refined and sublimated into an inviting and intoxicating compound, after having overthrown almost every Unitarian pulpit, has made inroads into the sects which have taken pride in calling themselves evangelical, but among many of whose preachers, there remains nothing but the name; the spirit having departed, and its place supplied by the work of men’s hands

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is," he adds, "a time of peril to the New England church. She must cut herself loose from the whole hand of moral reformers, and self-constituted philanthropists, who put themselves in the place of the Almighty, or she will make shipwreck of herself; and while a portion of her followers will perish in the dark whirlpool of infidelity, the survivors will be driven to take refuge in the conservatism of the Roman church, and thus the Protestant Reformation will be found to have been a premature development, of which the world was not worthy."

It appears, then, that in the opinion of careful observers, both in Great Britain, and our own country, a new scene presents itself; and new phenomena are manifest. Christian nations as we have been, we harbor in our bosoms multitudes of restless and uncompromising enemies of Christianity; some in open and avowed hostility; others artfully corrupting, and secretly undermining the system. Judge, then, my hearers, whether this is the time for the real friends of religion to slumber in security; to put off their armor; to parley with the insidious and inveterate foe. Should they not watch with sleepless vigilance ? Should they not oppose to the arts of the enemy, an honest, open, fearless avowal of their principles; and to his malicious assaults, all the power

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of Christian benevolence, and Christian courage O let them put on the whole armor of God, the sword of the Spirit, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the breast-plate of righteousness, and let their feet be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Thus armed, they need not fear a defeat. Thus armed, they may humbly hope to triumph ; for Omnipotence is on their side.

My dear ministerial brethren,

It would have given me unspeakable delight, if standing in this place, this day, I could have congratulated you and myself on a prosperous state of religion, and the churches. But truth and faithfulness are of paramount. obligation; and I should be a strange being indeed, if standing so near the bar of my final Judge, I did not feel their binding force. As the result of long and anxious inquiry and observation, I have felt myself bound to bring to you the momentous question, Is the Savior with us, and with our churches, or is he not? And I have been compelled to lay before you various and mournful evidence that he is withdrawn. It is not my wish, however, to deal in sweeping censures, or unqualified reproofs. I doubt not that in some of your spheres of duty and of influence, you witness and enjoy the gracious presence and blessing of your heavenly Master. You hear faithful testimony to his truth ; and oppose

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not with out success, the arts and encroachments of fatal error. In other instances, you labor faithfully amid much discouragement, determined to be pure from the blood of all men, and not counting life dear, so that you may fulfil your holy ministry. But doubtless we all feel and mourn great deficiencies, and none with more reason than my unworthy self. And it deserves serious consideration, whether, in a crisis like this, new means and new efforts are not demanded of us by our great Lord and Master, in support of his truth, and for the promotion of his cause. If the enemy comes in like a flood, must we not, with new ardor and courage, erect the standard against him! If the slumber of the unconverted around us is deep beyond parallel, must we not call to them with a louder voice! If even Christians are half asleep, must we not address them in the most thrilling tones of reproof and expostulation! If errors of every name and form abound, must we not ceaselessly and perseveringly oppose them? If they are artful, must we not pluck off the mask, and expose their hideous deformity ?— If they are bold and violent, must we not fearlessly denounce against them the terrors of the Lord! Must we not, in such a day as this, continually call back our hearers to the first principles of gospel truth, assuring them that if these are lost, all

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is lost, and they are undone ? Amid these great duties and difficulties, how much do we need the co-operating efforts of our brethren of the laity. They will suffer me a word.

My beloved Christian friends,

Indulge me in proposing a few questions which embrace objects of the very deepest moment.— Can you not recall a period when the truths of God’s word, the distinguishing doctrines of the gospel, were better understood, were more simply embraced, more tenderly cherished, more familiarly meditated, and more vigorously defended, than they have been in later time? Had Christians any doubts as to the Inspiration of the Scriptures; as to the entire native depravity of man; as to the sovereign and exclusive agency of the Holy Spirit in regeneration; as to the atonement, as a full satisfaction to the offended law and justice of God; as to the entire impotence of sinners to effect their own conversion? Were not sermons expected to exhibit a clear and full development of these doctrines; and were they not valued in proportion as this was done? Did not vacant churches appreciate their candidates rather on the ground of their gospel orthodoxy, than their talents, their learning, their eloquence, or any other attraction; and did they not expect of them a distinct avowal of their theological views, as an

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essential condition of receiving their suffrages! Suffer me to inquire farther: In the greatly altered state of things which exists of late, are Christians more humble, more holy, more prayerful, more observant of the Sabbath, more conscientious in duty at large, more separate from the world, more free from its follies and vices? Must not a negative answer be given to most of these questions?

Now it will not be contended that the bare coexistence two events, or facts, furnishes conclusive evidence of their mutual relation; especially of their relation as cause and effect. But in the present case, there is a strong presumption that such is the real fact; a presumption supported by weighty reasons.

First; it is truth, and not error, which is Heaven’s ordained instrument of sanctifying and saving the souls of men. The Savior has charged his ministers to preach the pure, naked doctrines of the gospel, as they would alarm a careless world, and advance the holiness and comfort of his people. And he has manifested what these doctrines are, with a crystalline clearness. Can it, then, be for a moment supposed that the Savior would enjoin one set of doctrines to be preached, and that he will give his blessing to a different or contrary set of doctrines? The very thought would be absurd, not to say impious.

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Indeed the very nature of the case point to the same conclusion. The new doctrines are feeble and inefficient. They neither awaken the conscience, nor rouse the sensibilities, nor sanctify and save the soul. They do not strip the sinner of his pride, his self-righteousness, his self-sufficiency. They do not lay him prostrate, dependent and self-despairing at the feet of Jesus—the only spot, the only attitude in which a sinner can find mercy.

It may be propounded as an axiom in religion, that defective views of native depravity will ever involve defective views of the atonement of Christ, of the renewing and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, and of the grace of God in human salvation. Nor can the religious teacher who materially errs on this fundamental point, give sound instruction on the nature of conversion, on repentance, or faith, or the Christian graces at large.

On the whole, there is reason, pressing reason, to apprehend that in many of our churches, the Holy Spirit has been grieved, and the Savior constrained to withdraw his gracious presence and blessing. And if Christ be withdrawn, where are we? What calamity so great could possibly befall us? In this case, what can avail our fulness of spiritual privileges, our Sabbaths, our sermons, our assemblings for prayer? Must they not all

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prove barren—barren of awakening and saving influence for sinners; of holiness and comfort for Christians?

Is there not, then, a loud and imperious call of ministers and private Christians to awake from every degree of slumber, to search their hearts and lives, and inquire for the Achan in the camp? Is there not a call to cry mightily and unitedly to the Savior, imploring his return, and putting away whatever tends to prevent that gracious return? Should we not all rally round the standard of the pure gospel, and unite in efforts to arrest that torrent of error, of infidelity and ungodliness which threatens to overwhelm our land, and even to sweep away our churches? Shall not the very defections from gospel truth, and the bold opposition to it, arm us with new zeal to defend and diffuse it in every possible way?

The religious aspect of the times is confessedly alarming. But it affords no reason for despair. "The Lord can clear the darkest skies." As the thickest darkness of the night is thought immediately to precede the dawn, our deep and disheartening gloom may soon be succeeded by the rising day. The portentous cloud that overhangs us may soon be gilded with the heavenly bow of promise. In ancient and in modern times, God has often manifested surprising mercy at the moment

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when his people were beginning to despair. It is remarkable that among all the seven churches of Asia, that which was most guilty and offensive in the eyes of the Savior, was the church at Laodicea. Yet this very church is addressed by him in language more compassionate, more melting, and more encouraging too, than any of its sister churches. Let me close my discourse with these thrilling accents of the Savior’s compassion, and with his closing monition; only supplicating that these wonderful words of Jesus may penetrate all our hearts, and awaken their tenderest sensibilities.

To this guilty, slumbering, lukewarm church, he says: "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked; I counsel thee to buy of me, gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that that thou mayest see." "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."

"He that bath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."

THE SABBATH AFTER THE INTERMENT OF

BOSTON:

1852.

The text of this and other superb works are available on-line from:

The Willison Politics and Philosophy Resource Center

http://willisoncenter.com/

Reprint and digital file July 21, 2002.

Page numbers in the original publication are shown in brackets as such: [ 3 ]

The following begins the original text:

THE past week has been to this community a week of unparalleled interest. Since the, death of Washington, the decease of no man has produced such an effect upon the hearts of the American people as that which is now the subject of public lamentation. The general grief is unaffected. Words and signs of sorrow do not, and cannot, increase it, but only serve to give it utterance. There is a depth of love in this grief which few men (indeed, a child might write them,) have ever occasioned. There is secret weeping, and sadness of heart, and feelings which can never be expressed.

The origin and early history of this great man; the first steps of his professional career, marked with such success and honors; his statesmanship; his great national services; his power as an orator; the unsurpassed excellence of his writings; his influence as a public teacher; the wonderful combination, in his thoughts, of the explanatory and illustrative with

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the sublime and elevating, gratifying the common apprehension with the consciousness of understanding him, and yet making us respect him in his unattainable power of statement and argument his failure to receive the nominal reward of our republican gratitude; his death, succeeding rapidly the recent and final decision that he never should be the Chief Magistrate of the nation ; and the sublime and touching incidents of his last hours, combine to make this man the subject of an interest which falls short of idolatry by a less degree than that awakened by the decease of any excepting Moses, and Samuel, and the few, since their day, in the history of the old nations, and the very few of this young republic.

Were the language of mere eulogy required or expected, the pulpit would not be the place, nor the Sabbath the time, nor ministers of the Gospel the men for such service. This great man is above all praise in all that made him truly great. There are some, but they are few, that can approach to describe or measure that greatness, who do not, thereby, place themselves in the position of men at the bottom of pictured pyramids or giant trees.

But reflections which the most common mind will suggest in connection with a great event, such as words cannot adequately express, not unfrequently convey instruction, and satisfy the wish that labors to feel and speak upon the subject justly. By this thought, I am encouraged to contribute a humble offering, not to the memory of our distinguished friend, but, as becomes me better, to your reflections, in making a profitable use of our bereavement.

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One of the distinguished blessings which the God of nations bestows upon a people in the persons of great and useful men, is taken away.

A truly great lawyer at the bar is an eminent blessing. The rights of persons and property find in him one of those great safeguards which free governments provide for us, — not in the arbitrary judgment, right or wrong, of a Sovereign, nor of the Judiciary, but in. reason, employed to elicit truth and commend the cause on trial to the enlightened judgment of the community, whose sober, settled opinion is of the first importance in free states. A truly great and just lawyer, rising above artifice, and resting his cause on truth, is one whom the people of such countries as ours should honor and cherish as among the best defences of those private interests which make up the sum of public safety and happiness. Our departed friend was such a man. Whether defending chartered rights in behalf of a literary corporation; or helping one of our towns to convict and punish the assassin; or merchants to recover the insurance on their property; or the underwriters to defend themselves against fraud, he has rendered invaluable services to his generation.

He has finished his professional career, and his brethren, in doing homage to his talents and worth as a member of the bar, while they deepen our sorrow at the loss of him, comfort us, by the assurance which we have hi them, that his example and influence not only survive, but will not be wholly without compeers.

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Our nation has not lost a greater benefactor since the death of its founders. He has preserved us, under God, from foreign wars; and when we say this, we say more than imagination can represent. There have been times during his various administration of affairs when we have all felt as when we stand upon the deck of a powerful ship, with our eye upon the man at the wheel, and see how, by a skilful motion, he makes the ship pass more easily over a swelling billow, and go with safety over sunken rocks where the dimpling waters reveal, to the experienced eye, the extremest peril.

This man has done as much, by his various influence, for this union of great States, as any other since that "Farewell Address" was written, which he had so faithfully learned, and which he has taught us to consider. We look upon him, in this respect, as an instrument in the hands of God, who has not ceased— and, we trust, will not cease, to use him for this great purpose, to keep us as a nation from dismemberment. You will do me the justice to believe that I do not speak from party feeling, as I never have done here, when I express the belief that posterity, and not a very distant generation, will adjudge him to have been disinterested and patriotic in his compromise measures with relation to Slavery in the United States. Posterity will not look at those acts of his, as we do, in near connection with an elevation to the Chief Magistracy, but will have the advantage of distance in looking at other acts of his life to interpret his feelings and motives here. A man who spoke as he did to South Carolina and the South in his second speech in the Senate of the United States on

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Mr. Foot’s resolutions, could not afterward have cringed to chaffer with her for her votes, falsifying the whole spirit and many of the principles of that speech, without doing a greater degree of violence, I will not say to his nature, but. to human nature, than impartial judges will hereafter believe to have been possible. Nor will posterity, I venture to assert, suffer him long to lie under the imputation of seeking to aid and abet the system of slavery by any thing which he did in connection with the Fugitive Slave Law, whatever effect that law may have to perpetuate slavery. I do not seek to express an opinion here with regard to the exciting and controverted topics of the day, but to utter the strong convictions of my own mind with regard to the uprightness of this lamented public servant, in his connection with them.

Were I speaking, as I think I am not, to any who are politically his enemies on account of his influence in the re-enactment of a former statute relating to domestic slavery, I would pray them, by the conciliating influences of his death, to consider this:

Whether Mr. Webster, in dealing with this great moral and political evil, may not have regarded himself in some such position as that of Franklin when he provided the lightning conductors. The comparison does not admit of an extended application, and I do not wish to extend it, but merely to suggest that Mr. Webster’s avowed principles and political services warrant the belief that, seeing the North and the South marshalling their angry forces in the heavens over our heads, he sought to apply a means of protection and safety to the whole land, to save the country from events by which not only freemen,

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but slaves themselves, would be involved in calamities more direful, in his view, even than slavery. In these measures, I must express my persuasion, he acted from a disinterested love to his whole country, and did that which he considered essential to the highest good, whatever the result may be. I would not exaggerate his influence in keeping us from disunion, but, the sun that went down on the day of his funeral left this nation, still, the United States of America, and did not veil himself from the sight of "broken and dishonored fragments of a once glorious union; States dissevered, discordant, belligerent ; a land rent with civil feuds and drenched in fraternal blood." * When our advocate for union uttered these words in the Senate of the United States, he did not know that God would make him, as we believe he has done, one of the principal instruments, to fulfil, thus far, his own great wish, to answer his mighty prayer. May the benign influence of supreme love to God in Christ soon enable us to approach every subject of national difficulty with the spirit of peace and good will. And now, as we sail away together in our national bark from the sea-girt tomb of our pilot, 0 that we might all agree, North, South, East, and West, to throw into the waves, as a sacrifice, our unkind feelings, our bitter words, on the subject of American Slavery. Let the land have a Sabbath with regard to this subject, and let that Sabbath be the long, long days of our mourning for this great patriot, our country’s friend. †

* Second Speech on Mr. Foot’s Resolution, at the close.

† In confrmation of the conviction expressed in the foregoing paragraph, I will state the following anecdote: A clergyman, well known to my hearers, says, that having occasion not long since to meet Mr. Webster on some official business, the conversation turned upon the compromise measures, and Mr. Webster’s connection with them. Mr. Webster said, " It seemed to me at the time, that the country demanded the sacrifice of a human victim, and I saw no reason why the victim should not be myself." The clergyman says that Mr. W.'s manner evinced such sincerity and deep patriotic disinterestedness, that he was moved to tears, which do not cease to start at every recollection of the interview.

