USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Newington > Half-century discourse, history of the church in Newington: its doctrine, its ministers, its experience; presented in the discourse delivered on Tuesday the 16th of January, 1855. > Part 3
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provement there is in this one accommodation, compared with the inconvenience which their fathers suffered.
As to my family, I often think of the patriarch's admiration, when "the angels of God met him at Mahanaim." "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth which thou has showed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands." I look round upon twenty- eight souls which God has given to me, those that have been, and those that are now the sub- ject of my joys, my anxieties, my prayers, and my hopes. My children were all received into the church of Christ, and more than half of my grandchildren have already joined themselves to the Lord in a public profession. Four of my sons were graduates of Yale College, one of Williams College. Two are in the Christian Ministry, Rev. Samuel N. Shepard, pastor of the church in Madison, Conn., and Rev. John Todd, D. D., pastor of a church in Pittsfield, Mass. One died pastor of a church in Lanesboro', Mass. One died at home just as he had arrived at age. Two sons are engaged in their professions. Four of my grandsons died in childhood. And now the mother of my family has just been
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HISTORY -VISITS.
taken from me. I may say that my domestic hap- piness has been as full as it could be in a sinful, dying state, children dutiful, grandchildren kind, ministers all of one sentiment and feeling in the Puritan faith. I have great confidence in the covenant of God with his people, and I look for his covenant blessing upon the latest soul. " I will be a God to thee, and to thy seed after thee."
I wish to say a few words on the intercourse which I have enjoyed with my people during these fifty years. I have wished to visit them in their houses as much as I could, in order to cultivate the most friendly familiarity, to rejoice in their domestic welfare, to sympathize in their sorrows, always endeavoring to direct my conversation so as to advance the great object of the ministry, viz., the everlasting blessedness of their souls. I have always desired to gain the favor of their children, and let them feel that the children had a place in the special regard of the minister. I am bound to say that I have ever been received into their houses with the most unaffected kindness, and have been bless- ed in the respect of both parents and children. I have intended to see every family at their homes at least once a year ; and when any of them
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HISTORY-VISITS.
have been sick, I have visited them very often. I suppose I have made more than a thousand visits to the schools, in cultivating my acquaintance with the young, and in encouraging their educa- tion. Certainly I have enjoyed the friendship of the young people in a remarkable degree. When, three years ago, I offered to the congre- gregation to stop my preaching, as in the course of that year I was coming to the grand climac- teric of threescore and ten, supposing that some of my people might wish for the change, and especially that the young might feel a desire for a young minister, I was cheered on to the filling up of my half-century by the interposition of the young themselves. A number of young men who had grown up insensibly to the proper age without putting in their names, came forward together and joined themselves to the ecclesias- tical society, for the purpose of holding up their hands and saying, " We are not to be under- stood as desiring our minister to cease from his labors." That was one of the most gratifying testimonies that I have ever received, and I have not lost the strength of it to this day. And when my young brethren, of the special commit- tee of the society, came to my house a few days ago, on the question of my fifty-year resignation,
. 46
HISTORY-MOURNING.
after an hour of kind conversation, they told me, as their opinion and feeling, that I should be justified in making the declaration here to-day, " That I have not an enemy in the place !" *
. I come now, my people, to the most solemn part of this history : I am to speak of sickness, death, and mourning, a part in which every soul in this place has a deep concern. What family is there among all this people, in which I have not witnessed sickness, pain, and sorrow, fear, agitation, and agony ? What house is there among these hills and valleys, upon which the midnight angel hath not come down with his dread commission ? What ties of nature, kin- dred, and affection have not been sundered ? How have I seen the fond mother, herself lan- guishing, and fading away under some incurable malady, look upon her dear children for the last time, and then leave them to a heartless world ! How have I seen the fair and beautiful babe turning cold upon the warm bosom of its nursing mother, and snatched away for the grave! In this house I have seen the young husband ago- nizing over his dying wife, the mother of his little children, feeling that nothing could save !
* See Appendix, No. 4.
47
!
HISTORY-DYING SCENES.
