USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Hampton Falls > History of the town of Hampton Falls, New Hampshire : from the time of the first settlement within its borders, 1640 until 1900 > Part 11
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But however true, important, and interesting revealed religion is, yet its progress and influence have been obstructed by a spirit of infidelity. Men have come forward with their objections, and taken the field with all the aid which wit and satire could afford. But their objections have been so satisfactorily answered, and the mists which their satirical talents had raised to conceal the truth so thoroughly dissipated, that the faith of many, instead of being shaken, hath collected new strength.
Bishop Watson, in a late reply to one of the opposers of revealed religion, says. "What I blame you for is this, that you have at- tempted to lessen the authority of the Bible by ridicule more than by reason; that you have brought forward every petty objection which your ingenuity could discover, or your industry pick up from the writings of others, and without taking any notice of the answers which have been repeatedly given to these objections, you urge and enforce them as if they were new. There is some novelty, at least, in your manner, for you go beyond all others in boldness of asser- tion and in profaneness of argumentation."
The author, on whose publication the Bishop makes his strictures, remarks, "Should the Bible and Testament hereafter fall, it is not I that have been the occasion." To which he replies, "You look, I think, upon your production with a parent's partial eye, when you speak of it with such a style of self-complacency. The Bible, sir, has withstood the learning of Porphyry and the power of Julian, to say nothing of the Manichean Faustus; it has resisted the genius of
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Bolingbroke and the wit of Voltaire, to say nothing of a numerous herd of inferior assailants. and it will not fall by your force. You have barbed anew the blunted arrows of former adversaries; you have feathered them with blasphemy and, ridicule, dipped them in your deadliest poison, aimed them with your utmost skill. shot them against the shield of faith with your utmost vigor: but, like the feeble javelin of aged Priam, they will scarcely reach the mark, will fall to the ground without a stroke."
We pass on to notice the duty of ministers, in their preaching, to adhere to the principles and instructions of divine revelation.
If ministers were to preach for doctrines the commandments of men, or were they to advance a system of faith and practice which does not comport with the oracles of God, they would prevent the end and design of their office. They are not sent forth to preach or propagate a new religion, but to explain and enforce the religion which is contained in the word of God. If the religion which the ministers of Christ preach appears new to others, it is not a novelty which they have invented.
When the prophets of old were sent forth to proclaim important messages to men, they spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and their errand was commonly sanctioned with words to this effect: Thus saith the Lord. When they were sent forth as prophets or teachers of men, it was the will or message of God which they were to proclaim. The Prophet that hath a dream. let him tell a dream, and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully; what is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord. The following are the words addressed to Ezekiel: "Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. And thou shalt speak my words, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear." When Christ sent forth his Apostles to preach the gospel among nations, he directed them what to do and, among other things, said, "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." He had instructed them in the nature and design of his kingdom, and these instructions were to be the invariable rule of their preaching. And they were viewed by those who received their message as servants of the most high God, who shewed to men the way of salvation. Hence Paul and Sylvanus and Timotheus, in an epistle to the Thessalonians, say, "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because when ye receive
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the word of God which ye heard of us ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is, in truth, the word of God, which effectu- ally worketh also in you that believe." It was the business of the Apostles, who were sent forth to propagate the Christian system, to declare such things as they had heard, as they had seen with their eyes, had looked upon, and their hands had handled of the word of life. So fully persuaded were they of their fidelity in pursuing the instructions which were given them that Paul, in his epistle to the Galatians, does not hesitate to say, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."
If it were the duty of the prophets of old and of the Apostles of Christ to conform, in their messages to men, to the divine instruc- tions which they had received, we may with equal reason conclude that it is the duty of ministers, at the present day, to adhere in their preaching to the principles and instructions of divine revelation. And unless this be the case with them we do not hesitate to say that they cannot be considered as good ministers of Christ and faithful stewards of the ministers of God.
If this be true, perhaps it may be thought by some that the ยท task of ministers is light and easy: but to be able to understand the meaning and import of particular places in scripture, to illustrate the connexion, harmony, and consistency of its several parts, to defend the gospel against the attacks of infidels, and to convince or stop the mouths of gainsayers, to know how to apply the rules and directions of scripture to the state of society or of particular individuals, rightly to divide the word of truth so as to give every man his portion in due season, or to be as a scribe well instructed unto the kingdom of heaven, who can with care and pertinency bring out of his treasure things new and old, a minister must give himself to reading, meditation, and prayer. These things will require diligent application and laborious researches after the truth.
