USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Hartford > Centennial memorial of the First Baptist Church of Hartford, Connecticut, March 23d and 24th, l890 > Part 6
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that he might join in this service. I remember still his voice, not quite so strong as of old, but yet full of fire and fervor, as he preached the word. I remember our quiet talk together of the things of the past and of the work of the future. So, as Elijah tarried with the young disciple, he tarried with me. I wish that it were possible for me to continue the story of Elijah, and to carry out the analogy of thought, to speak of the finding of a mantle, of the discovery that power like that of the teacher had descended upon the disciple. This I know at least, that if I had been asked at that time to express the deepest desire of my heart, it could not have been other than this: that a double portion, the chief-heir's portion of the spirit which was in him might be upon the disciple in his life's work.
But such an hour as this is suggestive not alone of personal memories. It is suggestive of certain very serious lessons. The hour speaks to us of the brevity of our mortal lives. Perhaps that is the strongest impres- sion which is made upon one who returns after an ab- sence to the scenes of his earlier life. So many are gone, and those that were in manhood are growing old. So quickly men grow old. And, though those among whom they remain venerate them, their thoughts reach on and they seem as exiles, whose home is beyond.
" The mossy marbles rest On the lips that they have pressed, In their bloom ; And the names they love to hear Have been carved for many a year On the tomb."
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And we, too, so soon must grow old, so soon must pass on, and the places that know us now shall know us no more.
But it is not this somewhat melancholy thought that has been chiefly on my mind as I have joined in the ser- vices of this day and have listened to those who have spoken of the past. The apostle Paul, in referring to those who were witnesses of the life of Jesus Christ after his resurrection from the tomb, says that " some of them remain unto this present, and some have fallen asleep." Whatever of impressiveness there may be in the thought that some whom once we knew have " fallen asleep," it seems to me that there is equal impressiveness, and that there is a mighty force of inspiration, in the other thought, that " some remain unto this present." A ven- erated brother speaks to us of the founder of this church, speaks from personal knowledge of those who were the earliest members of the church, speaks of every pastor of the church. Our moderator said to us this afternoon that, though none of us might see the second centennial of this church, many of us would see those who should see it. So the generations overlap one another. "Some remain unto this present." Contemporaries of a former generation ; they are to-day contemporaries of a new generation that is to outlast them. "One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh." But the old does not pass until the new has come. This is God's plan for human life; a plan with which is associ- ated all of progress for the world, a plan by which knowledge and experience are handed down from age to age. But there is a mighty inspiration, and withal a
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most serious suggestiveness, in the thought. What is the true duration of any human life? It begins with the cradle; it does not end until the life of the world ends. On in a continuous line reaches the development of the world's life from the first moment of time until the end of time, and thus the generations of men are welded together into one united race, and the life of men is fused together into the one progressive life of mankind.
" There are two Theodore Parkers," said a man who was dying in Italy, "one of them is dying here in Italy, and another is planted in America." The life of these godly men of whom we have been hearing to-day is still continuing. Their influence is still making itself felt through the characters and the lives of those who knew them in the past. And so our influence shall remain. It is a terrible thought for one who is squandering the opportunities of life. It is told of a young man, dying after a life of sin, that, horrified at the thought of the influence which he had been exerting, he exclaimed with dying breath "Bury my influence with me!" But of course such words were vain. The clods of the valley covered his body, but his influence went forth, a "Wan- dering Jew," shifting up and down, with poison in its breath, until the hour when the body shall rise to confront it. But how inspiring is such a thought for the true and generous mind! It has been held by some, philosophical systems have maintained it, that in this power of influencing coming generations the desire for immortality, which is in-born and ever persistent in the soul of man is satisfied. History bears witness that this thought has had power to inspire the spirit of man to
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fidelity. Do you remember that scene, that strange, yet wonderfully pathetic and inspiring scene, of the execu- tion of the Gerondists of France? The moderate repub- licans, resisting the wild excesses of the extremists, seek with their own bodies to stem the tide. But the flood proves too strong, and the furious waters sweep them from off their feet. They are condemned to death, and are about to suffer by the guillotine. Believing that the cause of liberty will yet triumph, and triumph the sooner for their martyrdom, they joyfully submit themselves to their fate. You recall perhaps how the vast throng gathered about the courtyard, how the five rude carts appeared, four forms in each, how the multitudes rent the air with their fierce, malignant execrations? And do you remember how the shouts of the multitude sud- denly grew hushed and another sound arose upon the morning air. Clear, swelling, harmonious, it burst from the lips of the condemned, the voice of song, the song of patriotism, the national song of France? "Come, children of your country, come; the day of glory dawns on high!" And when the scaffold was reached, the song was still sounding; and when one and another lay beneath the knife and yielded up his life in his country's cause, the song sounded on, growing fainter in volume, but not less clear and resolute. And when at last the intrepid leader alone remained, the song rose, still un- faltering, from his lips, "Come, children of your coun- try, come; the day of glory dawns on high." The knife falls, and the song is broken off, but to be revived again by the awakening heart and conscience of the nation. Friends, if men who have the motive of patriotism only
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to move them, are inspired to such fidelity by the thought of the service which they are able to render to future generations, by what spirit think you should those be animated, behind whom is the cross of the Son of God, above whom is a risen Lord, before whom is a world of suffering and sin. Shall there not be awak- ened within us the earnest purpose to do all that lies in our power to make this world a kindlier place, with more of helpful influence, with less that tends to the soul's ruin and more that develops the soul's life? How grand to live members of a company which, unlike that of the angels, to which time brings no increase, is a race, with unborn multitudes pressing on to receive from our hands their legacy !