In that house I have seen those affectionate souls, whom I had just united in the marriage bond, sep- arated by the irresistible power, and disappointed of their fair expectations. In others what pesti- lent fevers, and broken bones, and gangrenes, and wasting fires, and long-continued sufferings, have Iknown! Indeed, what maladies, and operations and forms of distress are there, which I have not seen, even in this garden of life and health, too healthy to maintain a physician, where the an- nual average of deaths is under ten, and where, within a small fraction, one-fourth of the people have lived to seventy years. Some have gone up to ninety, and some to ninety-seven.
But the time would fail, unless I should go over the whole fifty years again. Should I give you the names of all the sufferers as I can now recollect them, and describe to you all their con- ditions, I should spread a cloud over this con- gregation, heavier than the night, and more dreadful than the storm! I suppose that from twelve to fifteen hundred bodies have been laid in this little plat of ground! Often have I brought to the sick bed that description of the good minister, (and wanted to have enough in me to make it my own,) so exquisitely done in the " Deserted Village."
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HISTORY-AGED MEN.
" Beside the bed where parting life was laid, And sorrow, guilt, and pain, by turns, dismayed, The reverend champion stood. At his control, Despair and anguish fled the struggling soul. Comfort came down, the trembling wretch to raise, And his last faltering accents whispered praise."
What worthy thanks can I repay to that divine hand which has holden me up through all the services and trials of these years! What becoming admiration can I feel, for so much ac- ceptance among my brethren, and for so much strength and confidence, to stand before them to-day, after all these years of labor ! My peo- ple have grown old with me. Behold this body of gray-headed men, here by my side, these that were fourteen, and sixteen, when they first came to my ministration. What a venerable sight in my eyes ! The men must be sixty years old this day that can really know anything of my beginning here. The great body of this congre- gation can not look back to the time when I was not here. They have known no other min- ister. They must look upon me as a fixture ; as if I had sprouted and grown upon this very spot.
I am exceedingly gratified in being enabled to testify to all these strangers here to-day, to the
49
HISTORY-PASTOR'S WIFE.
regard, and kindness, and constancy of this peo- ple, in their deportment toward me, during the whole of these fifty years ! And never has their friendliness been more evident than now at the last. God has lately put me into a trying condi- tion, as if for the very purpose of bringing out their tender feelings toward me. Just as we were calculating upon this great anniversary, and had in our anticipations made all things ready for it, and as we were also looking to another anniversary, the jubilee of our family, that golden day, imagining all our children and grandchildren gathered around us, suddenly my wife, Lucy Collins, left me for another world, on the sixteenth of November, just two months before the time of this celebration. O how un- expected ! How she slipped away insensibly to me, until the last moment ; insensibly to her- self, I think, until she found herself in the presence of God ! no time to call a neighbor ! not a soul with me but one daughter, to catch the last breath, and close her fading eyes ! That was a scene to live before me all the rest of my days! "There was the weight that pulled me down; all my earthly glories, in that one woman I have lost forever." How much I de- pended on her for counsel, for prayer, for direc-
7
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HISTORY-PASTOR'S WIFE.
tion in my family, for encouragement in my ministry ! I lived in her. My people honored me for her sake. They admired her wise influ- ence in her family, her domestic industry and economy. How much my people delighted in her cheerful smile, in the prudence and discre- tion of her conversation, and in her active be- nevolence. "In her tongue was the law of kindness." She had her ministry of fifty years, together with me, not less important than my own, and without hers, I think mine had not been a quarter as long as the half-century. In- deed she had a matronly spirit at the beginning of our course, a commanding mind which caused her to be respected as the pastor's wife, even when she first came here with me, although she was only twenty-two years of age, at which period we are apt to look upon our daughters as mere children. They loved her visits. They rejoiced with her in the Bible class, and in the mission- ary association. Their esteem of her was un- measured ; and it is unspeakably gratifying to me to think and to speak of it. And now in my affliction at her departure, which cut all the cords of my family state, my people have gathered around me with every demonstration of pity and affection. Greatly have they shown themselves
HISTORY-OBJECT OF THE MINISTRY. 51
ready to bless me by the bounties of their hand, for which I ask the love of God upon them and theirs.
