USA > New Jersey > Somerset County > Raritan > Forty years at Raritan : eight memorial sermons with notes for a history of the Reformed Dutch churches in Somerset County, N.J. > Part 11
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God has blessed us, and we bless God that he enabled us to be faithful ! Our numbers have gone on increasing, our pros- perity has been uniform, and now we are at peace, and we are overflowing. The place is too strait for ns, and the cry comes up on our ears every day, "Lengthen the cords of your taber- nacle and strengthen the stakes; make room, that the people may dwell comfortably."
We have received into our communion during the last five years 104 individuals. This is more than 20 each year, and is re- markable in the uniformity which it exhibits with the increase of the whole period of thirty-five years. The fact is, it could hardly have been expected, considering the state of the public mind. War is a dreadful evil. It debauches the public mind so rapidly, and demoralizes the public heart so extensively ; it occupies the public attention so entirely, and debases and destroys so many things that are holy. It is worse than the pestilence, for it sweeps so many young men into bloody graves, and corrupts so fatally those who live and return. We were, indeed, mercifully spared in being called to give so few to the slaughter, to the diseases incident to a camp-life, and the corruptions engendered there.
That the church should have grown and prospered as much during the storm and the convulsion as in sunshine and in peace, can be ascribed to nothing so much as to the special favor of heaven. Let us remember it to the praise of God and to the confirmation of our faith. It proves that it is best always to do right, and leave the Almighty to defend it. He is " a munition of rocks," and his servants " never trust in him in vain."
There have been only about thirty children baptized during the five years we are reviewing. This number is exceedingly small, and I am led, on this account, to call attention to it. It can be accounted for only in two ways: First, that a large proportion of our families are aged, or at least past middle life ; or, second, that there is a growing carelessness in regard to the importance of consecrating their offspring to God. To which of these is the fact which exists to be attributed ? We are disposed to believe, to neither the one nor the other exclu- sively, but in a measure to both. There is an active denomi-
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. nation who oppose infant baptism, and it would be strange if their perpetual efforts to excite attention to the subject did not protluce some effect. Now, this ought to be considered by us, and corresponding efforts made in resistance to such a great evil, for it is unquestionably a great evil. We could adduce facts to prove it to be such. It is seen in its effect upon the young, who grow up without that sense of intimacy of relation to God which a baptized child has, and are therefore more subject to temptation. It is seen in its effects upon parents, who imagine they are less responsible for the training of their unbaptized children than they would have been if they conse- crated them to him and promised to bring them up in his fear.
. We regard the growing indifference of parents, therefore, to the baptism of their children as a serious evil, and one which will soon make itself manifest in a laxity of life and a thought- less disregard, on the part of the young, to the duties of reli- gion. Youthful impiety is, in fact, becoming an alarming evil. Our young men seem to be imbibing principles and adopting practices among themselves which are rapidly de- praving them. If some remedy is not found and some restraint thrown over their courses, many of them are destined to ruin. There is no foresight required to predict this. But this is not all. The church needs these young men. They ought to be hier Sabbath-school teachers, her choir-singers, her Bible-dis- tributors; but instead of this, you meet them in the street with a filthy pipe between their teeth, seenting God's pure air with their vile breath, and making every thing abominable around them-making themselves every thing but what a young gentleman ought to be.
The past five years, though filled with agitation and excite- ment in the onter world, have been years of peace and har- mony in this church. The few who fell away in its commence- ment we could well afford to lose ; and their places have been supplied by those who were one with us in sentiment and feel- ing. The church has been growing more and more homo- gencons every year, and the bands that bind it together have become stronger and stronger. Our peace in the future seems assured, and will be perpetnal, unless we foolishly and reck- lessly disturb it ourselves. This I am persuaded you will not
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do. It is too great a sin to be the means of schism and strife and divisions in the house of God ; and if you do not do it, you have only to go on and prosper.