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After all, it is of very little consequence, in one point of view, who fill the thrones and seats of power in this world. The blessed and only Potentate has designs with regard to this nation, which we and the men of our choice will fulfil, in perfect ignorance, however, at the time, of the use which is made of us. The result of this next Presidential election will be hailed as the triumph of a party; but they who look upon it from the world of light, where every thing is judged of in connection with God’s great plan in human affairs, will see in it a step toward some important purpose in the mind of God, with whom the tumult of the people, in their elections and political victories, is like the measured tramp of a host obeying the word of command in a well appointed evolution. The past forbids any thing but hope and confidence in God with regard to our coming history; but we are in the hands of One to whom a nation is an individual thing, to be preserved or broken, prospered or afflicted, in his merciful providence or righteous judgment. Foreign wars may await us; entanglement with the concerns of other nations, either to our own hurt, if not perdition, or, to spread

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the principles of political freedom, and thus advance the kingdom of Christ. Measures may be taken to give the Roman Catholic influence a greater predominance here, or to fortify our institutions against it. Industry and the useful arts, inventions and discoveries, may be greatly stimulated or palsied; good morals and religion may receive countenance; the righteous may flourish in the abundance of peace, or the wicked may walk on every side. There is no such thing as pause or rest in our destiny for years to come. For good or ill, we shall move round the orbit where the great Builder’s hand has launched us, either avoiding, by the help of that same hand, those bodies which cross our track, or receiving damage. Whatever happens to us, our rulers, our parties, our individual votes will have produced it, instrumentally; and will fulfil the decrees of the great God. We cannot doubt that the removal of our distinguished fellow citizen, just at this time, will have an important influence, but we know not how, upon the event of the coming election. He who knows times and seasons, (and the number of our months is with Him,) has ordered this decease in such a manner that its powerful effect is felt in season to influence the feelings, and the opinions, and the Votes of so many, as will, perhaps, decide our political destiny for another presidential term. We cannot fail to notice and to feel the power of this coincidence. This great man dies and goes to his long home. A Sabbath ensues, and the nation in her temples is weeping and praying over this great decease. The week days resume their round, and twenty-three millions of people choose their rulers, and change their national administration.

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It is done in a day, but the end is with God. The hand of God is in this thing, preparing the way for such a result as He shall choose. It was through the agency of another Daniel, in former days, that a heathen king was compelled to utter these words, which may instruct us, and appropriately dwell -upon our hearts and upon our lips: — "And at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation; and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?"

Suppose that Mr. Webster had received the nomination for the presidency by the late Baltimore Convention, as many of us desired and expected. What a day the coming second of November would have been to one of the great political parties throughout the land. What would they have done? What could they have done? Distracted with disappointment and sorrow, with no time for concerted action, their hearts would have melted, their knees would have smitten together, their faces would have gathered blackness. I speak to you who are members of that party, not as a politician, but as a believer in God’s providence, and ask you to see the hand of God in your affairs. Could the Almighty have spoken to you with an audible voice at Baltimore, disclosing his purposes, He might have said to you

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respecting this candidate: "Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months is with me, I have appointed his bounds that he cannot pass, turn from him that he may rest, till he shall accomplish as an hireling his day." When you or your representatives were at Baltimore, God was there, and there were many devices in men’s hearts; "but the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand."

The great fault of our age is, low views of God. The Almighty has now reached down his hand; He is almost as impressively present with us as he was when he stood on the top of Nebo, and called Moses thither to die, and Israel saw the form of their leader disappear into that presence which no man can see and live. Is this great departure, one week preceding an election, an accident? "Verily there is a God that ruleth in the earth!" "Not a sparrow falleth to the ground without Him." This great man, in the time and manner of his fall, was, in the purposes of God, of more value than many sparrows. May the fear of this ever present God fall on you, and his excellency make you afraid.

Jesus Christ and his religion disdain no man’s love and advocacy, while they are beholden to no man for his acceptance of them. We should not rest our confidence in the Bible upon the opinions and feelings of men; still, we are confirmed in our faith when wise and great men are of our opinion. Irreligion, sceptical opinions with regard to the Scriptures, transcendental views of Christ and the

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Apostles, are rebuked by the testimony of this pre-eminent human intellect. Modern unbelief had, in its own conceit, fixed a great stone at the door where it had buried our Saviour and his religion. God has raised up a man of your own city and people, whose countenance is, to you, like lightning, and he has rolled away that stone and sat upon it. As defenders of the credibility of the christian faith, we feel that henceforth our labors with some of our fellow men are greatly lessened. Spiritual religion cannot, indeed, be attested by any who are not themselves spiritually enlightened by the Holy Spirit; but the evidences of christianity can be appreciated by the human understanding, and have been maintained by the wisest and greatest of men in every age, whom, however, unbelievers regard only as professional writers, and employed advocates of religion. Now, God has raised up among us one to whose calling and to whose death-bed it did not belong, professionally, to assert the truth of the christian religion. He died in the firm belief that the Holy Scriptures are the word of God, and that there is salvation only through Jesus Christ.

It is creditable to the state of the public conscience on the subject of religion, that, during the two or three days when it was known that Mr. Webster must die, the great concern seemed to be, to know something with respect to his religious preparation for death. Every thing which was reported on this point was read and remarked upon with no common interest. All wished and prayed that this beloved man might die the death of the righteous, and his last end be like his. And there is a general gratification

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in the community at the serious feelings and religious expressions which gave character to his last hours. It is, then, an established truth among us, never more fully received or durably impressed upon the minds of all than flow, that religion alone can prepare a man to meet his God and his judge. In many companies of a confidential nature, you have no doubt heard the question considered with the deepest kindness and tenderness, May we not hope that Mr. Webster is a true Christian. His peculiar exposures to temptation, on the dangerous summit which he occupied before the country, and in the scenes of exciting interest through which, as a statesman and a politician, he was called to pass, and from the unmeasured admiration with which he was surrounded, must have required more than unaided mortal strength to pass through them without delinquency. How far he succeeded, or whether any of us, in his circumstances, would have needed more charity in the judgment of others concerning us, than he, it is not useful or suitable to inquire. Is there any thing in his writings, from first to last, that betrays a corrupt mind, a vicious imagination, or a disposition to trifle with serious things ?

He was in the habit of praying with his family, in doing which, surely no worldly motive could play its part. Great interest has been expressed to know how he spent the hours of the Sabbath, as indicating whether he had that spiritual mind which loves the day, because it loves the God who made it, and the things which it is set to promote. We all know, without being told, that, like us, he was a sinner before God, and could not be saved for being

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a great man, or an eloquent man, or a useful man; but, like Paul, must have been "found in Christ, not having his own righteousness, but the righteousness which is of God through faith." The same essential truths were as appropriate at his dying bed as they will be at yours; it was needful for him, as for you, to repent and believe in Christ, "in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins;" and when his spirit stood before his God, he left behind him, as he left his mortal part, every thing which could constitute a claim upon the divine favor, and only for his heartfelt trust in the Saviour of the world, could he, with the rest of the sinful race, be justified and saved. The throng of great and just men made perfect who were moved at his coming, looked at him, not as some of them saw him on Plymouth Rock, and Bunker Hill, in the Senate chamber, and in the Court room, but, as a fallen son of Adam, who, by his sins, had, like other men, lost heaven; and the question there, and the only question, was, Has he accepted Jesus Christ as He was offered to him in the Gospel ? The gate was no more strait, nor the way more narrow, for him, to enter into life, nor was it a jot or tittle easier, or in any respect otherwise, than it is for you. For there is salvation in Christ for all, and not "in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved."

He loved the christian religion. He loved and cherished the christian ministry; and the clergy throughout the christian world are indebted to him for his feelings and expressions with regard to them. They, in their turn, have loved and revered him in

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a measure not exceeded. by their feelings toward any contemporary.

We all know that death enshrines every one who, by any exercise of hope, we can believe is saved; that great faults, and even known sins and bad habits, are regarded as atoned for by dying; the piteous looks and tones on the death bed being inconsistent, in our minds, with any thing but compassion and mercy. There is always much false theology lurking in affectionate or complaisant sentiments at such a time as this, and we must be careful not to contradict established truths, and our avowal of them, when we are under the influence of popular enthusiasm. If we declare our belief that a soul is saved, justice and kindness to ourselves and others demand that we rest our belief on scriptural reasons. We must not be deceived, nor deceive others, with regard to the conditions of pardon and salvation. There is not one Gospel for the living, and another for the dying. The warnings and threatenings, the promises and consolations, which you read in the Bible and hear from the pulpit in your health and strength, are as true, they are the same, when you are dying, as ever. We say of our beloved friend that which you will say of each other, and of each of us, ministers of the Gospel: If he repented of his sins, and believed on the Saviour of the world, we, if we do the same, shall meet him in heaven. If you feel sure that he is safe, prepare to die with christian faith and hope; if you still inquire for more information, containing evidence to satisfy you that he died a regenerated man, see that you yourself experience and do those things which you deem satisfactory evidence of acceptance with God.

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What a subject death found, when it approached him. How hard a task to conquer his life. Such a vitalized death, we never knew. He speaks, in the very act of dissolution, and says, "I still live." Could the king of terrors have relented and trailed again his dart, this was the man for him to spare. Inexorable sentence! "passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Who can claim or expect exemption now? Our Presidents, our Senators, our Counsellors, our Judges, our Ministers of the Gospel, the chief Captains, and the Kings of the earth, who slew all these? If sin destroys the body, if it defiles every thing honorable and beautiful in the outward man by death, what must its ravages be in the soul, which is its proper seat!

And now he has "lain still, and is quiet, and sleeps, and is at rest, with kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves." Who will be the President of the United States for the next four years, is a question whose interest with him has been absorbed, and, for the time, forgotten, in a question personal to himself, which has now been settled for eternity. He once made a public profession of his faith in Christ, before a christian Church in a New England village. That day and that transaction now seem more important to him, than this bauble, — the Presidential chair. Could he return, I cannot resist the conviction, he would think more of the Church of Christ, of its devotional privileges and opportunities, and the spread of the Gospel of Christ in the earth; as no doubt all in heaven would, could they enjoy the privilege, which we still have, of living and of serving Christ in a world like this.

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One thing even he might find it hard to do; and that is, to improve the moral tone, and the intellectual power and beauty, of his writings. He has left the world a rich legacy in his works, and if some one will add to them a volume of the eloquent and impressive words which his death has occasioned, and shall occasion, at the bar and in the assemblies of the nation, the measure of his ability to instruct the world will be full.

His death makes us all love one another. It makes it easy for these hard, cold hearts of ours, which the world rifles of their affections, it makes it easy for them to show feeling and not be ashamed. We love those who, by their touching emblems of sorrow in their windows and places of business, have helped our weeping. Our country, if our sins do not prevent, will be more one country than before; our Presidents will strive to rule over the whole nation, and not serve a party; our public men will remember that they must die, and live more like dying men. They called him, in the language of the great poet of nature, "the foremost man of all the world." He was the rearmost of an age in our history, which nothing but hope and cheerful trust in God prevents us from calling our golden age. The men who have conducted the country hitherto on her high career, are now all gone. Young men, see before you the path to honorable distinction and usefulness, and to the gratitude of a great nation, at least at your decease, and to the attainment of a name which is more precious than rubies. Remember the testimony which this man has given you, that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

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In the borrowed language of this great orator, in Fanueil Hall, just after the receipt of some disastrous tidings in an election, we say, as we now return from burying him in his house in Ramah, "All is not lost." Even he is not lost to us. His influence is ten-fold greater than ever. Who made this man, and gave him to this nation ? Who is the Prince of the kings of the earth ? HE lays his right hand upon our nation, and says, "Fear not, I am the first and the last; I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore, and have the keys of hell and of death." This past week, in reading the works of this great man, and the beautiful and touching anecdotes of his early life, and the skilful and pathetic portraitures of his character, and seeing the tokens of the deepest universal sorrow which our land has felt for, at least, one generation, and in thinking of him now, in the house appointed for all living, I have felt the need of some man, some fellow man, whom I can love and not lose, as we have lost him. I "have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth," "the same yesterday, to-day, and forever." "And his name shall be called," — and never more appropriately than now, —" Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." All that was great, beautiful, good, in this departed friend, was derived from Jesus Christ, by whom all things were created, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers. He Himself "is fairer than the children of men."

In the October sunlight of a declining day, not long since, I saw the trees of the wood, beautiful in the melancholy change of their leaves, which a rising

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wind was showering to the ground. The rays of the sun fell upon a tall pine of fresh and brilliant green; and wondering at it for a moment, as out of season, I was reminded that the evergreens put forth fresh spires in autumn, when the leaves of other trees fall. As the evergreen never seems so beautiful and striking as when the other trees are stripped of their foliage, so when friends and great and useful men die, there is One, born for adversity, who makes even decay and desolation cheerful, in being, himself, the pledge of immortality, the Resurrection and the Life.

Fellow citizens, fellow sinners, fellow travellers to eternity, love "Immanuel, God with us," your Saviour and friend, with the love and zeal with which you regard your great earthly brother and friend, and your interests for eternity are safe. Open the New Testament, read any chapter in the life of Christ, and you will find far more to love and praise, than in all the words and deeds of men. When our fellow countrymen shall love and worship Christ, according to the injunctions of the second Psalm, and, in consequence, shall be consistent members of christian Churches, in such numbers as to create a public religious sentiment, then the country will be safe. Then we can discuss and settle political and moral questions without danger or serious difficulty. Supreme love to Jesus Christ is not a mere frame of mind for private devotion, an experience pertinent only to the secret life of a believer; it must pervade the public mind, it must influence the spirit and principles of the rulers and of the citizens. Let no one say, "This is too much to expect." For is not this the religion foretold by Prophets as destined to be universal ?~ At the name of

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Jesus is not every knee to bow, and every tongue to confess him to be Lord ? Jesus Christ, upon whose head are many crowns, and at whose feet our Webster now sees that there is no crown, in earth or in heaven, that should not be laid, claims your supreme love. While you appreciate the excellence, and almost worship the memory, of one, who, after all, is only a nobler worm than you, remember that there is One who made you, and died for you, and will be your final Judge, who says, "He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me, and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me." This claim is either presumption, or, it implies infinite obligations on our part. This week has proved that men can love intensely. It has, in the same connection, witnessed an enforcement of those words; "Cease ye from man whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherewith is he to be accounted of V’ The Saviour of the world claims your highest and best affections. We will not be ashamed of Him, nor of his words, in the midst of this generation. We shall one day see Him coming in his glory, and all his holy angels with Him; the small and great will be at his bar; He will "separate them one from another ; "his awards will have reference to their feelings and conduct toward Him. Remember, then, his commandment, and his gracious words: "IF ANY MAN SERVE ME, LET HIM FOLLOW ME; AND WHERE I AM, THERE SHALL ALSO MY SERVANT BE; IF ANY MAN SERVE ME, HIM SHALL MY FATHER HONOR."

STUDENTS OF PHILLIPS ACADEMY,

PROFESSOR OF LATIN, &c. IN DARTMOUTH COLLEGE.

The text of this and other superb works are available on-line from:

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Reprint and digital file, November 12, 2004.

Page numbers in the original appear in brackets at the top of each page as so : [ 2 ]

The following begins the original text:

[ 2 ]

DARTMOUTH PRESS, HANOVER.

1853.

In appreciation of the interesting and instructive Eulogy on the late DANIEL WEBSTER, which you recently delivered to the Students of this Academy, the undersigned were appointed a Committee to request in their behalf a copy for publication.

Yours very respectfully,

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EULOGY.

NATURE’S noblemen ought to be tried by their peers. Those illustrious patriots, whose words and deeds constitute the materials of history, should be portrayed by men who can fully comprehend them. The actions and opinions of the honored dead should be scanned and weighed by such of their disciples as are competent to appreciate and imitate them. To hold up their virtues to the admiration of posterity is the office of kindred spirits possessing like tastes and endowments.

But Webster has gone and left no peer. The man who can justly estimate his mind and heart, his character and influence, does not live. Centuries may elapse before the advent of his equal ; for Nature is not prodigal of such gifts. Those epochs, in human history, which have been distinguished by the life and services of truly great men are separated by centuries and not by generations. Poets, philosophers and statesmen and commanding genius, only appear, when the common mind is prepared, by previous development, to take an onward step in social improvement. Then God condescends to raise up and educate a leader.