If any thought is fitted to strengthen the influence of such an inspiration as this, it seems to me that it is the thought to which our minds are turned in connection with this service, the thought that we have been called to membership in a church of Christ. How shall we fail to recognize in such a relationship the inspiration to the highest service ? The origin of this church lies farther back than a hundred years ago. It lies in that scene in which the Lord Jesus Christ came from the sepulchre, and, showing to his disciples his hands and his side, said unto them, "As the Father hath sent me into the world, so do I send you into the world." The word "church" is nothing more nor less than a name for the mission of the Christian. The church is simply an agency by which the mission of the Christian may be accomplished. I do not think it is possible for us to- night to venerate too highly the church of Christ, but
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it is possible for us to misplace our veneration. It is possible for us to venerate only the body, and forget that the true church is a spirit rather than a body. The spirit is greater than the body. The service to which we are called is not chiefly the maintaining of a church organization. It is the loyal fulfilling of the purpose which should animate and energize every body which is entrusted with the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us never forget that a definite purpose is represented by a church of Christ. We are not to think of church organization as constituting an end in its itself. To maintain church organization, to build fine edifices, to sustain pleasing services, these are things of little conse- quence in themselves. A church of Christ is but a means to an end. That end is to go out into this sinful, busy world, and win souls to the Lord Jesus Christ, and hav- ing won them to Christ, to reproduce in them the spirit that was in Christ.
I believe, friends, that this has been the animating purpose of this church in the past. May it never cease to be its animating purpose! The thought of the past is an inspiring thought. But more inspiring to me to- night seems the thought of the possibilities of the future. What may not this church accomplish, with such a past behind it, with such traditions lingering with it, with such resources upon which to draw, and with so length- ened a career before it ? To how great an age is it to be supposed that this church shall reach ? May we not, friends, with some assurance predict that this church whose hundred years of life we are now commemorating will endure until the one who has gone to a far country returns to reckon with his servants ?
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As in his sight, may the membership of this church, as in his sight, may all of us, do the work which is committed to our hands. And thus, at last, when he that soweth and he that reapeth shall rejoice together, may there be given to us all an abundant entrance into the joy of the Lord !
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REV. HENRY E. ROBINS, D. D.
A distinguished writer on the Constitutional History of England, with keen discernment, points out that " the roots of the present lie deep in the past," and so maintains that "nothing in the past is dead to the man who would learn how the present comes to be what it is." Now, this is as true of churches as of other insti- tutions. We do well, then, to recall some of the scenes of the past, and a few of the names of the men and wo- men who lived and wrought here in holy service. For we are sheltered in a spiritual structure of which they laid the foundations, and repose under the shade, and eat of the fruit of trees which they planted.
There is, indeed, a reverence for the past which is neither just or wise. No man runs successfully in a race, looking backward. The victorious soldier has his face to the foe. ' We, being Christians, are heirs of the future. We forget the things which are behind in the urgency of present duty, and in the joy of present vic- tory. We are not unmindful, however, that the history of Christianity has its churches of Asia; that desolation, alas! not rarely reigns where once was prosperity; so to admonish us not to mistake flattering appearances for the vigor of an abounding life; not to be highminded,
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but to fear in the midst of seeming progress. The wise general looks carefully to the threatening con- ditions of his environment. The experienced seaman scans the skies with alert vision to detect the port- ents of the storm. The skillful physician omits from his diagnosis neither the unfavorable nor the favorable symptoms of the patients' case, and so commands our confidence. And so, as Christians we should not imitate the folly of ostrich-wisdom, but, rather, look steadily on the dark side hopefully. We should not forget that the voice of prophecy declares in regard to the great captain of our warfare, "He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth." His course has been onward since the dawn of human history. The long line of a conquering army is often driven backward at points by the fierce onsets of the enemy, while yet the advancing columns of the army as a whole are sweeping the field.