It will be an object with ministers to inspire their hearers with rational, consistent, and adoring views of the being, perfections, and government of God, of the character of Jesus Christ, and of the offices of the Holy Spirit; to give a just statement of the doc- trines of free grace, and of the necessity and importance of holiness, of man's weakness and insufficiency, and of tendered aid and assist- ance; to solve the doubting, to cheer the sorrowful, and to animate the believer in ways of well doing. In short, they will endeavor
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to make such a just statement of the reasonableness and importance of religion, and of the rewards annexed to a virtuous and obedient life, a life consecrated to the service of Deity, and the nature and consequence of sin and impeniteney as shall move their hearers who duly regard things in their connexion and real importance to avoid that which is evil, and to cleave to that which is good; that so they may be profitable to the flock over which the Holy Ghost has made them overseers, and be instrumental of their pro- gression in knowledge and spiritual perfection.
We proceed to suggest some motives which should influence them to fidelity.
The favor and continued regard of the people, among whom they labor in word and doctrine, should be a motive with ministers to be faithful. When people have reason to view ministers as unfaith- ful, or as withholding the necessary word of admonition and re- proof, through fear of giving offense, will they not be apt to despise such ministers, and treat them with contempt? On the contrary, are ministers prudent and faithful, desirous to promote the in- struction and moral improvement of their hearers. to promote the good order and real happiness of the people among whom they reside as public teachers of religion, will not they be generally respected though duty may sometimes call them to exhibit truth in such a point of light as to excite a sudden temporary irritation ?
Another motive to fidelity in the ministerial office is the hope, or prospect. of being useful to the souls of men, being instrumental of advancing the cause of religion, and of building up the Redeem- er's kingdom in the world. Though ministers may have reason to complain that their labors are too unsuccessful, yet they are often instrumental of doing good. And if they can entertain the hope that they shall be the means of diffusing useful knowledge, of stir- ring up the pure mind by way of remembrance, of checking the progress of vice, and of prevailing with any to pay a serious attention to the great salvation which the gospel proposes. they should be animated to faithful exertions. If ministers see and feel the im- portance of religion, it must give them peculiar joy and satisfaction to find that those committed to their care regard the things which belong to their peace, and walk in the truth.
It may also be suggested that if ministers be faithful they have reason to hope that Christ will be with them, and that his grace will be sufficient for them. This thought should encourage and
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quicken them amidst all their trials and difficulties, amidst all their labors and services.
We add that a consideration of the approbation and reward which faithful ministers will receive from their divine Lord and Master should move those who enter upon the office to be faithful in the discharge of the duties of it. And if they may but finish their course with joy and, when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, receive a crown of glory which fadeth not away, they should not count even their lives dear to themselves: they should be willing to spend and be spent in the service of souls and the Redeemer. And such will be the lot of the faithful ministers of Christ, whether they be suc- cessful or not.
Gloomy will be the case and aggravated the condemnation of ministers if, after they have preached to others, if. after all the means and advantages of knowledge and happiness they have enjoyed, they themselves should be cast-aways. But it is to be hoped that love to God, to the Redeemer, and to the souls of men will stim- ulate the sacerdotal order to take heed to the ministry which they have received in the Lord. that they fulfill it, and that in so doing they may save both themselves and those who hear them.
Let us now just hint at the unreasonableness and danger of finding fault with preachers. when they speak as the oracles of God.
Ministers do not claim dominion over the faith of men, but they wish to be helpers of their joy. It is their aim to exhibit truth, and they appeal to the judgment and understanding of those whom they address as to the propriety and importance of what they say. They often meet with those who in some respects differ with them in opinion, but who are possessed of noble, generous, and candid minds. No fearful apprehensions are to be entertained respecting men of this description, but they are sometimes called to deal with unreasonable men, men of corrupt minds, men who love darkness rather than light, and who are unwilling to have the truth exhib- ited. But shall ministers be considered as enemies because they tell you the truth, and truth which is of a serious, interesting, and infinitely important nature? Do they anything more than duty calls them to do? And if they speak as the oracles of God, is it not unreasonable to blame, to fault them?
Motives or designs are often unjustly imputed to ministers. They conceive it to be their duty to hold up vice to view in its odious na-
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ture and dreadful tendency. And it is not unusual for offenses to be noticed of which some of their hearers may have been guilty, and perhaps recently. Such individuals consider themselves as particu- larly pointed at, and others think the same, whereas the ministers themselves had not the most distant idea of the applicability of the remarks to those who made the particular application; and should they in consequence of such things meet with any kind of abuse or disrespect. would it not be without any just foundation? To find fault when they speak as the oracles of God betrays an ignorant head or a perverse heart. It is dangerous as well as unreasonable. It is in effect to find fault with the system of God's moral govern- ment, and if men be not reconciled to God's moral government, if they disregard his messages and set at naught all his counsel and reproof, they shall eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices. They may. when perhaps it is forever too late, be ready to lament and say, How have we hated instruction and our hearts despised reproof, and have not obeyed the voice of our teach- ers nor inclined our ear to them who instructed us.