Permit me to say a word as to the great object of my life. God touched my mind with a sense of Jesus Christ the Saviour of the sinner, when I was seventeen years old, and thus broke up all my youthful plans for the world. My first thoughts in my college course were upon the Christian ministry. My whole classical course was the study of divinity. My notes from Pres- ident Dwight's preaching and lecturing formed a summary of doctrine, and of ministerial expe- rience, of great service to me. My whole study of life has been directed to that one end. My half-century has been expended in preaching " Jesus Christ and him crucified." If I have labored in the garden, in the field, in the work- shop, it has been to educate my children for the same work. If I have kept a school, it has been in subserviency to the ministry as the ruling object of my life. One thing I do. And now I lay down my active service in the ministry for the same end for which I took it up, viz., the honor of Christ and his church. I rather sacri- fice years of personal benefit, than HOLD ON till I become an odious thing, and constrain my
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HISTORY-RESIGNATION.
people to say, " Get thee hence." O let me never pull down with one hand what I have built up with the other. Any offense that I have caused in the feelings of any one of you, my people, and my children, during the whole course of my ministry, I do beg of you now, in the sight of my great Redeemer, to forgive me, that I may go clear, to the judgment of the great day.
I do now, in the presence of this assembly, (requiring of you, and enjoining it upon you, so far as I may, to settle a colleague, as soon as God will give you one,) I do now hereby resign, not my pastoral connection with the church, but my active services in the pastoral office, and cease from my special watch and care over you.
Now, my people, if you should rise up in a body here to-day, and propose this one question to me, viz., "If we should all go back to our youth again, would you, with all your experi- ence, come and be our minister again ?" what would I say ? If I were to go back and begin my life anew, I would choose the Christian min- istry for my work, and for the joy of my life. Lord Jesus, accept me. " Would I come and be the minister of Newington, again ?" Yes : yes : my brethren, I think I can say that I would, and spend the half-century with you.
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HISTORY-MINISTERS ATTENDING.
Ministers of the Lord Jesus, a large company of you with me here to-day, I can not let the occasion pass without uttering my grateful word to you. I feel myself strengthened and com- forted by looking on your friendly faces and receiving your love. A short time ago I was the youngest member of the association, and now I am the oldest. The most of this com- pany of ministers, by whom I am surrounded this day, were born since the day of my ordina- tion, and now they are advanced and experi- enced ministers of Christ ! Indeed, I was not aware of my own age, until my brother Porter said to me at a council a few years ago, " You are the oldest acting pastor in the state, on the west side of the river," and I was struck with surprise by his declaration ! Every one of my association is gone to the dead. With what reverence I look back upon those aged men of wisdom ! I want to adopt the valedictory of Paul; if I might do it without arrogating to my- self what does not belong to me : " I have fought a good fight ; I have finished my course ; I have kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge shall give me at that day ; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love
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HISTORY-CHURCH.
his appearing." My younger brethren, "the love of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding," that you may preach "Jesus Christ and him crucified ; " that you may have the great Master always standing by you and saying to you, " He that heareth you heareth me ;" that you may " turn many to right- eousness, and shine as the stars forever and ever. Be not afraid, but speak and hold not your peace ; for God has much people in your cities."
And here, brethren, let me remark, that the best rule of prudence, for a minister in his con- duct toward his people, that I have ever found is, (1,) Never to be unthankful for a favor, how- ever small, and (2,) Never to resent an injury, however great. May the Lord pour out his spirit upon your ministrations, and upon your people, and make " converts to be multiplied as the drops of the morning."