Such men are commissioned to perform their service at the proper time and are removed at the proper time

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for, " the Judge of all the earth doeth right." It hath pleased Almighty God to take from this nation its counsellor; from the civilized world, its pacificator. Daniel Webster is no more ! In his own appropriate words, uttered on a similar occasion, we may now say " It is fit that, by public assembly and solemn observance, by anthem and by eulogy, we commemorate the services of national benefactors, extol their virtues, and render thanks to God for eminent blessings, early given and long continued, through their agency, to our favored country." The true artist admires the most perfect specimens of art though he never hopes to equal them. The genuine patriot loves the noblest exhibitions of patriotism and delights to commemorate those virtues which ennoble the land of his birth. When he sees them embodied in human character and exhibited in human conduct, he renders to their living exemplars the sincere homage of a grateful heart, though they walk in paths far above his own highest aspirations. When the light which cheered and guided him is quenched in death and a night of sorrow broods over the land, he bewails the nation’s loss and commends his country to God. Such is our duty. The lights of the age are leaving us. From eternity, these great souls that have gone before, are beckoning their companions home. The stars of our political heavens are going down. Like the Grecian navigator, of old, cased in oak and triple brass, whom winds and currents bore over the AEgean, till the guiding constellations, one by one, disappeared from his view, we feel that night and storm have drifted us far over the ocean of time, till the last luminary to which we looked for guidance has sunk from our sight. It is never right to despair of the republic ; still we may borrow the touching language of poetry when we would express the sense of our irreparable loss ;

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The history of Daniel Webster is known. It is identified with that of his country. Its laws, its literature, its arts, have all felt the influence of his great mind for half a century. There is no public interest, in the land, that has not been controlled by his wisdom and fostered by his care. It is not my purpose, therefore, to speak, particularly of his public life and services ; but, of these less obvious and comparatively unnoticed agencies which moulded his mind and heart, and gave direction and force to his native endowments. Every truly great man is the joint product of genius and culture. Mind and affections expanding from within, and precept and example operating from without, form the character. The relative influence of the natural faculties and education, in producing the best specimens of our race, was as well understood and defined by Horace, as it now is, after two thousand years of discussion and experience.

"Doctrina sed vim promovet insitam,

Mr. Webster’s condition in early life, explains many of his prominent characteristics, his fondness for rural life and manly exercises grew directly out of the occupations of his childhood. His reverence for the Bible, his hatred of violence and cruelty, and his earnest devotion to the institutions of his country, are the result of ₁parental instruction. His love of liberal learning, his cultivated taste, his elevated aims in life, his intense scorn of all affectation, pretence and intrigue are the spontaneous developments of the intellect and heart with which the Creator endued him. The entire biography of Mr. Webster

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gives new confirmation to a very common maxim of teachers

That the habits formed in early life, determine the destiny of the man. Happy is he, whose habits are his friends. I shall now attempt to follow out some of those prominent traits of his character, which run, like golden threads, through the whole tissue of his history, beginning with the first activities of buoyant childhood, and terminating in the sublime close of the most eventful life of the age.

Mr. Webster was passionately fond of the country. He loved its green fields and sombre forests, its rugged mountains and quiet vales ; its summer toils and winter sports. With Cowper he could cordially say:

" Not rural sights alone, but rural sounds

The lowing of herds and the bleating of flocks cheered him like strains of’ music. Such scenes brought back the recollections of his early days. His love of rural life was, perhaps, his ruling passion. It never forsook him. The purchase of land and the regulation of his estates were among the last business transactions of his life. Farming, with him was a reality, he gave personal attention to the most minute arrangements upon his farms, as his letters to his tenants abundantly show. John Taylor has hundreds of Mr. Webster’s letters containing specific direction respecting the time and place of ploughing, sowing and planting. The amount and kind of seed and manure, for each piece, are mentioned. The various animals, upon the farm, are spoken of by their appropriate names, or peculiar marks ; and particular directions are given for the feeding of them or for their sale and the purchase of others. He was seldom deceived, in the qualities of the animal that he had examined. In the

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management of his farms he was as careful and judicious as in the administration of the State. The highest pleasure he ever knew was in retirement ; in inspecting his crops, examining his stock, preparing tools and seed for future use and planning extensive improvements in every department of rural industry. Like Antaeus, he seemed to acquire new strength, by touching the earth. His spirits rose; the feelings of childhood revived and with them, the artlessness, the simplicity and playfulness of childhood. The stately reserve of the Senator was laid aside; the cares of the diplomatist were forgotten while he re-enacted the scenes of his youth. He donned the farmer’s dress. His discourse was of bullocks, of horses, of flocks and of swine. The farmer’s vocabulary was as familiar to him as the technicalities of the law. All the common processes of agriculture were as vivid in his recollection as when he followed the plough and "drove the team. a-field."

Daniel Webster performed the ordinary services of a boy, on his father’s farm, till the age of fourteen. Imagine to yourself a slender, black-eyed, serious lad, with raven locks, leading the traveller’s horse to water when he alighted at his father’s inn, driving the cows to pasture, at early dawn, and returning them at evening, riding the horse to harrow between the rows of corn, in weeding time, and following the mowers, with a wooden spreader, in haying time, and you have the portrait. His early opportunities for improvement were far less than those of farmers’ sorts at the present day. Schools were few and short. In Salisbury, they were migratory, kept in each of three districts, which comprised the town, in turn. Sometimes the school was more than three miles from his father’s house. Two or three months in winter, with constant occupation in summer, furnished but limited means of improvement to the lover of

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learning. Books and periodicals were almost unknown. The few books, which his father owned, were thoroughly conned. The Bible, Watts’s Psalms and hymns, Shakespeare and Pope constituted his literary treasures. He could recite the whole of Pope’s ‘‘ Essay on Man,’’ when he was twelve years of age. Being once asked, why he committed this philosophic poem to memory, at that time of life, he replied, " Because I had little else to commit.’’ He said that he could not remember the time when he could not read, he learned his letters and infant prayers from the lips of his mother. He was an accomplished reader very early in life. He once told me that he recollected, when a very small boy, that the teamsters from the North, who called at his father’s tavern for refreshment, used to insist on his reading them a psalm. They leaned upon their long whip-stocks and listened, with delighted attention, to the elocution of the young orator. There was a charm, in his voice, at this early age. The hymns which he then committed, he recited with pleasure to the close of life. He was often heard singing or reciting stanzas from Watts as he walked about his house or grounds. At Franklin, in September, 1851, while he was laboring under severe indisposition, I often heard the clear, silvery tones of his voice ringing through the old house as he sung,

The last line was often heard alone. The contrast of human government with the divine, undoubtedly, suggested it. At midnight ,while the rapt singer was tortured with pain, the same strain was heard, from his sickroom. I have known him to repeat a psalm of Watts and pronounce it unsurpassed in beauty and sublimity. "Wherever you find Watts" said he, "you find true devotion."

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He showed the same love for the sweet minstrel during his last illness. The impressions of youth grew stronger with age. Near the close of his life, he expressed a wish to leave his testimony in favor of early piety ; declaring that the hymns of Watts, from his cradle hymns to his version of the Psalms, were always uppermost in his mind ; oftener occurring to his memory than the writings of his favorite poets, Dryden, Pope, Cowper, Milton and Shakespeare. He wished his friends to understand, that the early religious instruction and example of his parents had moulded and influenced his whole subsequent life.

The reverence for God’s word and ordinances which his parents inculcated, never forsook him. On this point, he being dead yet speaketh. His earliest written and published productions evince an elevation of thought and a solemnity of style above his years. " Erat in verbis gravitas, et facile dicebat, et auctoritatem naturalem. quandam habebat oratio."

He entered College, with very imperfect preparation, at fifteen. He had devoted only about ten months to the preparatory studies; and, less than three months of that time, to Greek. In College, he early became a contributor for the press. His first printed production is on "Hope.’’ It is written both in prose and verse. This passage occurs in it:

The close is as follows:

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His next piece is on " Charity." A brief extract will show its character:

The next article is on" Fear," written partly in prose and partly in blank verse. I find others upon the seasons of the year, upon war and upon political topics, both in prose and verse. The style is somewhat ambitious as is natural, at that early age, but the thoughts are always elevated and serious. Almost every composition is imbued with religious sentiments.

Mr. Webster possessed one of those well balanced minds which can find pleasure in the acquisition of all truth. He did not adopt one study and neglect another in his College course; but pursued them all with equal ardor and manifest delight. If he had continued to cultivate poetry he would, undoubtedly, have excelled in that species of composition.

During the first term of his Senior year, he was called to mourn the death of a classmate, to whom he was fondly attached. He was invited to pronounce his eulogy. A copy was requested for publication. " This oration," says a classmate, " was full of good sentiments. It would have done honor to one of long-improved privileges."

It shows very clearly what his views of religion then were. Speaking of his deceased classmate, he said

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in the sublime doctrines of christianity. * * * * Whoever knew him, in life, and saw him in death, will cordially address this honorable testimony to his memory:

Religion dissevers the chain that binds man to the dust and bids him be immortal. It enables the soul to recline on the arm of the Almighty, and the tempest beats harmless around her. In the smooth seasons and the calms of life, the worth of religion is not estimated. Like every thing else which has in it the genuine marks of greatness, it is not captivated with the allurements of worldly grandeur, nor the soft and silken scenes of luxury. Amidst the gaiety and frivolity of a Parisian court, the philosopher of Ferney could curse religion without a blush ; Hume, proud of that reputation which his talents had acquired him, could play it off in a metaphysical jargon; and Paine disposes of it with a sneer and a lie. But let religion be estimated by him who is just walking to the stake of the martyr; by him who is soon to suffer the tortures of the inquisition; by him who is proscribed and banished from his family, from his friends and from his country — these will tell you that religion is invaluable; that it gives them comfort here; that it is the earnest of life eternal; the warrant that gives possession of endless felicity."

These are the opinions of his youth. How like the matured convictions of age; like that solemn declaration of his sentiments which he subscribed, with his own hand, on his dying bed:

As a teacher., while he was preceptor of Fryeburg Academy, in 1802, then a youth of twenty years, he exhibited the same serious deportment and respect for religion. An old pupil of his, Dr. T. P. Hill of Hanover, N. H. says " It was his invariable practice to open and close the school with extempore prayer; and, I shall never forget the solemnity with which the duty was always performed." Mr. Webster was never known to

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trifle, with the affairs of time, much less with the realities of eternity. In his public speeches, he always alluded to the Scriptures, with profound reverence, and never uttered the name of the Supreme Being but with manifest awe. He was a careful reader of the Bible and delighted to repeat passages of elevated poetry and sublime devotion from its pages, in contrast with the inferior productions of uninspired poets and philosophers. His early poetic productions are all redolent of the truths of God’s word. From a religious poem published April 28, 1800, I quote the introduction and close:

"When that grand period in the eternal mind,

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Another prominent element of his character was respect for law. In youth, he practised obedience to his parents and teachers with Spartan equanimity; and, in manhood, he inculcated the same principle with Roman firmness. You know how he loved and honored his parents ; how he delighted to recall their pious instructions; how he made an annual pilgrimage to the place, where their honored dust reposes, to weep over their graves; how he delighted to take his children to the site of the old log cabin which his father built, in the forest, beyond every vestige of civilized man how he delighted to recount to them the toils, the sufferings and victories of that heroic' father through the blood and fire of two long protracted wars. You know, too, how fully he appreciated the sacrifice made by his parents, in their deep poverty, to give him an education which seemed beyond their means and thus to raise him above their own condition. You know, too, how timidly, after a sleepless night, spent in conference with Ezekiel, he ventured to ask that his beloved brother might leave the farm for the halls of learning. In the family council which was called in consequence, when the father, bowed with toil and suffering and oppressed with pecuniary burdens, was speechless with grief at the thought of losing the supports of his age, then that strong-minded, generous mother having a presentiment of the future eminence of her sons decided the question. Her verdict was " I have lived long in the world and have been happy in my children, and I wish them to be happy. If Daniel and Ezekiel will promise

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to take care of their father and mother, in their old age, I will consent to the sale of all our property, at once, that they may enjoy the benefit of what remains after our debts are paid.’’ The memory of that fond mother was very dear to her illustrious sons. She was a woman of commanding presence and great personal beauty. The only representation of her face extant is a small profile likeness, at Marshfield, handsomely framed, with this title, "My excellent Mother," written by Mr. Webster and subscribed with his own name.*

When Daniel and Ezekiel had completed their collegiate education, they consecrated their first earnings to the support and comfort of their parents. When Daniel Webster attained his majority, he hired money, in his own name, went to Salisbury and notified all the creditors of Judge Webster to present to him their claims for settlement. This was at the time when his father had secured for him the Clerkship of the Court of Common Pleas, in Hillsborough County, with a salary of $1,500 per annum. He was very anxious that his son should accept it as it would place the family above want. But Daniel had resolved to influence the decisions of Courts rather than record them. I have heard him say that his father’s black eyes flashed with momentary displeasure, when he respectfully declined this tempting offer, and he added with some spirit, "well Daniel, your mother has often said that you would make something or nothing,

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and I think you have decided the question." He had decided it; and, that was the turning point in his life. His brother Ezekiel, as I find from their correspondence, debated afterwards a similar question and decided in the same way, though he was, at the very time, giving his note for money to aid his brother in the payment of his father’s liabilities; and, in addition to the fatigues of a school by day, teaching sailors in the evening, to eke out the scanty means of his own support. It seems that Daniel had suggested to his brother, while teaching, a lucrative position as a clerk which was within his reach. In a letter dated Aug. 14, 1805, Ezekiel replies as follows:

" I should wish it, if convinced that I might do better than in a profession. In that office, you know a man stands on a mine that may be sprung almost any moment. In a profession, he is on a little surer ground. When the storm beats, he can buffet it. Men must be sick, and they will be dishonest; and the few upright will want lawyers to protect them from rogues. The fees of the clerk may be frittered down till they bear no proportion to the labor." He concludes by referring the matter to his brother’s direction. We hear no more of the proposal. The offer was, of course, declined. This rejection of an office of such emolument, under such circumstances, shows the self-reliance of those young men. They were conscious of ability to act in the affairs of men and to direct them. They chose, therefore, to depend on their own resources for success, and they were not disappointed.— Ezekiel Webster could scarcely be said to be inferior to Daniel in talents or moral virtues. He was a kindred spirit in mind and heart. N. P. Rogers, Esq., writing to the Editor of the New York Tribune in 1846, uses the following language:

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This brother, Daniel loved with intense affection. They labored together in boyhood on the farm, they aided each other in securing an education. They were co-workers in earning money, with a common purse, to take a heavy pecuniary load from the shoulders of a revered father. Of the personal appearance of the father and brother Daniel thus speaks:

"My father ! Ebenezer Webster born at Kingston in the lower part of the State in 1739—the handsomest man I ever saw except my brother Ezekiel, who appeared to me, and so does he now, the very finest human form that ever I laid eyes on. I saw him in his coffin—a white forehead—a tinged cheek—a complexion as clear as heavenly light! But where am I straying? The grave has closed upon him as it has upon all my brothers and sisters. We shall soon be all together. But this is melancholy and I leave it. Dear, dear kindred blood, how I love you all."

This affectionate regard for his relatives was manifested in a modified form for all his teachers. You have all seen his filial epistle to old Master Tappan, which was also accompanied with a liberal donation. His tribute to Dr. Abbott, at the meeting of the Alumni of Exeter Academy, was said to be surpassingly touching and eloquent. The venerable Dr. Wood, to whom he recited for six months, while he was preparing for College, so long as he lived, always received from him an annual visit of respect; and, when he heard of his death, he exclaimed: "He was a good man and true. He has acted well his part, in life ; and, the children will rise up and call him blessed."

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Of the professors, in College, to whom he recited, he ever spoke, with warm interest; and, once, admitted that, in his youth, he was so captivated with the brilliant and stately periods of President Wheelock, that his own style was, for a season, greatly marred by imitating him. While in College, no man was more observant of order and punctuality. His classmate, Mr. Smith, says:

"He was a strict observer of order. His mind was too dignified to do otherwise. He never-engaged in College disturbances. I should as soon have suspected John Wheelock, the President, of improper conduct as Daniel Webster. He looked with contempt upon all lawless conduct. I never knew him to waste the study hours. He was constant, at the recitations, and always well prepared. He was peculiarly industrious. In addition to the college studies, he read more than any one in his class. He read with great rapidity and remembered all. He would accomplish more business, in a given time, than any one of his classmates. As a general scholar, Webster was good. He was not deficient in a single study. As a composer and speaker there was not his equal in the class. The truth is, that, by his thorough investigation of every subject, and every study, while in College, together with his giant mind, he rose to the very pinnacle of fame; and since he left College all he had to do, was to sustain himself where he was, and fame would roll in upon him; and all his classmates have been compelled to look up high to see him which I have ever been proud to do."

You have heard of Diomed and Ulysses; of Pylades and Orestes; of Achates and AEneas, in ancient times. Here, from our own Academic shades, has come forth an armor-bearer worthy of the intellectual hero whom he chooses to follow. Rev. Brown Emerson, D. D., of Salem, Mass., who was in College with Mr. Webster, writes to me as follows:

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Dr. George Farrar of Derry, N. 1-I., who preceded Mr. Webster, one year, in College, says:

Hon. Henry Hubbard, of Charlestown, N. H., who was two years in College with Mr. Webster, confirms all these statements from his own knowledge. Speaking of his success, as a writer and speaker, he says:

"He was so decidedly beyond any one else that no other student, in his class, was ever spoken of as second to him. The students and those who knew him best and judged of his merit impartially, felt that no one, connected with the College, deserved to be compared with him, at the time he received his degree. His habits and moral character were entirely stainless. I never heard them questioned during our College acquaintance."