IMPROVEMENT.
If the preceding observations have truth and propriety for their basis, then we may infer that those who wish to lessen the credit and destroy the influence of revealed religion may be ranked among the most dangerous enemies of mankind. They oppose a system which is truly benevolent, which is friendly to the rights of man, friendly to the order, peace, and happiness of society; friendly to rulers: friendly to subjects: friendly to the rich; friendly to the poor; friendly in respect to time, and friendly in respect to eternity. How much then is it to be lamented that any should represent the Christian system only as a cunningly devised fable and employ their wit and talents to bring the scriptures of the old and new Testa- ments into contempt. And can it be wondered that those who are set for the defense of the gospel, and to keep up in the world a knowledge of and belief in the doctrines and duties of revealed religion, should display great zeal and peculiar concern at this day of darkness and spreading infidelity?
Who will be so uncandid as to impute our zeal and concern to an anxiety about a temporal support? Though some of us who have borne the burden and heat of the day, who find ourselves greatly
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enervated by a studious, sedentary life, might by being driven from our office and employment, be left in a pitiful condition; yet others of us could mingle with our fellow citizens in the common pursuits and occupations of life and stand an equal chance with them to gain a comfortable subsistence. But, alas! what would be the state of society if certain renovating, demoralizing principles which are exhibited on the theatre of the East should spread among us? What means to acquire property or what security in the possession? And who would there be to defend the honor and chastity of our wives and of our daughters? Perhaps the husband, the father might be the helpless spectator of the infamy and ruin of his wife, of his daughter. And how would our beloved offspring be edu- cated? Instead of seeing our sons as plants grown up in their youth, and our daughters as corner-stones, polished after the simil- itude of a palace, we might expect to see them stimulated by pre- cept and example in all the pursuits of violence, rapine, debauchery, and blasphemy.
Though we do not profess to discard the propriety of this idea, that those who preach the gospel should live of the gospel, yet our zeal and concern at the present day do not originate from an anxi- ety about a temporal support. We tremble for the ark of God, for the cause of religion. Our zeal and concern have the glory of God, the peace and prosperity of society, and the present and future happiness of our fellow men for their object. And may we be im- proved as the instruments of carrying the benevolent designs of revealed religion into effect, so that we may see those with whom we are concerned walking in the truth, walking in wisdom's ways, walking in that narrow path which leadeth to life everlasting.
On this occasion, my fathers and brethren in the ministry will permit a word of congratulation and exhortation.
Amidst all the revolutions and anarchy of the present eventful day, we behold with pleasure that the altars of God which have been erected in our land, instead of being demolished, stand re- spected, and that on days consecrated for social worship, instead of seeing our temples deserted and the walls left bare, there are more or less in all our towns whose breasts glow with piety and delight when it is said, "Let us go into the house of the Lord." These things should not only excite our gratitude, but quicken us in our endeavors to promote the instruction and moral improve- ment of those who favor us with their presence and attention.
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May we ever speak as the oracles of God, and instead of having the mortification to see our people desert our ministry and wander forth in the paths of error and delusion, may we have the happiness to see that they obey from the heart that form of doctrine which is taught by the spirit of inspiration. Thus may we and they be united in the duties and services assigned us here, and be forever happy together hereafter in mansions of prepared glory and blessedness.
My respected young friend who is this day to be separated unto the work of the gospel ministry, whereunto he is called, claims my attention.
Dear sir. that you have been privileged with a birth and educa- tion in a land of gospel light, that from a child you have known the holy scriptures, that you have descended from parents whose great aim has been to instil into the minds of their offspring an early sense of the importance of religion, and who have had both an inclination and ability to favor you with many literary advan- tages are considerations which justly demand your grateful acknowl- edgments, and since you are disposed, at this day of prevailing dis- sipation and infidelity, to devote yourself to the service of God, in the gospel of his Son, may it not be viewed as an unequivocal proof of this pleasing hope, that you choose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season? No wonder this should be the case if you have a due respect unto the recompense of reward.
The work to which you are this day to be separated is arduous and pleasing, laborious and useful, solemn and joyful. In order that you may not wound the feelings of your friends and acquain- tance, disappoint the hopes and expectations of the Christian soci- ety in this place, and fail of the divine approbation, be careful in your ministrations to speak as the oracles of God. Search the scriptures, and may God open your understanding, that you may understand them. They point out your duty and your reward.