Ye deacons, and members of the church, with whom I have enjoyed so many heavenly hours at the communion table, the spirit of our blessed Master dwell in you. O ye that love the Lord
1 Jesus Christ, if, notwithstanding my "weakness and fear, and much trembling," you shall be " strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might, shining in all the beauty of holiness,
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HISTORY-CHURCH.
pressing on" from one degree of holiness to another, until you come into the presence of the great Redeemer ; if I may " have you as my joy, and the crown of my rejoicing in the day of the Lord," then indeed " I shall not have labored in vain, neither run in vain," but shall possess "an exceeding and eternal weight of glory." O that I may have my place among you "in the pres- ence of our Lord at his coming," when we shall " behold his face in righteousness, and be satis- fied, having awaked in his likeness." I hope your souls have been made happy in the love of Christ by my ministrations, and that you will thus be the better prepared to enjoy his love forever. Let me exhort you, Christian brethren, to be more eminently holy in your spirit and con- versation ; for so you will honor Christ and pro- mote his cause. Live above the world in faith and prayer; and so you will live for the salva- tion of others. Live a heavenly life ; and so you will be qualified to help in the prayer meeting, and "ready to every good work." Be more engaged in the monthly concert of prayer for missions, and more active and liberal in your contributions, for giving the name of Christ to the whole world. Soon you too will be called to meet your master and judge. " Wherefore,
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HISTORY-CLASSES.
my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmova- ble, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
I feel as if I were saying my last words, and therefore I wish to speak distinctly to every class of my people. My aged friends, associates, and companions of my toil, have we not loved one another all this long way ? and shall we not mutually give the divine benediction ? My friends and neighbors, who have grown up to mature age under my ministry, and have shown yourselves so respectful and kind to me, can I be indifferent to your happiness in Jesus the kind and everlasting friend ? All the young people and children whom I have blessed from your birth, shall I not bless you still, and hope that you will live long and be happy, rejoicing in Jesus Christ as your great Redeemer ? Is there any one of you, my young friends, but I have sought the redemption of your soul ? "preaching Christ" unto every one of you, " warning every one " of you, "and teaching every one" of you, "that I might present every one " of you "perfect in Christ Jesus ?"
There is another class of you upon whom I look with peculiar solicitude; you that have
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HISTORY-CLASSES.
attended on my ministry but have not been brought into the church by all that I could say to allure you to the Redeemer ; you that have shown me favors all the way of my ministration and received me with the utmost confidence, and yet have held yourselves back from that one point to which I always longed to lead you ; can I give you up as "having neither part nor lot " in the great salvation ? Will you feel your- selves neglected in my invitations of the soul to come and receive "Jesus Christ and him cruci- fied ?" Will you believe that I am not anxious to have you " be saved from your sins," and be "saved from the wrath to come ?" Will you suppose that I have not prayed to the God of mercy for your everlasting blessedness ? Am I to feel that you will still persevere under the power of worldliness, and finish your probation without doing anything more to prepare your soul 'for eternal life? Will you not, even you, now " know the things which belong to your peace ;" and even now, after all your delay, still "come unto Jesus Christ and him crucified," and be redeemed; "for is he not able to save unto the uttermost them that come unto God by him ?"
There is still one class more in this community, that I do not love to leave out, while I am speak- 8
.
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HISTORY-ADDRESSES.
ing my last words to the people among whom 1 have sojourned so long : I mean those that have not been accustomed to attend on my ministra- tions, and that have not been in the habit of vis- iting the house of public worship in other places. My neighbors and friends, I want you to feel, that I have a kind remembrance of you in these my closing services, and that I have as true a regard to the happiness of your souls as I have to the salvation of any other part of this popula- tion. I have it to say to you, that you have never manifested any feelings of unfriendliness toward me; that you have always welcomed me to your houses, in the course of my pastoral visits, and at all other times; that you have called upon me for religious services in your families as occasion required ; that you have ever been gratified with my attentions, and thankful to me whenever I have been with you in your rejoicings and in your afflictions ; that you have suffered me to speak to you with all freedom, of "the things which belong to your everlasting peace;" and that you have taken my admonitions in good part. I may say that you have been continually the subject of my anxie- ties and of my prayers. And now I would ask, whether there are any souls among all the people
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HISTORY-ADDRESSES.
that I have regarded as more precious than yours ? whether there are any to whom I have more willingly preached the gospel of the gra- cious Redeemer, as far as I had opportunity, than to you ? and whether I do not now, in this winding up of my half-century, as cheerfully invite you too, to love "Jesus Christ and him crucified," as I do any other, that so you may find acceptance with him in that great and last day. I wanted to have this paragraph in my historical discourse as much as any other, in order that I might testify my regard for you, in particular ; because I feel unwilling to pass over any one, single human soul, in all this commu- nity to which I have ministered so long.