Another gentleman, Rev. Dr. Merrill, of Middlebury, Vt., who was his classmate, writes me

Dr. Shurtleff, who was then a tutor in the College, says:

19

This is what he has always done, and this is the secret sf his success. I have been thus minute in describing his College life, because, there prevails among students, an erroneous opinion respecting his habits and rank as a scholar. Mr. Webster’s habits of reading have been alluded to. He was supposed tote a very extensive reader. This opinion arose from the extent of his knowledge, the clearness and accuracy of his statements. He was, however, no literary gourmand. lie read much but not many books. He always read with an object in view and with concentrated attention. The mere reading of many hooks neither makes a man learned or wise. It is the appropriation and assimilation of knowledge that contributes to mental growth. There must be an intellectual appetency in the soul, else it will derive no strength from the pabulum which it devours. An old friend of Mr. Webster, who roomed with him when he taught, at Fryehurg, has furnished me with Mr. Webster’s own account of his mental habits at that time:

So much as I read," sai(i he, " I made my o~ a. When a half hour, or an hour, at most, hadl expired, I closed my book and thought it all over. If there was any thing particularly interesting to me, either in sentiment or language, I endeavored to recall it and lay it up ill my memory ; and, commonly could effect my object. Then, if in dlebate or conversation, afterward, any subject came up on which I had read something, I could talk very ~asilv so far as I had read and then I was very careful to stop."

In later years, when his experience and observation had become more enlarged, he ha-d no occasion to slop till the subject was completely exhausted. It is worthy of notice that he never devoted much time to the reading of works of fiction. While a student, he scarcely read novels, at all; in after life, he merely looked into them, occasionally, to ascertain how the public mind was employed in reading them.*

* In 1805, he gave the following account of himself to a classmate: "In Boston, my reading was mostly appropriate to my profession. Gifford’s

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He made a thorough investigation of every subject upon which he was to speak. He prepared his cases for Court with great care. This he regarded as a duty which he owed to his client and to justice. His addresses for public occasions were the fruit of long and patient reflection. His best passages were often composed while following the windings of a brook for trout, or wandering through quiet forests in quest of game. He delayed writing out his thoughts till near the time of their delivery, that he might gain momentum from the tide of passing events. Such was his practice in College. He matured his thoughts, in his solitary rambles, and put them on paper but a short time before they were due. One of his classmates says:

The thoughts all lay combined in his memory. The writing of them was merely mechanical. It would not be safe, therefore, for ordinary students to attempt to imitate him, unless they first learn to " read, mark, and inwardly digest," as he did; and, then subject themselves to like habits of profound abstraction and long continued reflection. He could use the words of Horace with a significancy which the Roman poet never dreamed of:

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It will be recollected that the speech ascribed to John Adams, in Mr. Webster’s eulogy on Adams and Jefferson, which Mr. Everett pronounces unsurpassed, by any thing of the kind in our language; and, which has caused much search to be made respecting its origin, and called forth many letters of inquiry, where, in the works of Adams, it could be found, was composed by Mr. Webster, in his house, in Boston, on the day before the delivery of it in Faneuil Hall. It is very probable that some of the finest passages in his speeches, which he was presumed to have prepared beforehand, were called forth by the excitement of the occasion ; by the inspiration of the time, place and circumstances, he seemed to make little preparation for his most elaborate orations. Some thought, therefore, that he could speak, on any subject, without mental effort. He thought while others trifled; he labored while others slept; he meditated while others disputed.* His opinions were thus matured on matters of national concern, long before he had occasion to use them. He was oftener the last than the ,first to engage in debate. He then came with the authority of a judge rather than the pleadings of an advocate. He often delayed speaking on questions that agitated the public mind and divided the Senate, till the country became impatient. His friends complained of him; his enemies challenged him. When the tumult has reached its height, he ‘‘ mounts the whirlwind and directs the storm.’’ He

* James H. Bingham, Esq., a classmate of Mr. Webster, writes to me under date of Nov. 25, 1852, respecting his habits of study in College: "He was sure to understand the subject of his recitation; sometimes ~ used to think, in a more extended and comprehensive sense, than his teacher. He never liked to be confined to small technicalities or views but seemed to possess an intuitive knowledge of whatever he was considering. He did not find it necessary, as was the case with most of us, to sit downl to hard work, three or four hours, to make himself master of his lesson, but seemed to comprehend it, in a larger view; and, would sometimes procure other books, on the same subject, for further examination, and employ hours, in close thought, either in his room, or in his walk, which would enlarge his views and, at the same time, might with some, give him the character of not being a close student."

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appears, with the dignity of a monarch to sustain the right and defeat the wrong. His words are borne, on the wings of the lightning, to every corner of the land. The nation reads. His friends exult; his enemies revile. Both parties feel as though a great mountain had fallen upon their battlefield, to separate by an insurmountable barrier, the contending hosts. His friends repose under its shadow, and bid defiance to all corners; his enemies, like the tenants of a crushed ant-hill, are busy in removing, particle by particle, those frowning cliffs that protect their fainting foes. Many such victories has he achieved. His only armor was invincible logic. He never entered the lists till his country needed a champion. He never sought controversy. On the contrary, all the tendencies of his nature were pacific. He was quiescent and contemplative rather than aggressive and excitable. ‘‘ No man was ever more respectful to others; no man carried himself with greater decorum, no man with superior dignity." He was never called to order in debate ; never rebuked by an offended court. From childhood to age, he was a man of peace,—national peace,—social peace,—domestic peace.

The following extract is from an article, published by him, Nov. 25, 1799.

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On his dying bed, he closed his sublime discourse upon the gospel of Jesus Christ with these words,

"Peace on earth, and good will toward men;" then clasping his hands together, he added with solemn emphasis; " That is happiness—the essence of Christianity-—good will toward men.’’

From all the patriots and statesmen of the world, he selected Washington for his model to study and imitate.

Among his earliest productions there is a poetic apostrophe to the Father of his Country. It was written in 1801.

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The question that interested the youthful poet has been once solved; and, we are now prepared to repeat it with pensive earnestness, over the tomb of Webster. On Bunker Hill, in 1843, he said: "America has furnished to the world the character of Washington! And if our American Institutions had done nothing else, that alone would have entitled them to the respect of mankind." We may now add, with a melancholy pleasure, the respect of mankind is drawn to us by "a twofold cord which is not easily broken." Webster, like Washington, exhibited, in public life, a native dignity of manner, which forbade the approaches of intrusive meddlers, and arrested, at once, all impertinent interference with his appropriate duties. Those legislators, who, from time to time, have moved to investigate his official conduct, and have preferred charges of malversation, against him, have always found those measures suicidal to themselves, and have ever after, been spoken of, as politically dead.

Mr. Webster scorned to secure official station by artifice; nor, would he tolerate political intrigue to gain party success. You might as soon expect Mount Washington to stoop for the convenience of those who climb. He has received no honor which he did not deserve. He has held no office which could add lustre to his reputation. Unlike Washington, Mr. Webster, in private life, was eminently social. His conversation was always instructive. No man ever listened to his familiar discourse, for an hour, who was not deeply impressed with his wisdom. He exhibited the same charming affability in youth. Dr. Farrar says: "He, very early in life, attracted the attention of all present by his pleasant conversation. He was agreeable, without ostentation." An old friend of his, who knew him intimately, while a teacher at Fryeburg, says: "He had not then attained the full development of manhood; nor, had that intellectual

[ 25 ]

expression of countenance become so marked as in after years. His cheeks were thin; the bones of his face prominent: so that he was far from exhibiting that beautiful and majestic appearance which a few more years brought upon him. But his gentleness, modesty and agreeable manners produced for him a more friendly feeling in those with whom he lived, as well as in those who were under his instruction, than his first appearance promised. There was nothing specially noticeable about him, at this time, except his full, steady, large and searching eyes. Nobody could see those eyes and ever forget their appearance or him who possessed them."

An old pupil of his writes to me as follows:

Another pupil of his, Rev. Dr. Osgood of Springfield, Mass., says:

I have much other testimony of the like import, which it is unnecessary to add.

Mr. Webster, undoubtedly, owed much to his superior endowments, but still more to his industry. His life was one of incessant toil. Writing to a friend, in 1846, he says:" I have worked for more than twelve hours a day, for fifty years, on an average." In 1851, he said, in~a public speech: "I know not how the bread of idleness

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tastes." His very amusements were all manly and invigorating; and, even his solitary rambles in hunting and fishing, were often devoted to the composition of his orations. His address to the veterans of the Revolution,, on Bunker Hill, was first pronounced on the borders of Marshpee brook. He was, habitually, an early riser. What little I have accomplished," he once said, "has been done early in the morning." When a student, his love of books often caused him long vigils, at night, and in subsequent life, as it seems, public duties often encroached upon the hours which were devoted to rest. When in office, he was usually the first at his post of duty and the last to leave it. An appointment was kept as sacredly as an oath. However distant the day, he remembered it. No one was compelled to wait, on his account. If we may judge by his practice, he approved of short visits and long friendships.

Mr. Webster was a man of large sympathies, of warm and earnest affections. His heart was the fit companion of his head. His friendship was lost only by unkindness or injustice. His love was not chilled by the frosts of age or, even the icy hand of death. When too feeble to rise to salute his friends, he still folded them to his bosom with a dying embrace. He has been called cold and unsympathising. No assertion could be more false. No man ever lived who was more ready to make personal sacrifices for the comfort of others. Could his private life be spread out before the world, men would look with a deeper interest, upon the gentle play of his domestic affections than upon the gigantic achievements of his intellect. He loved, as he thought, with great intensity of emotion. The thousand little incidents, that show the native generosity of his soul, are the strong ties that bind him to the common mind. These unostentatious acts of benevolence, are like the countless filaments that bound

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the man-mountain in the Liliputian tale, to the earth; taken separately, they are like the spider’s web, but united, they can not be broken. Men admire his genius; they love his humanity. This shows us why the multitude are so eager to know how his great heart beat, when he breathed the same low atmosphere in which they live; and, when they find that "their homely joys and destiny obscure" call forth the warm and gushing sympathies of his soul, they love him as a brother and honor him as a sage. Mr. Webster was known in his public character, to the whole civilized world. He could not, of course, make all mankind his particular friends. In his social intercourse, he seems to have followed the advice of old Polonius to his son:

We have a strong proof of the genuine kindness of his nature, in the fact, that children, domestics and laborers who knew him, were always warmly attached to him. His eye had a peculiar fascination for children. They always came, at his bidding; and, he instantly became their companion. His condescension to servants, his cordial greeting of old acquaintances, caused them to forget their inferiority and to speak with the freedom of equals. In his early letters to his classmates, he addresses them, in terms of the strongest endearment; and he seems to covet their affection with the fondness of woman’s love. This was no transient emotion. He loved them, to the last; and, in age addressed them with the

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fervor of youthful feeling. Writing to an old classmate in 1849, he says:

Time did not abate his friendship; public and private cares did not stifle it. He was naturally genial, kind, and even playful, in social life. When engaged in public duties, he seemed abstracted, and inaccessible. His eye was, apparently, introverted; as if his mind had, for a time, withdrawn to some private apartment of its ponderous dome, to work out some problem for eternity. But when he met his guests, at his own fireside, then, " Ceasar was himself again." Those who have enjoyed his society, under such circumstances, will mark those days with white in the calendar of their history. He did not, like Johnson, make his memory (accurate and tenacious as it was,) an engine of social oppression, but when conversation flagged, he never failed to draw, from its stores. anecdote and fact, something both pleasant and profitable. In society, his only object was to make others happy.

I have thus attempted to sketch some of the prominent traits of a great and good man. Some may now ask, had he no faults? Those who know him, only by report, affirm that he had many; but, I have been so absorbed in admiration of his eminent virtues, that I have failed to notice them. I leave that investigation to those whose temper and heart incline them to the ungrateful service. Our modern philanthropists who presume to act the part of Rhadamanthus as well as of Hercules, never do things by halves. Whether they love or hate, they do it with all their might; and, there are as many "good haters" of Daniel Webster, in New England, as there were of Socrates, in Athens, or of Cicero, in Rome. Anytus

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and Melitus, Clodius and Catiline, were heathen, and, consequently far less culpable, for their murderous spirit, than the reckless defamers of the modern patriot, who cloak their malignant hate under the sacred name of philanthropy. "It requires some talent," says an old writer, "and some generosity, to find out talent and generosity in others, though nothing but self-conceit and malice are needed to discover or to imagine faults." I hold that men should be judged by their excellencies rather than by their defects. I have, therefore, endeavored to set before you, in this brief notice of Mr. Webster, as a student, a teacher anti citizen, an example of industry, punctuality and fidelity, worthy of all imitation. It remains for me to speak of him as a man of letters. Were I gifted with his impressive elocution, I would repeat to you his own words, to show how profoundly he thought, how eloquently he spoke; but, alas! the best that I can do, is to light a feeble taper to supply the place of the departed sun. Johnson said, many years ago, if a student would acquire a finished English style, he must spend his days and nights with Addison. To American students, that rule has become obsolete. We have a better model. If you would drink from "the well of pure English undefiled," study Webster’s works;

Mr. Thackeray, in his lectures on the Wits of the reign of Queen Anne, gives some good advice to young men:

"Try," said he, "to frequent the company of your betters in books and in life,—that is the most wholesome society; learn to admire rightly, that is the great pleasure of life. Note what the great men admire—they admire great things; small minds admire basely and worship meanly.

I have heard Mr. Webster say, that he regarded it as a proof of superior intellect, to admire and appreciate Shakespeare. Intercourse with great minds tends to raise us to their level. Another star now beams on us from the galaxy of departed genius. I need not urge you,

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young gentlemen, to admire its brilliancy or to walk by its light. Every student, before me, who ever made a school declamation, has, probably, learned it from Webster. Few scholars now live, in our country, whose minds have not received stimulus and nutriment from his immortal thoughts. It is fortunate, that the interests of learning, that we have such a model for imitation. his oratorical style may be pronounced faultless. "Clearness, force and earnestness are the qualities which produce conviction." In these characteristics of true eloquence, he has no superior in ancient or modern times. The effect of Webster’s eloquence has, frequently, been greatest after years of agitation and discussion. He often stood on an eminence above his contemporaries, and with the "vision and faculty divine" of a prophetic eye, scanned the future and revealed its coming events. The people were, sometimes, not prepared to adopt his conclusions. He was obliged to educate the popular mind before he could convince it. Accordingly, the first effect of some of his greatest efforts has been a storm of opposition. It has been as if a rock-ribbed mountain had suddenly risen, by internal convulsions, from the deep. The ocean boils and surges around it, the angry waves roll high and dash against its frowning cliffs, till the powers of nature seem wearied with the conflict, and the same waves bow and worship before it. There are other instances ; for example, his plea, in the Dartmouth College case, his Reply to Col. Hayne, anti his Defence of the Treaty of Washington, where the utterance of his sentiments, at once, silenced all opposition, and the whole country received his opinions as law. Considering the extent of that country, the superior intelligence of its citizens and the general unanimity with which his views were adopted, it is not extravagant in us to assert, that he has no peer as an effective orator, in the world’s history.

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It required a great crisis to call forth the highest powers of his eloquence. He was no popular orator or rhetorician, aiming at great effects on small occasions. It required a moral earthquake to disturb his equanimity and kindle the fires that slept within him. Hence, some who have only heard him discuss the ordinary topics of the day, in a calm and dispassionate manner, have pronounced him dull and phlegmatic. The truth is, that he was always appropriate to the occasion; never below it. His words, therefore, when printed, are "like apples of gold in pictures of silver," always more weighty and enduring than they seemed to be. In his orations that were written out before delivery, there is evidence of profound research and acute discrimination. His views of Greek and Roman colonization, in his Centennial Oration, at Plymouth, would do honor to the acumen and learning of Niebuhr. To present a single paragraph to illustrate my position, would be like wrenching a diamond, for exhibition, from a coronet of brilliants. If you would treasure up the beauties of Webster’s Works, you must study and appropriate them entire. This is the only way in which you can become familiar with his "large round-about common sense." In his works he still lives and will live, so long as patriotism has an admirer or eloquence a eulogist. "All his writings and all his judgments, all his opinions and the whole influence of his character, public and private, leaned strongly and always to the support of sound principles, to the restraint of illegal power, and to the discouragement and rebuke of licentious and disorganizing sentiments." "Ad rem-public am firmandam, et ad stabiliendas vires et sanandum populuni, omnis ejus pergebat institutio."