Deatlı has been busy during a part of this period ; and we have suffered more through his doings than throngh any other agency. We have lost largely in numbers, and those who were taken have been some of our strongest and best men. The green grass which grows on their graves is not as, fresh as their memories will long be, and the sear and yellow leaves which are falling on them to-day are not as mournful as the thoughts which come over our hearts as we recall their many virtues, now forever faded and gone ! We could ill afford to lose them-so, at least, we thought; but God took them be- canse their work was done, and their rest waiting for them. The prayers of some of them had edified us long; and the example of all had been a testimony for good to all who knew them. They gave generously out of their means to every good canse, and were faithful in their day and generation, and went to a treasure which was laid up for them before God. They were good men, and " goodness," says the poet, " is beauty in its highest state." ITis end is peace ; for the " angels are round the good man to catch the incense of his prayers," and bring him with it into heaven.
" And they fly to minister kindness to those for whom he pleadeth ;" and what a benefit and blessing to our poor and suffering humanity, to give wings to such swift messengers, and speed them on their errands of compassion, love, and humanity ! It is a vocation which the best might well covet, and make an effort to share. It is an honor more to be coveted than to shine in courts, or to be earessed by the gay. Yes,
" Some there are, by their good deeds exalted, Lofty minds and meditative, authors of delight And happiness, which to the end of time Will live, and spread, and flourish."
It has been said that " doing good is the only action of man's life that is certainly happy, and that can never return to him in sorrow or regrets." How happy, then, some of them must have been who did so much good ; and how glorious their reward must be before God, where they are now reaping the fruits of their labors in joy and praise. 8
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Passing now from the memory of the dead to a consideration of the living present, we notice and remark the state in which we find ourselves. We have a numerous and increasing con- gregation in the midst of this thriving community, growing in intelligence and in wealth every day. We can not and ought not to shut our eyes to this great fact. It presents a problem which we shall be called upon necessarily to solve; and the solution we give to it will affect us in spite of ourselves. As we have said, the place is too strait for us. Numbers are standing at our doors and asking to be admitted to a share in onr privileges and our prosperity : shall we attend to their request or deny it ? There are fourteen families asking for seats in our sanctuary ; not for a single person, or for two or three, but seats to accommodate them as we ourselves are accommodated. It is said there is room for them all, and so there is. We could take them into our pews, and seat them ; but this is not what they require. They want pews of their own, for themselves and for their children. I have said once already that if we fail to give them room we shall make the greatest mistake we have ever made, and I repeat it again to- day. They may stand at our door for a little while longer and wait our pleasure, but we can not expect them to continue to stand there. We would not ourselves stand there in their position long. 'If they come in, they will share in our pros- perity, and assist us in bearing the burdens which we bear. If we refuse them a welcome, they will carry it all to some other place; and they will do it soon ! Can we afford to let them do this ? Are we prepared to see another congregation organized in this village, and growing up out of our strength ? I retain a vivid recollection of the struggle which a similar state of things entailed upon us when I first came here, and when, because the place was too strait, and there was no dis- position to widen it, the congregation broke up into two bands, each striving for a mere existence, almost, for years. We waited then until it was too late, and we may do so again. But I warn you of what is coming; and I beseech you to attend to it in time. There is danger in delay, and every moment increases it. We can not inove too soon. It cost those who made the mistake before thousands to maintain
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their position, and it will not cost us any less. We must arise and build, or sit here and see others rejoicing in the prosperity which we refuse to appropriate to our own enlargement. Prudence never waits until the evil is upon it. It foresees it and provides against it before it comes. Brethren, be warned in time. It is not for myself I plead. I shall, probably, have finished my labors here before it comes ; but some of you will be here to repent at leisure, when repentance has come too late. We have already lost the summer which ought to have seen us to-day in this house, enlarged and beautified, with capaeity enough to receive all who desire to share with us in our worship, our communion, and our praises. When the second temple was partially rebuilt, and then, because the people had become supine and careless, was left unfinished, the prophet was sent to cry in the ears of the people, "Is it for you, O ye, to sit in your ceiled houses, and this house to lie waste?" We repeat this cry to-day in your ears, and say, Build, build, build ! You owe it to yourselves and to the in- terests of righteousness in this community; and he is not a wise friend who advises you to any thing else, or refuses to lend a helping hand. No, he shuts his ears supinely to the lessons which every day are being repeated to him louder and : louder.