We turn, then, to the past to-day to quicken our grat- itude to God for his gift to us of those by whose labors and sacrifices the achievements of the present were made possible, and to draw inspiration from their example for greater conquests in the future. We will for awhile re- count the virtues of those whose day has gone down; behold the serene beauty of sun-set skies and delight ourselves in the calm of the evening; and then turn to the sunrise, and with the light of the morning upon our upturned faces, we will press forward in the work which the God of our fathers has given us to do.
In the few moments allotted to me in this service, I am expected to speak of some personal reminiscences.
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Standing on this eminence of time, I look back upon a little more than half of the years of the century past. Fifty-two years ago this church opened its doors to me in baptism; and during all the intervening changes of the intervening days, its hallowed, loving influence has been about me as an inspiration and a shield. Here, on this spot, it gave me ordination to the Christian ministry. The voices of most of those who participated in the ex- ercises are silent in death; and yet how distinctly to me do those tones linger within these walls. Particularly do I recall the majestic bearing, the gray hairs resting as a crown of glory on his head, the fervid utterance, the firm grasp as he gave me the hand of fellowship, the tender glance of the eye, of Dr. Dwight Ives, a son of thunder in the pulpit, whose stern fidelity to righteous- ness repelled me when a student at Suffield, but whose Johannean tenderness and purity and eagle vision of spiritual things completely won me in later years. Here, too, were held the peace-bringing funeral services of my honored father, whose dust reposes on yonder hill, which looks down on the city where he lived so long and which he loved so well.
The form of the venerable Dr. Hawes, the Nestor of Connecticut Congregationalism of that time, appears vividly before me now as standing beside the dead, he uttered tender and appreciative words of his friend of many years.
At the mention of the name of Dr. Hawes, who was a central figure of the Hartford of my childhood, the group of men and women who were then active members of this church rises before me. I seem to see their
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faces; to be walking, a little boy, among them. Had I an artist's skill I might sketch the very form and features of many of them, so distinctly are they present to my imagination. General Sherman, in a recent address to his Ohio friends, is reported to have said, " It is chiefly the men and women with whom you associate in early life who have the greatest influence in the formation and making permanent of what your character shall after- ward be." Believing this to be true, I have reason for profound gratitude to God that my childhood was pass- ed among those of whom I have spoken. Simple in habits, pure in social life, of inflexible integrity, of high aims, of devout spirit, and speech seasoned with salt, religious without affectation, grave without austerity, no better men and women, I am persuaded, have ever lived. For here, let it be observed, we speak of no merely nat- ural excellencies of character, just as now we are not speaking of any merely natural organization. These men and women were grouped not in obedience to any merely natural impulse, not by merely social affinities, nor for any merely earthly ends. The profound signifi- cance of their fellowship is missed by any who may so think. First brought into fellowship with God, by the new, celestial birth of the Holy Spirit, they were inevi- tably drawn into fellowship with one another by the uniting power of their new life. Commuion with God preceded and made possible their communion with one another. And so the essential principles of true virtue, love to God as a righteous Father, and love to man as bearing the image of God, were the controlling princi- ples of their lives.
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There are, indeed, those who think that the religion of those days wore too sombre an aspect; and that the more cheerful tone which it is made to assume, in some quarters, in our time renders it more attractive. Now it is true that life was not, then, regarded as a holiday affair; nor were the cap and bells thought to be the proper equipment of a Christian. On the contrary, the tremendous issues which hang upon our earthly proba- tion were emphasized with tearful earnestness, and the sacred shadow of the Savior's cross and passion, endured for human redemption, subdued into reverent demeanor those who bore his name. A profound sense of sin and a correspondingly profound sense of the Savior's grace, for the two go hand in hand in an indissoluble wed- lock, gave to their experience that peculiar mingling of humility and peace, far removed from levity, on the one hand, and gloom, on the other, which distinguishes the Christian, more than anything else, from the man of the world. Now this aspect of religion, as presented to me in the communion of these saints, and in my Father's house, was never in any degree repellant. Far from it! If at any time my wayward spirit chafed against the restraints of such a spiritual atmosphere, I joyfully acknowledge, what I very well knew then, that they were salutary. Deeper than any superficial and momentary antagonism awakened, was the irresistible and profound attraction which drew me. Those of you who have seen Murillo's Guardian Angel will remember that the angel is represented as grasping the hand of the child whom he is leading, meanwhile looking upon his charge with a countenance expressive of benignant solic-
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itude, and pointing upward with outstretched arm to the heavenly glory breaking through upon them. And so this church of my fathers, with which the sweet mem- ory of my childhood's home is inseparably united, ap- pears to me to have been the Guardian Angel of my infancy and youth. I sing with Addison, in view of this care of my heavenly Father :---
" When in the slippery paths of youth, With heedless steps, I ran, Thine arm, unseen, conveyed me safe, And led me up to man."