The subjects which employed his pen, as a student, are the same which engrossed his thoughts in later life. His College compositions, besides the ordinary themes of

[ 32 ]

the class, and stage declamations, were newspaper articles in poetry and prose, a drama, which was publicly enacted in the meeting-house, in accordance with the custom of those times, on the evening preceding Commencement, at the close of his Junior year, an Oration, before the citizens of Hanover, delivered July 4, 1800 a Eulogy on a deceased classmate; an Oration before the United Fraternity, at the Commencement when he was graduated, and several occasional Orations, before the same Society, delivered, at intervals, during his Junior and Senior years. Under date of Oct. 15, 1799, the following entry is found in the records of the Society:

"Voted to reposit, in the archives of the United Fraternity, an Oration, delivered by Junior Webster."

Within a few years, the manuscript, here referred to, has disappeared. Some literary thief has purloined it.

He deserves to be excluded from Helicon.

It is fortunate for mankind that so many of Mr. Webster’s thoughts have been preserved. He has left abundant materials for the history of his whole life; and, when his biography is fully written, it will furnish the richest entertainment to which the reading public was ever invited. It will interest the millions as well as the literati;

It deserves to be noticed, in this connection, that all the early manuscripts of Daniel and Ezekiel Webster are remarkable for their plain, legible chirography, with scarcely a blot or erasure, and, for their accurate spelling and punctuation, matters of thorough scholarship, which, in recent times, are too often overlooked.

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for his theatre was the world, and the party for which he labored,.—mankind. His works constitute a rich legacy to coming generations; "a possession for eternity," a patrimony, which can not be diminished, by minute division, nor destroyed by personal appropriation. —Mr. Webster was a scholar, possessing rich and varied stores of ancient and modern lore, besides being the most eminent Jurist and Statesman of his age. What he said of the elder Adams and Jefferson is equally true of himself:

"His scholarship was so in keeping with his character so blended and inwrought, that careless observers or bad judges, not seeing an ostentatious display of it, might infer that it did not exist; forgetting, or not knowing, that classical learning in men who act in conspicuous public stations, perform duties which exercise the faculty of writing, or address popular, deliberative or judicial bodies, is often felt where it is little seen, and sometimes felt more effectually because it is not seen at all."

The arts of the sophist and demagogue he despised. He sought to convince, but did not refuse to please. He was high-minded and honorable in speech, as well as in purpose. He employed no philosophical, abstract or technical terms in his logic ; but used plain, vigorous, manly English. His discourse, like the bosom of the calm and clear lake, revealed all that was in its own depths, and reflected heaven besides. He preferred to commend, rather than censure. His praise was delightful; his rebuke was terrible. No man ever forgot his smile or his frown. The language of his face was felt. When his eye kindled with anger, his presence was truly awful. But his indignation was momentary. He never treasured up the bitter memories of the past ; on the contrary, he sought to efface them from his own mind and to obliterate them from the published reports of his speeches. I need not recount to you the great events of his life. His conflicts and his victories at the bar, in the Senate, and in the field of diplomacy are all known to you; and every

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son of New England, feels that he has a personal interest in them. You remember how in 1830, the hosts of disunion were marshalled for the fight ; how the conspirators came into the Senate, and destined, not a Consul, but the Defender of the Constitution, to political death. You know how bold and defiant was the challenge ; how fierce and vindictive was the assault. You know, too, how the enemy was met ; how their forces were broken, discomfited, routed, driven from the field, and "chased like a dead leaf over the desert." You remember well how the satellite of the Austrian Emperor dared to dictate to this government principles of foreign policy. You know, also, how signally the insolent diplomatist was rebuked; and how the answer of freedom’s champion was received at the tyrant’s court. As in the days of the Babylonian monarch, when the hand-writing appeared on the wall: "Then the King’s countenance was changed and his thoughts troubled him."

To the young student, the history of his early life is invaluable. His example is as rich, in instruction, as his recorded opinions. There is probably not a student who hears me, to-day, whose condition, in life is so adverse to literary eminence, as was that of Daniel Webster. He was encompassed with obstacles that to ordinary minds would have been insurmountable. Not only the means but the necessary stimulus to successful scholarship were wanting. His father was embarassed with debt,, and burdened with private and public cares. The whole country was impoverished. All its institutions were new, rude and imperfect. Public opinion was hostile to a liberal education. Many of the citizens of New Hampshire had just come out of the blood and fire of the Revolutionary War, where, shoulder to shoulder, they had fought for liberty and equality. They scorned all aristocratic rank, whether it belonged to birth or learning. They

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declared, at once, that the education of the boy would be his ruin. His services were needed at home, and it was very unwise, in their opinion, to weaken the hands of those who were felling the forests and subduing an ungenial soil. A book was a "rara avis in terris." Schools were few and short; the instruction given was meagre and imperfect; the government was harsh and tyrannical. Refined society was unknown, in the newly settled portions of the state. When Daniel Webster, at the age of fourteen, entered Exeter Academy, his manners were unpolished; his dress was decidedly unfashionable, being entirely of domestic manufacture; his shoes were coarse and his language was redolent of rural life. His rustic appearance called forth the sneers of his associates who could read the language of dress better than that of books. He was precisely in the condition of the person (supposed to be Virgil,) alluded to by the Roman satirist:

This fact explains that standing enigma of his life; that he could not make a declamation before the school while at Exeter But this difficulty was, triumphantly, overcome and his talents and industry soon raised him above his condition, and out of sight of his persecutors. His example speaks words of hope and consolation to the indigent and depressed student; for, though he may not equal him in successful study, he may follow in his footsteps, "hand pan passu." His example rebukes the idle and disorderly student. I have examined with great care, Mr. Webster’s early lire. I have read his letters, his compositions and orations, have consulted his surviving classmates, have visited the place of his nativity and

[ 36 ]

conversed with his playmates; and, I have not found a single act, in all his student life, derogatory to the character of a gentleman,—a high minded, christian gentleman, which is the highest style of man.* He showed, then, the same chastened and honorable ambition to be wise and good, the same intense scorn of meanness, intrigue, affectation, and low cunning, the same respect for age and official station, the same reverence for law and religion, which marked his whole subsequent course. His example cheers and animates the industrious and faithful student; for, by the homely virtues of diligence, punctuality, perseverance and devotion to duty, he achieved his intellectual and moral pre-eminence, and made himself, "the foremost man of all this world." My young friends, if you cannot equal him, in scholarship and achievements, you may imitate him; and, perhaps, be next to him," longo intervallo," and enjoy the "proximos honores" of successful effort, though, as the poet said of Jove:

* It has been commonly reported, that great injustice was done to Mr. Webster in the assignment of College honors. The facts are these at the time of his graduation, the Latin Salutatory was regarded, by the Faculty, as the first appointment. In the words of one of his classmates, who was afterwards a College officer, "the Faculty thought it would be almost barbarous to set the best English scholar, in the class, to jabber in Latin," so they assigned him the second part," to wit: "an Oration on the Fine Arts, or a Poem." With this appointment Mr. Webster and his class were not well pleased. The bitter rivalry between the two literary Societies, in the College, gave rise to this dissatisfaction. The causes which led to this state of feeling, I can not stay to examine. It has been said that Mr. Webster, in consequence of his dislike of his appointment, tore up his diploma. So far as I can learn, there is not a shadow of evidence for this assertion. The-oldest inhabitants of the village, the officers of the College, and the classmates of Mr. Webster, are all ignorant of the alleged fact. They never heard of the report, till years after the tragedy was said to have been enacted. I cannot, for a moment, suppose that a young gentleman of Mr. Webster’s well-known gravity and dignity of character would allow himself, even under strong excitement, to commit such an unscholarly act and, his modest estimate of his own abilities, as abundantly appears, from his own letters, at that period, forbids the supposition, that he did it in a spirit of vain boasting.

His whole history will bear the test of near approach and strict examination. When he is better known, he will be more loved and honored. His life was august, his death sublime.He lived like a christian patriot; he died like a christian Philosopher.* There was a moral grandeur, in his words and actions, almost unparalleled. His conversation, in the near view of death, was as far above that of Socrates, as the sublime truths of christianity are above the dim and erratic conjectures of heathen

*A few months before his decease, while sitting with him, alone, by his own fire-side, I heard him discourse most eloquently upon the great truths of Christianity and the proper method of teaching them.

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philosophy. Socrates, as he was leaving this life, remembered his vow to the god, AEsculapius. Webster prayed, " Almighty God, receive me to thyself, for Jesus Christ’s sake ;" and dictated as the caption of his epitaph, this scripture : "Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief." Such was his dying testimony. His earliest and his latest opinions are in confirmation of his faith in God’s revealed truth. While he lived, his voice was often heard in defence of religion; now that he is no more, his example pleads her cause, with a more sublime, impressive and convincing eloquence. But we sorrow, most of all, because we shall see his face no more. He has gone to the land of silence. His voice is hushed and the light of his eye is quenched in death. Yet how little is there of the great and the good that can die ! —Webster still lives in the history of his actions. He still lives in his recorded sentiments ; he lives in his illustrious example. He lives in the influence, which the principles he advocated will exert on coming ages. He lives in the gratitude and homage of all good men.

"Vivit, enim, vivetque semper ; atque etiam latius in rnemoria hominum et sermone versabitur postquam ab oculis recessit."

In the words, which the pious Baxter used concerning that illustrious Commoner, John Pym, we may now say: Webster "is now a member of a more knowing, well-ordered, right-aiming, self-denying, unanimous, honorable, triumphant senate than that from which he was taken."

[ 39 ]

Mr. Webster inspired, in his early friends, an attachment as strong, confiding and permanent as his own. A few paragraphs from their letters will confirm this assertion.

A classmate, under date of Feb. 8, 1806, writes:

"My dear Daniel,"

"I have hardly, since our last interview, known an hour of real pleasure, till that in which I perused and re-perused your communication of Jan. 19th. There is more pure satisfaction and rational entertainment to be derived from one sheet of paper written and communicated by a real, intelligent friend than from the whole round of common ‘social intercourse.’ General and extensive knowledge of men and books contribute to render an intimate friend doubly valuable. This consideration heightens the degree of happiness and instruction anticipated from the promise in your last, " to treat me with a course of epistles." I expect much from that promise and only lament that I can make no return that will, in any tolerable degree, compensate your labor unless the heart be received in room of language. Instead of lessening "the pleasure and tranquility of my winter evenings" by the fulfilment of this proposition, depend upon it, my good friend, there is no circumstance except the presence of Daniel Webster that can contribute more to pass time pleasantly than reading his letters."

The same writer, in a letter, dated Aug. 16, 1804, says

No wonder, Daniel, considering our long and sincere attachment, that Boston, with all its attractions, cannot "supersede the use of friendship, ancient and honorable." There is a vacancy in human happiness, which must be filled with something besides the common business of life or the amusements and avocations of the city; something adapted to the gentler feelings of the soul. Here friendship claims a place: here she finds it."

In another letter, the same writer speaks of his own location in business, and adds:

"I sincerely regret that you did not determine to settle in the County of Cheshire. Could I but enjoy the society of my brother Webster, by giving him half or two thirds of my scanty share of business, it would be a blessing I should esteem invaluable. Notwithstanding, I commend your compliance with the wishes of a fond father. As duty, necessity, and choice, you say, co-operated to induce your settlement, at Boscawen, I cannot, in conscience, reprove you. It always seemed to me, that we were made for neighbors; —that we were made for brothers, needs no demonstration."

The close of another letter, by the same writer, is as follows:

"The only way in which I can converse with you is by reading your old letters which I have mostly by heart."

Another friend writing, under date of March, 1806, says:

"If, when you receive this, you have clients waiting, throw it under the table but if you are alone, read far enough to know that my heart heats respondent to your prosperity, and knows how to feel grateful for the friendship with which you have honored me."

Another friend, writing under date of Nov. 1805, says : I have just time to inform you that I have had the pleasure of hearing from you by Rev. Samuel Wood. I heartily congratulate you, my worthy counsellor, on your establishment in business and am extremely rejoiced that your prospects are so flattering. I understand from the excellent and benevolent bearer of this, that you are becoming the greatest and most eminent lawyer in the County of Hillsboro’ and that your success is unprecedented. Esto perpetus."

Another College friend writes, in Aug. 1804: "Dear Friend," Say

Will you think it presuming for an old friend to address to you a few lines?

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Should such a thought occur—revert to old times, when you were accustomed to treat me with the friendly familiarity of a brother ;—and, those were happy times alas! too happy to last long."

Another friend, in May 1805, writes —"I should be rejoiced to see you after so long an absence. I hear, with peculiar pleasure, that you have finished your studies and are likely to succeed in Boscawen. Nothing can give me more pleasure than to hear of the prosperity of those who call me friend and whom I esteem as such. I doubt not but that your talents will exalt you as high in this world’s estimation as you can wish,."

Peter Thacher, Esq., writes from Boston, May 17, 1805, as follows:— "My dear Sir, Your brother informed me to-day of your place of residence. Give me leave to add my good wishes to those of your other friends, who are interested in your success. You may reasonably calculate on a favorable course of affairs, for I believe that the qualities of your mind will ensure your establishment. I hope that you will give me some account of your situation and prospects, and be assured of my readiness to render you any services in this quarter.

My friends who are engaged in the support of the ‘Anthology,’ have instructed me to thank the author of the criticism on Dr. Caustic’s" Terrible Tractoration." It is highly pleasing to them, and has been favourably received by the public. We have thought that the author of that piece was well qualified to do justice to the Dr.’s last publication. I beg your acceptance of the volume, and hope that you will authorize me to say to the gentlemen, that they may shortly expect to receive a review of the work. If you are compelled to confine yourself in a situation remote from the pursuits of cities, still, I hope that you will allow your mind sometimes to pay us a visit. I remind you of all your promises in favor of the ‘Anthology’ and I hope that you will find nothing in Coke or Rastell, which will impair the obligation.—I wish you would tell your brother, that it will give me pleasure, at any time, to have him pass an hour in my office. Sometimes I shall use his friendship, he may always use mine."

Sept. 1,1806.—" I observe that our critics have noticed your "address," which I assure you I read with great pleasure. I am daily expecting to receive from you your promised communications."

Nov. 1, 1806.—" Our Society were much gratified with your communication. It appears in this Anthology. We regard your promise of future communications with great pleasure. You must contrive to make the wilderness and desolate places of New Hampshire blossom with the roses of genius and learning."

April 24, 1807.—" Your review will appear in the No. which is now in press, with all its vernal honors. Do not let the cares of the world, nor the deceitfulness of riches choke the growth of literature in your mind. New Hampshire has yet to produce its portion of eminent men."

Thomas W. Thompson, Esq., with whom Mr. Webster studied law, for a time, writing from Salisbury, under date of Oct. 17, 1804, to Mr. Webster in Boston, says :—" I am much pleased with the communication signed "Mass. & W." ; and I can assure you they have excited a very interesting inquiry for the authors. The former I recognized. The latter I had not seen till after the receipt of your letter. Go on: catch every leisure moment. If pecuniary compensation should not follow, you will have a satisfaction of a higher nature. * * * * I shall wish you to write me often, and you must pardon me, if I insist upon paying the postage upon my own and your letters. At some distant period, I shall not object to your paying your proportion. * * Should you have occasion to borrow money, please to let me know it, and, if I have it on hand, I will accommodate you with it as long as you please."

DELIVERED AT

GENESEO SYNODICAL ACADEMY, N. Y.,

By

CORRESPONDING SECRETARY OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION.

PUBLISHED BY REQUEST OF THE TRUSTEES.

PHILADELPHIA:

1863.

The text of this and other superb works are available on-line from:

The Willison Politics and Philosophy Resource Center

http://willisoncenter.com/

Reprint and digital file March 29, 2002.