The action of the congregation on Monday last is a step in the right direction. That step has been greatly needed, and will result in great good to the church. When we have be- come accustomed to it, we will never think of changing to the old form. For a short space of time it will have the effect of making room for those who are standing at our doors; and the labor which has been required to keep the financial affairs of the church in a prosperous condition, can now be directed to other important ends by which all will be benefited.
And now as to practical things. We need to cultivate a more liberal spirit. " The love of money," says the apostle, "is the root of all evil." This is true, and it is specially true in religion. "There is that giveth and yet increaseth ; and that withholdeth more than is meet, and it tendeth to poverty." Blessing others is the surest way of being blessed ourselves. I have felt occasion to say before, and repeat it again, that we
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are faulty, not so much in not giving, as in not giving wisely. There is a principle in Christian charity ; there is the mani- festation of a spirit of obedience to God. Giving from excite- ment, under pressure, or from emulation, is not doing it as unto the Lord. We should give as we pray, as we deny our- selves, as we make sacrifices of obedience ; and a certain amount of giving is necessary to our own spiritual prosperity and growth in grace. A high state of religions enjoyment and comfort is inconsistent with a pennrious spirit. It is natural that it is so, and it is, moreover, a fact. There are thousands who are not liberal enough to be rich, and numerous examples prove it.
We need to cultivate a higher tone of religions sentiment. Progress, enjoyment, profit in spiritual things, all depend upon warm-hearted piety. There is a state of outward de- ceney that is as good as nothing ; and there is also a state of fervent, elevated piety that brings with it almost all things. There are those who advance, and there are those, too, who hardly know whether they believe and love, or whether they do not. Our social meetings show the depressed state in which the spirit of piety exists among us just now. It is not what it onee was, nor what it ought to be. Like many other good things of the past, it seems to me sometimes as almost to be dying out. Those who once attended constantly all our social meetings have forgotten and deserted them. Our young peo- ple seem to find something to interest them more, and seldom come ; and some of those, even, who have professed religion seem to think that it is not necessary for them to attend any other than the Sabbath services. All this is an evil that needs correction, and until it is corrected the church will not pros- per as it ought. We beseech you to see that it is corrected.
We need a refreshing of the Holy Spirit. This alone can communicate the power which converts, elevates, enlivens, and enlarges the church : and it is a heavenly gift ; a gift to be sought by special prayer ; a gift which God has special plea- sure always in bestowing, and which he never withholds any longer than it is necessary that it should be withheld in order that we may profit by it. Let us ask it. Let us agree to ask it in the faith of the promise, " If two of you shall agree on
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earth, as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven."
The youth belonging to the congregation need to have a higher sense of the value and the importance of religion as a possession brought home to them by Christian example. It is the pearl of great price. It is the noblest possession and en- joyment to be found. It makes ns rich in all things, and the want of it makes us poor, even though we should be rich in every thing else. Our young people do not seem to think this, or believe it ; but, on the other hand, appear to feel that the consideration of the subject may be postponed without any thing being lost. Some are so frivolous and so vain that they apparently searcely think at all. Pleasure is their god, and they idolize it. Sin is sweet, and they live for it. God and eternity are afar off, and they neglcet them. O foolish youth! How much repentance there is created a necessity for ; all this irreligion and wrong will be food for remorse, or the evil of it will pursue you through this world and into the next.