The duties of the pastor and minister must henceforth be performed by another ; and be he a real "minister of Christ," he shall be received by me with the utmost cordiality, and I will hope to enjoy as pleasant a colleagueship with him, whoever he may be, as I did with my aged father that went before. To him I shall commit you for instruction and counsel. You will no longer depend on me to guide your inquiring minds. In the sicknesses and mournings of your families, with which I have been connected so long, you will seek for the sympathy and comfort
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HISTORY-ADDRESSES.
of others. The last offices at your funerals will be performed by those that God shall send. The prayer meetings will be conducted by such as the Saviour shall appoint. The meetings at the different school-houses shall be addressed and animated by other voices. My young friends of the Bible class shall be gathered and guided by new teachers. The converts shall be intro- duced into the church and served at the com- munion table by other hands. The little ones shall be baptized and consecrated in the gracious covenant by the pastor whom Christ will give. The word shall be preached in this pulpit by the minister whom the master will ordain. The Spirit of God rest upon you in all.
But, unto the whole congregation I say-unto all the inhabitants within these parochial boun- daries I would here say, although the time for relinquishing my active services is come, yet the time is not come for me to cease thinking of you, and loving you, and praying for you. In this solemn and impressive hour, "I bless you in the name of the Lord." On this great anniver- sary which puts a period to my ministerial labors among you ; on this jubilee of my ministry when I can rejoice in the "goodness and mercy of God which have followed me all the days of my
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HISTORY-FAREWELL.
life," while I have enjoyed with you "as the Israel of God, the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night," I can cheerfully say, " The angel of God's presence go before you to lead you in the way," and conduct you safely to the promised land. " If I forget thee, O Jeru- salem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I prefer not Jerusa- lem above my chief joy."
And now what remains but that I bid you my Farewell ? With patriarchal affection and hope let me say, I rejoice in all your advancement in knowledge, wisdom, and honor ; in all your im- provement in education, in the arts, and in the conveniences of life ; in your acquaintance with the gospel of salvation ; and I hope "the Lord will increase you yet more and more, a thousand fold, you and your children ; that you may be a glory and a praise in the earth," and an everlast- ing joy in Jesus Christ the Redeemer. "May the God of love and peace be with you." May you soon have a pastor whom the Saviour will prepare and send to you ; a pastor whom he will own and love, for your prosperity in every good thing here, and for your everlasting salvation. " Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity
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HISTORY -FAREWELL.
within thy palaces. For my brethren, and com- panions' sake, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek thy good."
APPENDIX.
No. I.
CHARGE prepared by Rev. JOSHUA BELDEN, intended to be delivered at my ordination ; but prevented by his great age and infirmity. I have strong desire to append it here, from personal consideration, and from its being the only word of his ever printed.
REV. AND DEAR SIR: I bid you a hearty welcome, as a fellow- laborer, into this part of God's vineyard. I desire to give praise and glory to the God of all grace, the sovereign disposer of all events, that I am suffered to witness the solemn and joyful transactions of this day. It is with much satisfaction and supporting hope, now in my decline of life and strength, when unable to fulfill the duties of the ministry, that I may unite with my brethren of the council pres- ent, in committing to you, dear brother, the pastoral care of this flock of the Lord, which has long been my particular charge, for whom it has been, for many years, my earnest desire and daily prayer to God, that they might be saved. Accounting you faithful, I trust, through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, you will acquit yourself so, in deed and in truth. And now, since it has pleased the great King and Head of the Church, who walks in the midst of the golden candle- sticks, and holds the stars in his right hand, to lead his church and people in this place, very unanimously to invite you to undertake the work of the gospel ministry among them, and to be their spiritual guide and pastor, and has also inclined you to accept of their call, as the call of God to this sacred office, which you are judged, by the grace of God, qualified for; we the ministers of Jesus Christ, con- vened in council upon this occasion, having received authority from him, to commit unto faithful men, that which he hath committed unto us, and having in his name, and with the concurrence of the messen- gers of the churches here present, by solemn prayer and imposing of
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