Cortlandt Van Rensselaer was the son of Stephen Van Rensselaer, who was an important political, military and educational figure in New York state, as his founding of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute attests. Cortlandt, ( 1808-1860 ) graduated Princeton 1808, and Yale, 1827, and mirrored his father's interest in the development of formal education, serving as corresponding secretary and chief executive officer of the Presbyterian Board of Education .---Concise Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1977

This work has been highlighted in bold italics by us to draw particular attention to concepts established in Rensselaer's day that are of particular import for our generation. He foresaw the effects of the secularization movement in public educational settings and its consequent pernicious effect, ( well proven in our day) and he reminds us that, with the New England Primer, all public school students from his time, and past, did have a united educational experience, combining knowledge of the physical world, with that of the eternal world to come!

Page numbers in the original appear in brackets at the top of each page as so : [ 2 ]

[ 2 ] NO TI CE.

This Address was delivered last spring, by the appointment of the Trustees of the Geneseo Academy. When a request was subsequently made for a copy, with a view to its publication, the author gave himself the benefit of a doubt, and withheld the Address from the press. The request, however, having recently been informally renewed, through the Rev. F. DE W. WARD, who has been as a father to the Academy, he now commits the Address to his brethren, with the expression of interest in the particular institution under the care of the Synod, and with the desire to assist in illustrating the principles of its organization.

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CITIZENS OF GENESEO, AND FRIENDS OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION:

AN inheritance in the midst of schools, churches, quiet homes and fertile fields is among the favoured allotments of Providence. If Paul, in defence of his rights, was bold to claim, "I am a citizen of no mean city," who more than you may declare, in acknowledgment of great privileges, that you are residents of no mean town, and citizens of no small State.

A few historical and general glances will bring us in sight of the range of topics, selected for particular observation out of the varieties of a. great landscape.

About the year 1792, Geneseo was the only organized township west of the Seneca lake. It comprehended at that time the whole of western New York. Its boundaries were from the pre-emption line to Lake Erie, and from Lake Ontario to Pennsylvania. Six millions of acres were its domain; and a mighty future lay wrapped in the cradle of its early origin, like a child in the garments of a great destiny. This large territory, which in 1790 had only 1081 inhabitants, is now occupied by 14 counties and by more than half a million of people—a population greater than that of half the States of the American Union. So rapidly has the old township of Geneseo fulfilled its mission of pioneer activity and of westerly expansion! It was originally called the "Big Tree" township, after the nomenclature of the Aborigines and in deference to the "big tree" which yet stands in the mystery of Indian nobility and in the glory of centennial years, to survey the numerous seedlings of the forest which have sprung up on every side.

The original inhabitants were of Puritan and of Scotch origin—the two best friends of the Anglo-Saxon kindred. First came the men of Connecticut and Massachusetts, those mothers of States, who like the venerable New England matrons, yet occupy the old homestead, whilst their children and grandchildren are States, counties and townships, far away from the landmarks of Puritan geography. The general characteristics of New England settlers, not always indeed exemplified, are a regard for religion and worldly prudence, for schools and churches, for all that gives worth to families, prosperity to the Church and State, and glory to God. Soon came the emigrants from Scotia, equally trained for "the chief end of man," men of hardy soil and hardy soul, indomitable men, whether in contending for the principles of the Reformation embodied in Bible, Catechism, and Covenant, or fighting for the liberty of their hearths and moors, or working for the means of subsistence on Sutherland-shire hills or Gennessean fields. The union of such men with a large predominance of the Puritan stock, must needs have given to the

[ 4 ]The true Principles in the Organization of a Christian Institution of Learning.

population within the boundary of this old banner township an advantage richer than the mould of its far-famed valley.

The inhabitants early paid a degree of attention to religion and education. In 1795 an Academy stood "on the high ground a little back of the village of Geneseo." * The eye, in searching for it, is directed to the very site of the building, now occupied by the Synodical institution. This, then, is primeval ground, the granite of the educational strata of Western New York. Here the early pioneers first showed their thoughtful care of the best interests of the rising generation, by selecting so beautiful a location for a seat of learning. "Temple Hill," overlooking the village and the valley, is an apt emblem of the elevation, merited and won in all ages by mental and moral culture.

The old Academy, where the worship of God was first celebrated, has long since passed away, and is not remembered by any of the surviving inhabitants. Its place was supplied by a school-house located in the lower part of the village. The present Academy, incorporated in 1824, owes its origin to the liberality and enterprise of the Wadsworths, † and other worthy citizens. After a series of vicissitudes, it was transferred by a liberal arrangement to the care of the Synod of Buffalo. May religion and learning long flourish within its walls, in a fraternal communion foreshadowed by the early use of the old Academy as the house of God!

The best thing that western New York can do for its own prosperity and for the cause of religion, is to give to its hundred thousand youth a Christian education. It is not enough to have school-houses and schooling; the school teachers must be of the right character, and the matter taught of the right kind. The tendency of the present day is to pay too undiscriminating deference to universal education. [Bold Italics added, Willison Ed. ]The idea of educating all seems to have engrossed much more attention than the mode of conducting the work. Now in ploughing a field, the great point is not how you can get through the work, but how you can best do whatever is undertaken. The quality of the harvest does not depend upon the number of acres, but upon the process of cultivation. So, in education, there may be thousands of school-houses, ten thousands of teachers, and hundreds of thousands of scholars; and yet universal education may be very deficient education just as universal agriculture may be very deficient agriculture. "What kind of education is it ?" is a question of greater moment than "how many are educated ?" The two points ought evidently to be combined in a perfect system. First, there ought to be the best kind of education; and secondly, it ought to be

* This is stated on the authority of the Rev. J H. Hochkin, in his history of the churches of Western New York, p. 374.

† WILLIAM AND JAMES WADSWORTH were the first settlers of the Genessee valley. They came out to the Big tree tract in 1790, and by their energy and enterprise led the way to the successful settlement of this part of Western New York. JAMES S. WADSWORTH, Esq., of Geneseo, is the worthy and wealthy representative of his pioneer ancestor.

[ 5 ] The true Principles in the Organization of a Christian Institution of Learning

extended to the greatest practicable numbers. No system of education, to whatever extent it may be carried by the State, can ever command the entire confidence of Christians, or of thoughtful men outside of the Church, if it he deficient in its very nature. Such a system may be infinitely better than none; it may have many compensations; it may train well to the extent of its imperfect aims; it may command the support, so far as it goes, of all classes of men; but if it come short in principle and in practice, of the Bible standard, those who make the Bible their rule of truth and life ought to endeavour to improve the old, or devise a new system.

The Presbyterian Church has always been in favour of education. She is in favour of common-school education; of academical education; of collegiate education; of theological education; of every kind of education, which deserves the name, however low or high degree. But she is not satisfied which any education which under-values, divine truth, and which cuts off the communication between God and the soul. [ Bold Italics added, Willison Ed. ]Hence she desires to establish institutions of a definite evangelical character. Hence, too, all denominations of Christians, Episcopal, Methodist, Baptist, &c., seek to establish seminaries and colleges where religion shall go hand in hand with learning. The Geneseo Academy has an honest, Christian purpose. It has no contention with any institution. It has praise-worthy objects to accomplish, employs lawful and wise means in their execution, and in blessing others has the hope of being blessed itself. Sectarianism is not the end of the institution, but religion and learning—a holy culture—the harmonious development of’ all the powers of our nature, exemplified in young men and maidens, who shall be worthy of the Church, of the State, and of the age.

As this is one of the public occasions of the Geneseo Academy, my remarks shall converge to the principles of its organization. Let, then, our subject be—The true principles of the organization of a Christian institution of learning, as exemplified in the Geneseo Academy.

The true CHARACTERISTICS of the plan of a Christian institution are threefold; viz., the union of religion and learning; the agency of Christian teachers in imparting instruction; and the kindly influence of the Church in watching over the great interests of education.

I. It is a characteristic of the Geneseo Academy, as a Christian institution, to EXALT RELIGION TO ITS TRUE PLACE IN THE ACADEMIC COURSE. If man needs instruction at all, religion, the chief subject in the creation of God, cannot be rejected as an unimportant branch of knowledge. Arithmetic must be taught whilst figures endure, and reading as long as letters last, and astronomy as long as stars shine; but what are figures, and letters, and stars, in comparison with a priceless soul and the Lord of its life? Rather let our children be educated on the Bible alone, without the sight of another book, than their minds be occupied by all things else except the great things of eternity. Were angels permitted to come down and be teachers in

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our schools and academies, with what diligence would they mingle religious instruction with all the miscellaneous appliances of mental cultivation! Religion is the mysterious point in the heavens whither all systems are tending; whilst the forms of secular knowledge are but satellites of a planet, held in honour by the law of their subordination. A subject so great in its nature and relations as religion cannot be lawfully banished from places of instruction. A. great deal has been said about the index expurgatorius of the Pope; but American educators, who mark religion among the subjects to be expurgated from schools, are doing what even anti-Christ himself has never dared to attempt. Religion is the rebinding of the soul to God; and ought to be included in all human training. [Bold Italics added, Willison Ed. ] So far as religion is distinct from other kinds of knowledge, it is incomparably the most important of all; and a wise system of education will, on that account, give it its due place among the acquisitions of early life.

The Bible permits no alternative. The Bible is the standard of life; and to set up human wisdom against its precepts is to dispute the authority of its inspiration. Now not only does the Bible exalt religion as the object of chief concern throughout the entire range of its history, doctrines, precepts, prophecies, exhortations, but its special teaching in regard to education is in behalf of education in religion. The language of the Old Testament is, "Train up a child in the way be should go," which is coincident with that of the New Testament, "Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." The whole stress of scripture, so far as education is concerned, is to the securing of religious education. Mental cultivation is a comparatively inferior aim—a duty to be duly discharged, and fairly inferential from our general responsibilities—but still it is not the specific subject of divine precepts and promises. The whole weight of scriptural injunction is upon the inculcation of religion into the youthful mind. "These things, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down and when thou risest up." No such passage can be quoted in favour of any secular knowledge whatever. And what God makes primary, man has no right to make secondary, much less to exclude altogether. The inherent importance of the subject is thus enforced by positive command. We have no more authority to banish the things pertaining to God from our literary institutions, than we have to train up our children for the world. The Bible is a standard and universal class book in education, according to the record of its own inspirations.

The nature of man is a plea for the same truth. Thou wonderful being of soul and body, of marvellous spirit-work within and of curious matter-work without, complex creation of infinite wisdom, give the testimony of thy constitution to the explication of our theme. Come, let me single out a bright-eyed youth of this Academy—a maiden shall it be ?—a living witness, before the tribunal of reason.

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Nay, shrink not abashed before the gaze of sympathizing friends; for thou art to tell us of the gifts of God to our common nature. And the maiden lifts her voice and speaks: "The Creator of my soul has given to it a moral as well as an intellectual nature. My conscience needs cultivation as really as my mind. As one who is to live forever in bliss or in woe, I ask for a training suitable to my wants and my nature, as an immortal." Oh, ye educators, can ye deny a plea which has a response in our common constitution? What is education? It is to draw out, discipline, and equip the powers of human nature—to develop, strengthen, and furnish them for the duties of a mortal and immortal existence. On the plainest principles of philosophy, therefore, religion is to be comprehended in a course of education. As long as the soul has moral faculties, which need to be trained, they ought to be trained; and to omit training the moral faculties, and to train only the mental, is a demi education, as unphilosophical as it is unscriptural.

Further. Religion furnishes materials of the highest intellectual interest and discipline, and is thus worthy of a place in literary institutions. What book so mind-enkindling as the book of God? Try the experiment with a little child; and you will find no subjects that will fix his young mysterious eyes like the creation, the fill, Cain and Abel, the Ark, Abraham, the history of Joseph, Moses, the Red Sea, Sinai, the wanderings, Jordan, Jericho, the conquest of Canaan, Sampson, Samuel, &c., &c. And as is the child, so is the youth. The Bible, in its history, geography, biography and general interpretation, may be made altogether the most attractive book in the language. Shakespeare, Milton, even Bunyan, are comparatively sealed books to children and youth. But the Bible is the book for all ages of men, in all ages of time. What fine mental exercises, also, are connected with its collateral studies, such as the evidences of Christianity, Butler’s Analogy, and similar works? There cannot be a doubt that religion and its themes afford the richest materials for high intellectual development.

And where does religion more appropriately belong than to the place of instruction? Schools and academies are founded for the improvement of the rising generation. They are the training places. As iron is welded in the furnace heat of the shop; as the cloth receives its texture amidst the wheels and movements of the manufactory; as the harvest matures under the plough, the harrow, the sunshine and the rain; as every thing that is made, or grows, has processes adapted to give it being and nurture, so the teaching place of the soul is the very place to teach the soul what concerns its immortality. The arrangements of an Academy are well adapted for religious instruction. With its stated hours, its retirement, its mental discipline, its rational subordination, its facilities for having a place for every thing and every thing in its place, a better opportunity could scarcely be desired for the inculcation of the sweet and glorious truths of the Bible. The exercises of religion harmonize, not only with the objects of an institution of learning, but with its internal

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arrangements and plans. It is just as easy to assign time for prayer, reading of the scriptures and other religious exercises, as for the classics, geography and history. The variety, too, of such exercises is soothing to the mind, and well adapted to promote attention to other studies. There is no greater perversion in the world than to regard religion as interfering with the plans of the school-room. To maintain that the things of God cannot be wisely introduced into a course of regular study, is to assume that religion is neither intellectual in its nature, important in its aims, nor worthy of notice in its tendencies. The best results flow from Christian studies, even if simply their humanizing influences are taken into the account. Prayer, the songs of Zion, and other Christian exercises, make their power felt among sailors on the deep, soldiers in the camp, convicts in the prison, and on all classes and conditions of men, whatever their occupations. It would be strange, indeed, if there were no time for such things in an institution of learning, or if they were too incongruous for admission. Good order and discipline always follow in the train of Christian exercises. Wherever else religion may be deemed out of place, it can never be rationally so regarded in an institution designed for the education of the human soul, and relying for success on the spirit, the principles, and the rewards of religion itself. [Bold Italics added, Willison Ed.]

The neglect of household instruction, and the necessity of carrying it out, even where religion is attended to at home, furnish additional considerations for attending to this great subject at school. It is frequently said: "Let religion be attended to at home, and at the Sabbath-school, and let secular knowledge be imparted at schools and academies." That home is the chief place for the training of the soul in religion is among the axioms of this whole discussion. The family is the kingdom of parental sovereignty, the providential constitution which God has established for the royal object of preparing the race for all their duties, present and future. The promises run through families. Grace magnifies the provisions of providence, and makes use of home in the training for glory. The very nature of household responsibilities, however, is an argument for teaching religion in the school. For why does a parent send a child away from home? Simply on account of advantages for education which cannot be secured there so well as elsewhere. [ Bold italics added, Willison Ed.]For the child’s good, it is committed to other guardians for a season, who are invested in many respects, with the authority and responsibility of the parent. The duties of the latter are transferred to the former. Hence, nothing is more common or more popular than for a prospectus of an institution to state that the youth shall be regarded as "members of the family of the Principal ;" "the government is strictly parental." This is the true theory. Gentlemen and ladies, teachers in the Geneseo Academy, you stand in the place of fathers and of mothers! The pupils of this institution are committed to your care; and you, together, constitute an aggregated family, bound together by temporary but sacred ties!

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It follows, from this view of the subject, that the same great objects are to be pursued at the public training place as at the private one and that the same general principles of administration are applicable and obligatory. What! shall the dear youth of his mother’s prayers and of careful instruction be sent away from his home and kept away from his God at the same time? Shall not the great purposes of household training be followed out in the larger family of the public institution? Do the principles of education change with the place of education? Are our youth to be brought up in "the nurture and admonition of the Lord" at home, but in a different nurture when they leave home? Christianity abjures such a thought!

It is astonishing how large an addition to a youth’s religious knowledge can be made in a public institution. Whether in a school, an academy, or a college, important accessions can be realized, above and beyond home teachings. Such accessions are auxiliary in their nature and supplemental in degree. The youth not only retains what he knew, but receives more. And he returns to his parents with a mind better stored with religious truth, and with a conscience more enlightened in its duties to God and man.

Leave religion exclusively to the teachings of home [?] What is, then, to become of the great majority of children and youth, who learn nothing about God at home? It may do for the worldly to deny that this evil is a proper subject of Christian interference ; but the Church cannot pacify her conscience by such a plea. The whole spirit of our divine religion aims at the evangelization of individuals, of families, of tribes, of nations. We establish churches and schools in heathen lands for the conversion of the ignorant and degraded; and can we consistently remain unconcerned about the uninstructed youth at our very doors, in the dwellings surrounding our institutions of learning? Nor will it do to say that youth may be left to form their own opinions on the subject of religion. On the contrary, religion is of all others the subject in regard to which the human mind needs guidance. And usually it is susceptible of right guidance, if instruction be begun early. The utter destitution of religious instruction in so many households is one of the strongest pleas for its incorporation into a course of public instruction.