We need a more general activity in the whole church. As long as only a few labor to do good, the work will be onerons and but little will be effected. In our Sunday-schools, in our prayer-meetings, wherever good is to be done, we need thie activity of all our Christian men. There is room for them all, and there is need for the work of all. Christians are required to feel this, and occupy themselves until their Master comes, and they should make conscience of it. The greatest evil we have to struggle with is the isolation in which the few active spirits are left. Our prayer-meeting is made up of a few, our lectures are attended by a few. Business is the excuse ; but remember, you will have to make time to die ; and when you come to that solemn hour, you will feel that you ought to have made leisure to prepare for it.
In conclusion, we are now to enter upon another division of time. What is before us I can not prognostieate or define. The generation which has passed away, I knew and trusted. The generation which now is, I do not pretend to know as well. We have the promise that instead of the fathers their children shall be. They are here, but will they be like their
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fathers-as zealous, as enduring, as faithful? God only knows, and the future only can determine. We are disposed to be hopeful, and trust in his name and grace, as we have hitherto trusted. We have faith that our trust will not prove to be "a vain confidence."
Our life has passed beyond its bloom and its freshness. Its summer is past and its autumn is coming. The fresh strength of youthful days is gone, and the activity which once was, is no more. We can not, therefore, promise any thing which we have not given. Experience ought to teach wisdom, but it sometimes brings fear as well ; and caution may become inactive.
We have not discovered any new things, and we can not propose any new methods of doing good. We believe in the efficacy of preaching and prayer, and we do not believe in any thing else as better, or more likely to win souls, edify the church, and promote the glory of our Redeemer's kingdom. We expect to meet discouragements as we have met them ; and we hope to be able to surmount them. We do not expect to please all, or to win all. The Saviour is still in his thresh- ing-floor, with his fan in his hand, winnowing his wheat, and the chaff will be blown off and rejected. Of the power of the Gospel to convert souls we never expect to despair. We in- tend to preach it, and mean to do it faithfully and in simpli- city. The power is from above ; " Paul may plant and Apollos water, but the increase is from God." We have adhered to the Gospel and preached it alone, and we mean to adhere to it in the future. We have found this course to be right and successful, and we expect to find it so to the end.
Whether we shall live to see and to improve another anni- versary or not, is known only to God. I can not say that I am anxious to do so. The time will come when we shall cease to admonish and warn you ; but we protest before God that " we are free from the blood of all men." Those who have not heard us, nor attended to our earnest efforts to instruct and to save them, will soon go to their account, as we shall also to onrs. We tremble to think how much they have misimproved and lost. May they yet turn and live!
To a large extent the church which is here to-day is com
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posed of those whom we have gathered in. They are the fruits of our own labors and prayers, and we have confidence in them that they will be our friends until death. We expe- rience daily great yearnings of heart that they may be faithful, become eminently pious, and find a rich and lasting reward in the kingdom of heaven. We have borne them on our heart, and we mean to bear them there, even in deathi ; and when the hour of separation comes we will " commend them to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to keep them, and present them faultless, without spot, before the throne in glory."
Over the waywardness of the impenitent we have mourned, and may yet have to mourn ; but we pray them to panse and think before it is too late. It will be an awful thing to be obliged to meet them and testify against them at the jndg- ment-bar, and we appeal to them not to make this necessary. Repentance may yet be found by them all, and an entrance secured into the kingdom of life. What can we do for them that we have not already done? How ean we present Christ more effectually when all his attractions have already been exhibited ? We have unfolded all the depths of his love and the tenderness of his compassion ; what can ,we do more ? Hear us, we pray you, and turn, that you may live.
And now the moment is at hand when this protracted ser- vice is to end. We have spoken freely but kindly ; hear ye what we have said. We have drawn from the former things some of the lessons which they teach. Those lessons we com- mend to your serious and prayerful consideration. Another volume of accounts closes here, and a new one will be lience- fortli opened. It is your business and interest to make it such as you will desire it to be, when you come to meet it at the judgment-seat of Christ.