One influence must be mentioned which contributed largely to give a certain sternness of aspect to the reli- gion of the days of which we speak. A soldier who has faced death in the "imminent deadly breach" will bear a sterner visage than your carpet knight. These men and women were nurtured in the heroic days of Baptist history. If not themselves heroes, they had in their veins the blood of heroes. In their immediate ancestry, many of them had suffered spoliation of property, im- prisonment and social ostracism in the struggle for reli- gious liberty. How bitter that struggle was, what high qualities of manhood and womanhood were demanded for the triumph which crowned the struggle at last, we, of these days when we enjoy the peace which their sacrifices bought, can but faintly realize. The Baptist name was cast out as evil. That the Baptists should triumph seemed to many of the best Christians as the overthrow of Christianity itself. The sentiment of Dr. Increase Mather (1677), when he said, "I believe that antichrist hath not at this day a more probable way to
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advance his kingdom of darkness than by a toleration of all religions and persuasions," was shared by the most of the best men of his generation. They believed that the union of church and state was according to the will of God: that the state should foster and support the church as essential to the purity and stability of the state. Baptists, on the other hand, demanded a total separation of church and state, not merely toleration of differing religious convictions. Toleration, they maintained, no earthly power may assume to grant, but absolute reli- gious liberty. This seemed to those who withstood them akin to atheism. . Hence they were opposed with all the decision and earnestness with which men who have sensitive consciences contend for that which is noblest and best. With equal earnestness they met that opposi- tion, and suffered, in many instances, the loss of prop- erty, reputation and liberty in their holy warfare. Amid the perils and hardships of such a warfare, men and women of the noblest mould were nurtured; and we may well thank God on this centennial occasion that we can claim them as our ancestry in the faith. As illus- trating the suspicion with which Baptists were regarded by the majority, and as illustrating, also, the dawning of the better day in which we live, the following incident is worth recalling. Deacon John Bolles may, I suppose, be justly regarded as the father, under God, of this church. A Christian of remarkable devotion and without guile, he was withal a wise and persistent man. When he began his work of laying the foundations of the Baptist cause in this city, a zealous friend of the old order of things waited on the Rev. Dr. Strong, then
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pastor of the Center Congregational Church, and in- formed him, with great excitement, that John Bolles was attempting to "set up a Baptist meeting in the city," as the informant phrased it. The good doctor did not seem as much alarmed as the self-appointed messenger thought he ought to be, and so exclaimed, in great heat, " What are you going to do about it?" The wise man answered, in quiet tones, "I know Deacon Bolles, and I am sure that if you and I get to heaven, we will surely find Deacon Bolles there; and so I think we had better try to live on good terms with him here."
The days when Baptists were under civil disabilities were long since passed in my childhood, nevertheless the old prejudices against them had still a vigorous life. It cost much, in many ways, to avow our distinctive prin- ciples. "I am glad that I am a Baptist," said Dr. Wes- ton, now president of Crozer Theological Seminary, to me on one occasion when we had been discussing our denominational history and work. Yes, I replied, but why ? What thought is just now in your mind?" "This," he responded, "there is no body of men on earth in which there are so many who must say with Luther, in that supreme moment of his history, at Worms, 'Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise. God help me! Amen.'" Among those whom I remember as having become Baptists in obedience to conscientious convictions in spite of the cost, was Mrs. James G. Bolles. She always bore the impress of that nobility of character which such a moral sacrifice as that which she made always gives. Of vigorous intellect, well trained and well informed, a heart sensitive to the highest motives,
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and a will capable of resistance or aggression, she was a woman of great influence in the church to which duty bound her. Her special service to the church, as I re- member her, was as teacher of the infant class in the Sunday-school. I shall never cease to thank God for her instruction and influence. I do not recollect that she devoted herself to the amusement of her pupils. But she did that which was far better, she won our respect and our undying affection in that she brought us to Christ and Christ to us, impressing our young minds with moral and spiritual truths which have ever since asserted their saving power. "Thou God seest me," was the legend on one of the cards hanging upon the walls of that sacred room, to which her presence lent its peculiar charm. Never shall I forget the awe with which, a very little boy, I pondered those words, and took into my soul one of the first and most important lessons in theology which I have ever learned. When inexorable time compelled me to graduate from her care, it brought a sorrow of which I have still a keen recollec- tion. Those of you who remember our former house of worship, afterward the Jewish synagogue, know that the infant class was held in a small room behind the pul- pit of the vestry. It was customary for the graduating class to pass out in procession in the presence of the older scholars assembled in the vestry. And so with reluctant steps I went out with tears, I will not say as one leaving Paradise, but one of the dearest spots I have known on earth. Looking back and weighing well the influences which came upon me there, and which, like ministering spirits, have continued with me more
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