Let it be remembered, too, that experience has set its seal upon the wisdom, the propriety and the advantages of uniting religion and learning. This Academy is undertaking no new experiment. Its principles are tried principles, upon which the blessing of God has ever rested. Whilst merely secular institutions have failed in training the soul for its chief end, the Holy Spirit has been poured down in copious affusions upon those which have inculcated the truths and duties of religion. In Mary Lyon’s famous Academy in Massachusetts, there was a revival almost every year of her zealous Christian superintendence. Hundreds of the precious youth of her charge were brought to an experimental acquaintance with Christ. [ Bold Italics added, Willison Ed.] The records of the General Association of Massachusetts, the year before last, show that the only place in the District Association, which enjoyed a

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revival of religion, was the Mount Holyoke Seminary. In that institution the Bible was studied more than any one book. In one of the earliest circular s which give an account of the institution, Miss Lyon states: "It is to be based entirely on Christian principles and while it is to be furnished with teachers of the highest character and experience, and to have every advantage which the state of female education in this country will allow, its brightest feature will be that it is A SCHOOL OF CHRIST." One of her associate teachers says of her: " She made instruction in religion as systematic, as thorough and as personal, as instruction in literature and science." An institution, founded on such principles, has the fragrance of heaven’s bloom about its seats of literature, and crowns of immortal joy for its rewards.

Christian friends ! the Genesco Academy is, in the Providence of God, such an institution. No attainments in science or literature could ever have excited the interest of the community like the recent religious awakening, which has been a greater glory to the institution than "all mystery and all knowledge." The practicability of wisely introducing religion into a course of public instruction has been demonstrated here. This academy is the witness of blessings which will outlive the things of time, and be perpetuated in the eternal education of another world.

The Presbyterian Church, in recommending the union of religion and learning in her institutions, does not love learning less, but religion more. The whole course of instruction in her Seminaries will be conducted on an elevated standard of literature as well as of piety. Henry Martyn, in complaining of the prevalent neglect of religion in public institutions, remarked that in them "Christ was crucified between two thieves—classics and mathematics." The aim of our Church is to exalt the crucified One in his mediatorial offices ; and to train up men who shall say with the centurion, "Truly this was the Son of God," and women, who shall have the devotion of the Marys to be last at the cross, and first at the sepulchre.

Religion, as taught in our public institutions, is opposed, in the first place, to an exclusive secularity. Even the heathens taught religion in their schools. The Greeks, the Romans, the Brahmins, the Chinese, never thought of rejecting the gods whom they worshipped from the course of training for their children. Alas! shall poor Pagans honour the gods of ignorance more than Christians the God of revelation ? The spirit of an exclusively secular school is almost of course an exclusively secular spirit; and it is the more poisonous because it comes in contact with the susceptible mind of youth, and with that mind, whilst engaged in the actual process of development.

The religious instruction of our Church is, in the second place, opposed to the teaching of mere morality. Moral instruction is good so far as it goes, but the only true source of morality is faith in Christ. And why aim at a result without preceding it by its ordained cause? Seneca could teach morality; but outward morality is not

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religion, except in the language of men void of Christian under standing.

In the third place, the religion taught by our Church is evangelical as opposed to error. The teaching of sound morality is better than false doctrine, but nothing can supply the place of evangelical truth. The truth, held in common by all evangelical denominations of Christians, is the substance of our instructions. The great doctrines of the Reformation are inculcated on the minds and conscience of our youth; "the incorruptible seed of the word" is sown in the young soil of the natural heart.

In the fourth place, our religious teaching has some distinctive characteristics, in opposition to the idea that denominational peculiarities are of no account. Believing as we do that our doctrines, worship and form of government approach as nearly to the Bible standard as the human mind is likely ever to attain, we are under the obligations of conscientious conviction and Covenant love to propagate our views on these great subjects with "meekness and wisdom." Ecclesiastical peculiarities are not, however, offensively set forth in our standards. The Presbyterian Church makes no claims which exclude sister churches, which savour of infallibility, which foment strife, or which are dangerous to the salvation of the soul. The Shorter Catechism, whilst it is thoroughly Calvinistic in its spirit and letter, exhibits doctrinal truth on the broad principles or the Reformation, is substantially identical with the Articles of the Church of England; and may be freely used by all orthodox Congregational churches; and, with the exception of a single answer about infant baptism, by the Baptist churches. The peculiarities in other portions of our standards are not inconsistent with the mutual demands and concessions of Christian charity.

The Presbyterian Church aims at introducing into her system of education a religion which has borne its fruits in all lands. It is believed that men of every faith respect her sincerity, her purity, her aggressive energy, her conservativeness, her desire to do good to the souls of men, and the general beneficial influences of her schemes and operations. And in no one particular is our Church likely to do more good at the present time, than in her emphatic testimony to the necessity of uniting religion and learning in public institutions for the training of the young.

II. Another characteristic in the organization of a Christian institution is, that its instructions should be communicated through CHRISTIAN TEACHERS.

There may be the most perfect system of agriculture on scientific principles, and yet without proper implements, and the right kind of men to use them, the fields will be comparatively barren, and the harvests small. The cultivation of the Genesee country depends upon the character of the farmers. But not more, Gentlemen, than the inculcation of religion depends upon the character of its teachers.

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The maxim that an unsanctified ministry is an unprofitable ministry, is applicable in its general principles to the ministers of education. A person may possess all the other qualifications and accomplishments of his calling, but he is deficient in the qualification of teaching religion just in proportion as he fails to possess, or to exhibit, its true spirit. Whatever be the branch of study, the teacher is incompetent to teach it adequately, unless he himself fully understands it. The simplest process of arithmetic demands a knowledge of first principles. The great truths of Christianity cannot be presented in their relations to Christ and holiness, without heart-knowledge answering to head-knowledge, and confirming its enunciations.

Another principle, brought into operation in the selection of religious teachers, and which can never be safely dispensed with, is that of sympathy. The possession of knowledge, without aptness to communicate it, is necessarily inefficacious, especially in religion. The eloquent help in impressing divine truth upon the human soul is the sympathy of the living teacher. Even a stammering utterance has compensations of power in the zeal of a soul, alive with the love of Christ. A tender interest in the salvation of others is a blessed help of the truth. Never does the word go to the heart so influentially as when spoken with a religious spirit, and, like a present to a friend, sent with love. In teaching religion, so much depends upon gaining the good will of the pupils, that the whole course should testify to an earnest affection, a Christian concern, a pure compassion, a religious interest on the part of the instructors. It is not enough to appeal to the reason of the scholar; his heart must be reached; and nature has ordained that it can be best reached by the power of sympathy. To teach the holy truths of religion in the same spirit as many teach grammar, or writing, has a tendency to harden rather than to bless. Christ taught with sympathy. The soft, loving breathings of divine compassion, mingled with the majesty of his doctrines and the authority of his presence. In like manner, every teacher of religion should endeavour to communicate the truths of religion in a tender, Christian spirit.

Closely connected with this thought is the power of a godly example. "How does he live ?" is a stronger argument than "What does he say?" A Christian example is the visible witness of God to the truth; it is a representation of God to the human mind ; a living personification in human form of the attributes which arc the glory of Heaven. It not unfrequently happens that the life of the teacher exerts an influence far greater than his formal instructions, either fatally counteracting them, or enforcing them with direct and genial energy. An immoral life is an impeachment of religion itself; and even an outwardly moral one, that lacks a living faith to give it animation, comes too far short of divine requirements, to confide to its keeping the instructions of religion. Every teacher of religion ought to give to the truths he communicates, the full benefit of a consistent Christian example.

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This suggests another consideration, which every Christian will own to be essential to the objects in view; viz., that the spiritual interests of the pupils in every institution should be daily remembered before God in prayer. The ordering of all events is of God. The sun in the heavens is His, and His is the youth in the school-room. Not a lesson, but He hears it; not a rising thought, but He sees it; not a motion of conscience, but He knows it. The every day affairs of the Geneseo Academy are much better known to God than to all the teachers combined. His omniscience, like a flame of fire, kindles a light around every soul for His all-seeing inspection; and His omnipresent power shapes and controls every thing. The favour of such a Being is all-important in an institution of learning; and that favour is secured by prayer. Behold the faithful teacher, rising with the beams of the morning, to supplicate the needed blessing at the throne of the heavenly grace ! During the toils of the day, the breath of ejaculatory prayer goes upward from a communing heart; and at night, remembering still the dear pupils of his charge, he pleads once more for the Holy Spirit to convert and sanctify them. Oh, my Christian brethren, if there be power in prayer, we need teachers who pray. We need men of God in our institutions, servants of Jesus Christ, who will bear precious seed, weeping; who will invoke the divine blessing upon youthful hearts. Says Richard Baxter—" Oh, how great an upright and godly Christian’s prayer is how powerful with God! That a poor, human creature should speak with God’s high majesty in heaven, and not be affrighted! But, on the contrary, knoweth that God smileth upon him for Christ’s sake, His dearly beloved Son !" Revivals of religion rarely, if ever, occur in institutions where the teachers are not pious. Such seasons begin, and arc carried on, with prayer; and even when unusual outpourings of the Spirit do not take place, the general religious interests of a Seminary are always intimately allied with the prayers of them that love our Lord Jesus Christ.

The importance of having religious teachers in institutions of learning is also seen in the simple fact that a Christian is the highest style of man. He possesses endowments, superadded by divine grace to human nature, which qualify him in an eminent degree for the discharge of the general duties of instruction, government, counsel and social intercourse. The natural man lacks the element, essential to the perfection of human character. Religion makes a better husband, wife, sister, friend. It makes a better statesman, jurist, physician, merchant, workman, citizen. It makes a better teacher. It not only inspires new confidence in integrity, but it improves the judgment, softens the heart, nurtures disinterestedness, expands the views, and gives an elevation of aim and a strength of purpose, which find constant scope in action. At times when formal religious instruction is not communicated, the Christian teacher may by his explanations or illustrations judiciously suggest thoughts related to the great theme. [ Bold Italics added, Willison Ed.] In the exercise of discipline— that important and responsible work in the management of an institution

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who can be so safely trusted as those who have learned to submit to the authority of God, and to do all things for his glory? There is something, even in the very manners of a true child of grace, that is commendatory to all with whom he comes into contact. In short, religion forms the basis of a higher character than can be constructed without it.

When we consider the teacher’s practical knowledge of religion as a pre-requisite to his teaching of it, his sympathizing concern, his example, his prayers, and his general superiority of character, few will probably question the wisdom of employing in a Christian institution teachers, whose SOULS are in communion with God.

III. Another good characteristic in the organization of a Christian institution is that it be under THE CARE OF THE CHURCH.

The alliance of the Church with education is natural and intimate. Religion stimulates the intellect, enforces accountability, is the source of expansive charity and activity, has a special interest in the young, and is the guardian of the truth. All the early Christian institutions of education sprung into life under the guardianship of the Church of God. One of the redeeming traits of Popery during the dark ages, was its connection with the perpetuation of learning. The revival of letters was contemporaneous with the Reformation. The grandest impulse ever imparted to education, was under the power of that great movement which gave to Christianity new life among the nations of the earth. Luther at Wittemberg, and Calvin at Geneva were at the head of institutions, whose influence was felt throughout Europe. In Germany, France, England, Scotland, and other countries of the Reformation, the old universities were reformed, or new ones established, and such measures were taken for the education of the young as indoctrinated them in the truths of religion as well as in secular knowledge. In Scotland, in particular, John Knox and the Reformers were careful to introduce a system of schools for the "youth head" of the land, which has contributed to make Scotland the best educated nation in religion, throughout the world. In New England the same system in its essential features originally prevailed. Church-teaching and school-teaching went together, and the Shorter Catechism formed a part of that great common school book of the olden time, called the "New England Primer." [ Bold Italics added, Willison Ed.]In the Presbyterian schools, the doctrines of religion ‘were always taught as necessary branches of human knowledge. In 1766, the General Assembly or Synod, of the Church passed the following resolution: -

Resolved, That special care be taken of the principles and characters of school-masters, that they teach the Westminster Catechism and Psalmody; and that the ministers, church sessions, and foresaid committees, (where they consistently can,) visit the schools and see these things be done; and where schools are composed of different denominations, that said committees and sessions invite proper persons of said denominations, to join with them in such visitations.

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About the beginning of this century, schools began to be more and more disconnected from religion; and since that time the State has continued to exercise increased control over the subject of education, until the rights of the Church have been almost disowned, in theory as well as in practice. That the State has interests in education, which it is bound to protect, is cheerfully admitted. Our system of common schools, faulty as it is in religious influence, we desire to see unimpaired, at least until a better one is devised. [ Bold Italics added, Willison Ed.]The higher institutions of learning, however—such as the Geneseo Academy— are situated above the field of discussion which includes the common schools. This Academy stands upon its own, undisputed ground. It sustains relations to the Church which cannot be condemned, with much show of reason or magnanimity. The abstract question of the right of Church superintendence will not now be discussed; but I may briefly allude to its advantages, as practically connected with the Institution, whose patrons and pupils I have the honour to address.

1. One of the advantages of Church superintendence is, that it secures in a more effectual manner the inculcation of religion. If the true end of education be the conversion of the heart to holiness, as well as the enlightening of the mind in knowledge, the Church ought to guard interests so manifoldly coincident with her own work and destiny. The State can never watch over the doctrines of Christianity. Nor can individual Christians be always relied upon to make religion sufficiently prominent in private institutions of education; the temptations are all the other way. Teaching, as one of the honourable professions, is commonly entered upon with a view to worldly maintenance; and as the patronage of all denominations, and the good will of worldly men, are important objects, it has happened that comparatively little of distinctive Christianity has been taught in most private institutions. There are, indeed, honourable and happy exceptions. But even where religion has been professedly taught, it has not received that share of time and that substance of inculcation which it has a right to demand. The superintendence of the Church is a higher security for the acknowledgment of the just claims of religion than can be elsewhere obtained. Such a point requires no reasoning.

2. Church superintendence, as a security against error and perversion, is an argument, to which Providence is calling the attention of the American public. Private corporations, however wisely they may be managed in one generation, are in danger of becoming corrupt in another. Harvard University, founded on as pure a faith as the world has ever seen, has been for the last half century a prominent school of error in the United States. The Theological Seminary at Andover, whose establishment was hastened by the necessity of counteracting Socinian teachings, has already, within the very half century of Harvard defection, itself departed in a serious degree from the faith of the holy men of God, who gave their wealth to its buildings and its professorships. An academy, not far from my own residence,

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originally established by Presbyterians, and committed to a Board of Trustees, almost all of whom were of the same faith, relapsed by degrees into different hands, until in 1852 there was but a single Presbyterian in the Board, and the majority were Infidels and Nothingarians. The Church, indeed, has had her own periods of religious decline; but whilst human infirmity is visible in all institutions among men, it is certain that there is no guardianship of the truth so reliable as the Church of God, divine in origin, sustained by the Holy Spirit, ministered unto by the ambassadors of Christ, enriched with ordinances and sacraments, and purchased by blood.

3. Another advantage of a Church connection to institutions of learning is the greater guarantee of their perpetuity. Some of the finest Academies within the territory of the Presbyterian Church have perished from among men, simply because they were not pervaded by an organism, insuring a transmitted life. Individuals die; but institutions should live. Academies are the work of time; age gives to them veneration; and they should be shielded, as far as possible, from the destructive contingencies which overtake private affairs. A charter from the State, indeed, prolongs the life of institutions beyond that of their founders; but, aside from the hazard of sccularity and perversion, occasions arise which require the self-denial and energy which men of the world are not often willing to encounter. Mere secular academies, although under chartered protection, dwindle and die in times of trial. Pecuniary disaster is apt to extinguish them. On the other hand, the Church has an energy of defensive power, which, under God, can succour and re-establish institutions in the day of adversity. The general subject of endowments affords an illustration somewhat to the point. Institutions of learning need, in order to place them beyond ordinary contingencies and upon a prosperous foundation, a certain amount of endowment, or permanent resources. But what principle is there so strong, first to obtain funds, and secondly, to protect them, as the principle of religion? The public good, and especially the public good in a spiritual sense— the eternal interests of men—this is the strongest motive to appeal to, in promoting the endowment of literary institutions.* If the Church has any agency in appointing the guardians of such funds, and aims at applying them to the sacred objects of religion as well as learning, a generous community will be forward in placing institutions,

* It was this conviction of the Church’s capacity to establish and superintend institutions of learning that led Mary Lyon in the midst of the trials which attended the founding of the Mount Holyoke Seminary, to exclaim—"Oh, that the Church would take our highest Female Seminaries under her direct control, protection, and support! And do you not believe that this will be done at some future time? But this cannot be done, unless means are used to secure the confidence of common Christians." p. 198. This eminent Christian teacher was right on both points. First, Church superintendence is desirable; and secondly, its condition will be the adoption of methods of instruction and of general operation, which will commend themselves to the people of God.