To declare the whole counsel of God, and to keep back nothing which may be profitable to your people, will require much atten- tion, care, and diligence. But you are to remember that the whole of your duty does not respect the pulpit. You may be profited and highly profit your people in private conversation, and if you wish to have your preaching produce a good moral effect upon their life and conversation, be careful to recommend everything commendable.
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and praiseworthy by your own deportment. Be an example unto the flock in all the great duties of piety and philanthropy. Let it be your aim to regulate your own conduct by the doctrines and moral instructions which you dispense to others. This is necessary to the peace and quiet of your own mind, and without it how can you promise yourself success? Though your preaching be ever so good, yet if your life betray the wicked man. the wolf in sheep's clothing, you will injure the cause which you have professedly ad- vocated and contempt and infamy will be your lot. But we hope better things of you: things which will evince your regard for the honor and interest of religion, your love to the Redeemer and to the souls of men.
Your mind is, doubtless. impressed with a solemnizing view of the transactions of this day, and of the great trust to be committed to you, but is not your heart. in some measure. cheered by the follow- ing language of divine consolation? "Lo I am with you; my grace is sufficient for you."
Dear sir, accept my best wishes for your present and future hap- piness. I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to conduct yon with honor and success through your min- istry. May you be a faithful watchman. a good soldier of Jesus Christ. May yon not only speak as the oracles of God, but dis- pense the ordinances of the gospel with fitness and propriety: keep up the discipline of God's house: visit your people usefully and profitably, and having won many souls to Christ may you finally receive from your divine Master that transporting eulogy. "Well done, good and faithful servant. enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
Brethren and friends of the Christian Society in this place: The external indications of regard for religion, and of respect for the Christian ministry which you have exhibited, will do you honor and afford you many comfortable reflections, if they flow from a corresponding temper and are the outward expressions of the inward feelings of the heart.
In the course of about eighty-six years and seven months. the people in this place have been favored with the settled ministry about seventy-eight years and nine months. That you, for such a course of years, should be in a situation to enjoy the regular stated administration of the divine ordinances is a consideration which should excite a tribute of praise to Him who walketh in the midst of the golden candlesticks, and holdeth the stars in his right hand.
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But amidst all the pleasing reflections which such a review can inspire, we find the tender emotions of grief and sorrow excited. This people have found that the treasure of the gospel is put in earthen vessels. In a little more than fourscore years five persons have been introduced into the ministerial office among them. One resigned his pastorate and hath entered into a civil department. Four have not been suffered to continue by reason of death. Few places have been visited with heavier trials in this respect than you, my Christian friends. Nine months have not yet elapsed since you were called into mourning and left as sheep without a shep- herd by the mortality of that worthy good man, the Rev. Samuel Langdon, D. D. May you long be profited by a pious recollection of the truths and useful instructions which he dispensed to you.
The great repairer of breaches, who sends pastors among those who desire and seek for the blessing, hath. as we trust, in great loving kindness, disposed you to unite in the choice of a successor who is this day to take the oversight of you in the Lord. If his life and health should be continued, we flatter ourselves with the hope that he will so discharge the duties of the ministry as fully to justify the choice you have been led to make.
Let his joy be the joy of you all. While it is his pleasure and aim to feed the sheep and the lambs of Christ's flock and, in meek- ness, to instruct those who oppose themselves, if God, perad- venture, will give them repentance to the acknowledgment of the truth, it becomes you to unite with him in every measure within your reach which is calculated to advance the cause and interest of religion.
We wish well to the man of your choice, and if you wish to have him feel the happy effects of your continued regard, you will not make him an offender for a word. You will not put uncandid con- structions upon his conduct. You will not desert his ministrations. You will not be inattentive to his moral instructions. You will not be gratified to see him embarrassed and perplexed for the want of decent and proper support. You will not be pleased to see his feelings wounded at any time or upon any occasion. Far from this will be your temper and conduet.
Brethren, we wish you well, and may the God of peace bless you and your pastor-elect, and make you and him perfect in every good work to do his will; so that you may be solaced with the blessings of love, peace, and harmony here, and hereafter be admitted to par-
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ticipate in a fullness of joy and unceasing pleasures at God's right hand.
Men, Brethren, and Fathers of this Assembly: The Spirit of in- spiration hath advertised us of perilous times, and cautioned us not to believe every spirit but to try the spirits, whether they be of God. These things merit our serious attention at the present day, in which a spirit of error and delusion rears its frightful head in various forms. Are you willing to desert the good old way and to imitate the example of those who have grown tired of the guidance and instruction of Moses and the Prophets, of Christ and his apostles? Are you willing to adventure forth into scenes of novelty and dangerous experiment: to become followers of wander- ing stars, or blazing short-lived meteors, which will soon leave you in all the horrors of darkness? O be wise before it be too late, and let me assure you that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
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