Brethren, I have done speaking to you to-day, but I can not conceal from my own mind, and ought not to conceal fron you, that we are both to meet the consequences of this speak- ing and hearing at a future day, and to that day time is roll- ing us on with ceaseless motion. We shall all soon be there, but what will it bring ? Are we prepared to meet it ? Will it be a day of joyful deliverance and of happy recognition, or will it be the contrary ? This is the important matter to us
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now. I entreat you to ponder it well. God lives. Eternity is coming. The judgment is prepared. Heaven minst receive us, or perdition be onr portion. God grant that we may all enter into the joy of the Lord! We commend you to God and to the word of his grace. There is but one hope of life. It is in Christ. See to it that you build on that foundation, and may God help yon ! Amen.
TIIE EIGHTII MEMORIAL SERMON.
PREACHED TUESDAY, OCT. 20TH, 1872.
GOD WITH US FORTY YEARS.
" These forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee."-DEUTERO- NOMY 2 : 7.
THESE words were originally spoken to Moses, and were in- tended as an enconragement to him in view of future difficul- ties. We employ them as an appropriate motto, suggestive of many of the thoughts which crowd upon our memories, and press for utterance, in connection with these commemorative services. We feel no one sentiment more deeply than the ac- knowledgment that "God has been with us these forty years." We are perfectly conscious that nothing but his supporting, guiding, and instructing presence could have enabled us to do the work, support the burdens, and meet the responsibilities of snch a protracted service in the position we have occupied. We are here, and we are what we are, and have done what has been done, because he has enabled us to do it. We ac- knowledge God's favor in all, and we erect here our " Ebene- zer," and praise his great and holy name !
The day is an anniversary, and we intend to devote it to a review of the work that has been done, and to the making of a record of God's gracious help. We are fully prepared to testify that " goodness and mercy have followed us all our days," and, when we think of our own agency, to exclaim, "Not unto us, O Lord, but unto thy name, be the praise!" God has been kindly with us all these forty years ; and no one can feel more vividly than we do, that if he had not been " our helper," we could not have continued here so long to witness for him ! We are sensible of a great pleasure, and we enjoy a great triumph ; but, at the same time, we experi-
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ence emotions of the most varied and opposite kinds. Our joy and our triumph is mixed with sadness. Here, in the presence of the living, we remember the dead ; and " the dear departed ones," how many of them rise up to our view ! And they were so kind to us ! Many of them were such eminent Christians ; and they were so long our friends-our trusted friends !
The forty years which, we are to review have been wit- nesses to some most mighty changes in the affairs of our world: and the advances which have been made will ever eontinne to be memorable. Europe has changed its politieal aspect almost entirely. The spirit of liberty has been vieto- rions in every field of conflict. Light has radiated upon some of the darkest places in the moral world. The work of missions has been prosecuted with marked success, and many almost unlooked-for results have been reached. The power of the Papacy has crumbled and dwindled away until it is almost nothing, and the whole world now is open to the Gospel !
The navigation of the ocean by steam, the transmission of intelligence by the telegraph, the system of railroad-travel- all fall within the limits of the last forty years. The Bible Society, the Traet Society, and the various missionary societies, though some of them had been organized, may still be said to have commeneed their work, and to have become conscious of their strength, only as the action ineluded in the last forty years has given them experience. The position which has been reached to-day is far in advance of that which they ocenpied at the commencement of the period of which we speak. In faet, a great work has been done and a great triumph won within the past forty years ! .
In our own vicinity the beginning of this period was the beginning of almost every thing. The eanal connecting the waters of the Delaware with the Raritan, one of the most im- portant avenues of commerce in which we pride ourselves, and from which we reap most important advantages, was just then being opened. All the railroads across the State, except the one from Amboy to Camden, have been built since. The water-power which has occasioned the existence of another
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