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which are in need of funds, in a position of influence and usefulness. The Church has an element of vitality no where else to be found. It has a power both to establish and to perpetuate institutions for the training of its youth, which is peculiar to itself as the household of faith and the sanctuary of God.

4. One other, and a most important advantage of Church superintendence is that its influence reacts, in strengthening the official and private ties which bind children to ministers and parents. The main reliances of true Christian nurture have always been, and must ever be, in the educational work done at home. There is immense family power in the dwellings of the rich and of the poor! Here mind is first developed, the affections unfolded, character formed. Here the soul receives the original impulses of its unending destiny, and takes the start of life, the motions of immortality. It is important, therefore to arrange the system of public education so that it may foster and strengthen home influences; and one of the helps to the performance of this work is the maternal agency and sympathy of the Church in the management of institutions of learning. There is no country in the world where so great attention is paid to the domestic religious instruction of children as in Scotland. Some might have supposed that where so much religious instruction was given in the public schools, the interest would have expended itself there. Just the reverse. The coincidence between the public and private systems of education strengthens the foundation on which each is upheld. The harmony of home and school carries forward the great purposes of both; and the reaction of the Church’s general interest in the training of her young is felt at all the hearth-stones of the land. We verily believe that our own Assembly’s measures of education, by enlisting the Church publicly in behalf of her children, will powerfully stimulate all other appliances of Christian nurture. Our ministers will attend more to their commission, "Feed my lambs ;" our Sabbath schools will become more effective; and home instruction will put forth its activity with renewed and hopeful zeal.

Such are some of the more obvious advantages, resulting from a connection of the Church with institutions of learning.

And, here, permit me to remark that there is an historical fitness that the Presbyterian Church should bear her part in superintending educational institutions in Western New York, and especially in this place. The first church, organized west of the pre-emption line (which runs through Seneca lake) in the State of New York, was organized by a missionary of the General Assembly, and was located in the township of Geneseo.* That church met for worship in the academy on the high hill, just out of the present village of Geneseo.

*Mr. Hotchkin, in his history of the churches, refers to a tradition that the Congregational church at Canandaigua, was organized first, in 1790. The organization, if indeed it was regularly made, he admits, became extinct; and the present church at Canandaigua was organized at a later date.

[ 18 ] The true Principles in the Organization of a Christian Institution of Learning

The General Assembly, in 1795, appointed as missionary the Rev. David Thatcher, of North Carolina, who proceeded up the Susquehannah to Tioga Point, Newtown, and Great Flats to Seneca lake, and from thence to the settlements in the Genessee country. * In July, 1795, Mr. Thatcher organized the church in Geneseo township; which church originally worshipped here and included this locality in its territory, although it now has its true succession in the neighbouring Presbyterian church at Lakeville. This, then, my brethren, is the original soil of Presbyterianism in Western New York. Here the old landmarks were first set up. The meridian line of our ecclesiastical geography runs through Genesco; and the site of this Academy is the Greenwich of the Synod. Long may the institution here flourish as an observatory in Zion, furnished with all the apparatus of terrestrial and celestial learning, and filling the world with the fame of its achievements !

I cannot close this address—long though it has been—without adding a few thoughts first to the pupils of this academy, and then to the trustees.

This has been an eventful session. A glory such as earth knows not of, has rested upon this institution. The gospel seed, which was sown in the furrows of the winter of 1852, has yielded a harvest more beauteous in tint than gold, and abundant far beyond the measures

* Minutes of Assembly, p. 98.—DANIEL THATCHER studied theology under the Rev. Dr. James Hall, at "Clio’s Nursery," near Statesville, N. C. He was reported to the Synod of New York and Philadelphia, by the Presbytery of Orange as a candidate in 1780, p. 486, of Records, and as being ordained in 1782, p. 494. He first attended Synod in 1785. Dr. Foote, in his history of North Carolina has placed "Ga." opposite to the name of Mr. Thatcher, intimating either that he came from Georgia, or acted as missionary in Georgia, probably the latter. He was a member of Orange Presbytery in 1788, at the formation of the General Assembly. He afterwards joined the Presbytery of South Carolina, and doubtless laboured in Georgia. Whilst a member of this Presbytery, he was appointed by the General Assembly a missionary to Western New York in 1795. He was the first missionary appointed by our Church, who gave up his whole time to the work. "Resolved 1. That Mr. Thatcher be appointed a missionary till the next General Assembly, to commence his labours as soon as convenient at Wyoming, [Pa.]; to proceed up the river to Tioga Point, New-town Point, Great Flat, and to the Seneca Lake, &c.; and to visit the several settlements in that course, and in the Genessee Country," &c. Minutes, p. 98. In 1796, he was reappointed for another year to the same route, and again in 1797. In 1796, the Presbytery of South Carolina dismissed him to join the Presbytery of Hudson; but it does not appear that he ever joined the latter Presbytery. His death, which occurred in 1797, is thus recorded in the Minutes of the General Assembly of 1798. "It appeared that Mr. Thatcher went on the mission assigned by the last General Assembly, and died in the month of August, in the discharge of his important trust, to the great loss of our Church," p. 139. His narrative as missionary "could not be found," p. 155. But the records of his life abides in the churches he was instrumental in organizing in Western New York, and perhaps in the Carolinas and in Georgia.

[ 19 ] The true Principles in the Organization of a Christian Institution of Learning

of commerce to calculate. The community, the Synod, the Church, the friends of Christian education throughout the land, have rejoiced that the Holy Spirit has here won youthful hearts to the knowledge and love of Christ. The better instruction of heaven has been added to the good lessons of earthly wisdom. Keep that whereunto any of you may have attained, and press forward for an increase. There are parents here, who have no higher earthly joys than those which are blended with yours. Like the rivers of Eden—which many suppose to have intermingled their waters, and then flowed out separately again from the garden-—the joys of their hearts mingle with the joys of your hearts in the Eden of household love, and the stream of their lives flows on with a tide gladdened from its contact with yours. Remember how much your future is depending upon present improvement. Study diligently, pray earnestly, live righteously. Take care what principles you adopt, what books you read, what companions you choose. Honour your teachers: If any of you have not commenced a religious life, begin without delay. May you all possess the hopes and the enjoyments of pure and undefiled religion. Then shall the true aim of a Christian education be fulfilled, when you shall be prepared for the duties of this world, and of the world beyond it. As youth is the period of academic instruction, so the whole of life is the term time of a preparation for eternity. May God bless you in your youthful pursuits, and cause you to reign with Him on the Temple Hill of the New Jerusalem!

GENTLEMEN, TRUSTEES OF THE INSTITUTION

It is said that Cardinal Pole, in the early days of the English Reformation, offered the Pope to subjugate the nation back to the Roman Church, "by dealing with the consciences of dying men." The idea was that he could recover the lost temporalities of the Church by extorting death-bed charities, and by leaving impressions of peculiar sanctity in his ministrations in families. Gentlemen, yours is the task, more pleasing and more hopeful, of superintending an institution which deals with the consciences of the living young. Instead of exacting temporals in a dying hour, you aim through grace, at imparting in life spiritual gifts which shall be eternal. Your academy offers the richest legacy that can be bequeathed to an immortal soul—a training in learning and in religion, in the qualifications for an immortal existence.

Gentlemen ! Your institution appeals for public support. Its success should not be hindered by the want of an adequate endowment. Even after the present efforts of endowment have been crowned with success, more should be added to enable the academy to pursue a still higher career. Cardinal Pole’s plan might be acted upon with Protestant propriety, so far as a legacy from friends, freely bequeathed for the glory of God in advancing Christian education, may be regarded as a suggestion (by contrast) from the Roman practice of extorting from the dying. Let no effort be spared, gentlemen,

[ 20 ] The true Principles in the Organization of a Christian Institution of Learning

to finish the work of endowment, so far as your own agency shall have the privilege of superintending it. The Genesco Academy, organized on the true principles of a Christian institution, MUST BE SUSTAINED. Its blessings who can describe? Who can count the stars of a glorious night? The more magnificent the telescope, the more difficult the work! As the gazer, rapt in the calculations of his earnest task, would be overtaken by the glowing beams of the morning, so those who would attempt to enumerate the blessings of a Christian institution, and explore the expanse of its unfolding destiny, must count, and watch, and pray, until "the day breaketh," and the eye of sense is met with the light of glory.

[ 2]1

GENESEO ACADEMY.

UNDER THE CARE OF THE SYNOD OF BUFFALO.

THE Synod of Buffalo having taken this Institution under their care, design to place it upon the best possible foundation, and make it an efficient instrument in advancing the interests of Education. They have secured an able and effective corps of Teachers, and provided ample facilities for a most thorough and extensive course of study.

The Trustees of this Institution will throw around it those healthful, moral, and religious influences, which cannot fail to inspire confidence in the minds of parents and guardians, and make it a seat of Literature and Science, as desirable, as its location is distinguished, for its grand and beautiful scenery.

EXPENSES PER QUARTER—TWELVE WEEKS.

Tuition in First Class,……………………………….$6.50

in Second Class,……………………………………..4.50

in Third Class,……………………………………….3.50

Room Rent,…………………………………………..1.50

Incidental Expenses,……………………………………38

Drawing,……………………………………………….200

Modern Languages, each,……………………………1.00

Chemical Experiments,………………………………1. 00

Instrumental Music, with use of Instrument,……….10. 00

Board may be obtained in the Hall at $1. 63 per week; in private families at prices ranging from $1.75 to $2 per week.

Fuel will be furnished to those who may desire, at prices only sufficient to meet the actual expense.

Washing, three shillings per dozen.

The NEXT TERM commences on Monday, November 28th.

OR,

AN IMPARTIAL ACCOUNT OF

THAT HAVE EXISTED IN THE WORLD FROM THE BIRTH OF CHRIST TO THE PRESENT DAY,

THEIR DOCTRINES, RELIGIOUS RITES AND CEREMONIES.

AS WELL AS THOSE OF THE

JEWS, MOHAMMEDANS, AND HEATHEN NATIONS:

TOGETHER WITH

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY;

A MISSIONARY GAZETTEER,

BY REV. B. B. EDWARDS,

THE WHOLE BROUGHT DOWN TO THE PRESENT TIME, AND EMBRACING,UNDER ONE ALPHABET, THE MOST VALUABLE PART OF

CALMET’S AND BROWN’S DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE; BUCK’S THEOL. DICTIONARY;

ABBOTT’S SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY; WELLS’ GEOGRAPHY OF THE

BIBLE; JONES’ BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY

AND NUMEROUS OTHER SIMILAR WORKS.

DESIGNED AS A

COMPLETE BOOK OF REFERENCE ON ALL RELIGIOUS SUBIECTS

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FORMING

A CHEAP AND COMPACT LIBRARY OF RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE.

ILLUSTRATED BY WOOD CUTS, MAPS, AND ENGRAVINGS ON COPPER AND STEEL

LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO & CO.

NEW YORK:

SHELDON, LAMPORT & CO

1856.

This document was scanned from an original copy of the Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge.

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Reprint and digital file March 18, 2001.

Elias Boudinot was the chronicler of the apparent death and recovery of William Tennent, Jr, who was a close family friend. See our Log College Biography by Archibald Alexander, D.D. for this remarkable event. Needless to say, having an attending physician and someone of the stature of Dr. Boudinot involved, lends great credibility to the truth of the story presented !

Entry for Elias Boudinot, L.L.D.:

[ Page 261-262 ]

BOUDINOT, (ELIAS,. L. L. D.,) first president of the American Bible Society, was born in Philadelphia, May 2, 1740. His great-grandfather, Elias, was a Protestant in France, who fled from his country on the revocation of the edict of Nantes; his father, Elias, died in 1770; his mother, Catharine Williams, was of a Welsh family. After a classical education, he studied law under Richard Stockton, whose eldest sister he married. Soon after commencing the practice of law in New Jersey, he rose to distinction. He early espoused the cause of his country. In 1777, congress appointed him commissary general of prisoners; and in the same year he was elected a delegate to congress, of which body he was elected the president, in November, 1782. In that capacity he put his signature to the treaty of peace. He returned to the profession of the law; but was again elected to congress under the new constitution, in 1789, and was continued a member of the house six years. In 1796, Washington appointed him the director of the mint of the United States, as the successor of Rittenhouse: in this office he continued till 1805, when he resigned it, and, retiring from Philadelphia, passed the remainder of his life at Burlington, New Jersey. he lost his wife about the year 1808: he himself died, October24, 1821, aged eighty-one.

After the establishment, in 1811, of the Am. Bible Society, which he assisted in creating, he was elected its first president; and he made to it the munificent donation of ten thousand dollars. He afterwards contributed liberally towards the erection of its depository. In 1812, he was elected a member of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, to which he presented, the next year, a donation of one hundred pounds, sterling. When three Cherokee youths were brought to the foreign mission school in 1818, one of them by his permission took his name, for he was deeply interested in every attempt to meliorate the condition of the American Indians. His house was the seat of hospitality, and his days were spent in the pursuits of biblical literature, in the exercise of the loveliest charities of life, and the performance of the highest Christian duties. He was a trustee of Princeton college, in which he founded, in 1805, the cabinet of natural history, which cost three thousand dollars. He was a member of a Presbyterian church. By the religion which he professed, he was supported and, cheered as he went down to the grave. His patience was unexhausted; his faith was strong and triumphant. Exhorting those around him to rest in Jesus Christ as the only ground of trait, and commending his daughter and only child to the care of his friends, he expressed his desire to depart in peace to the bosom of his Father in heaven, and his last prayer was, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

By his last will, Dr. Boudinot bequeathed his large estate principally to charitable uses; 200 dollars for ten poor widows; 200 to the New Jersey Bible society, to purchase spectacles for the aged poor to enable them to read the Bible; 2,000 dollars to the Moravians at Bethlehem, for the instruction of the Indians; 4,000 acres of land to the society for the benefit of the Jews; to the Magdalen societies of New York and Philadelphia; 500 dollars each three houses in Philadelphia to the trustees of the general assembly, for the purchase of books for ministers; also, 5,000 dollars to the general assembly, for the support of missionary in Philadelphia and New York; 4,080 acres of land for theological students at Princeton; 4,000 acres to the college of New Jersey, for the establishment of fellowships; 4,542 acres to the American board of commissioners for foreign missions, with special reference to the benefit of the Indians; 3,270 acres to the hospital of Philadelphia to the benefit of foreigners; 4,500 acres to The American Bible Society; 13,000 acres to the mayor and corporation of Philadelphia, to supply the poor with wood on low terms; also, after the decease of his daughter, 5,000 dollars to the college, and 5,000 to the theological seminary of Princeton; and 5,000 to the American board of commissioners for foreign missions, and the remainder of his estate to the general assembly of the Presbyterian church.

How benevolent, honorable, and useful is such a chartable disposition of the property which God intrusts to a Christian compared with the selfish and narrow appropriation of it to the enrichment of family relatives, without any reference to the diffusion of truth and holiness in the earth? For such deeds of charity, the names of Boudinot, and Burr, and Abbott, and Norris, and Phillips will beheld in lasting, most honorable remembrance.

Dr. Boudinot published The Age of Revelation, or the Age of Reason an Age of Infidelity, 1790, also 1801; an oration before the society of the Cincinnati, [ A legion of Revolutionary War officers organized by Washington, Willison ed. ]1793; Second Advent of the Messiah, 1815; Star in the West; or an Attempt to discover the long-lost Tribes of Israel, preparatory to their return to their beloved city Jerusalem, octavo, 1816. Like Mr. Adair, he regards the Indians as the lost tribes.— —Allen; Panop. xvii. 399; xviii. 25; Green’s. Disc. ~78.