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 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30
Christianity, as it is revealed in the Bible, is always the same, beautiful, bright, and pure-an emanation of divinity ; but as it exists in practical life, embodied in the faith and conduct of different nations, communities, and ages, it exhibits almost an infinite variety of aspects and phrases. Some of them are dark, amounting almost to a total extinction of its light and spirit, while others are bright and animating, displaying all its
24
MEMORIAL SERMONS.
excellencies in prominent relief for the edification of mankind. It has always been so, and will continue to be so until the end of time.
The age succeeding the great Reformation, when the churches in this country were planted, may be characterized by a single word. It was a transition state. It retained some of that firm attachment to doctrine and purity of faith which had dis- tinguished the period when martyrs shed their blood freely in attestation of the truth : but, by association with the spirit of the world, in days of prosperity and peace, it had learned to be content with a name to live, and rested in a faith without works. Its vital piety had almost ceased, and the fruits of godliness were stinted and seanty, though the forms and doc- trines of a better time remained. Emigrating from the father- land, our ancestors left behind them, not only their pleasant homes on the vine-clad hills of France and the verdant meadows of the Low Countries, but also, for a season at least, all the ennobling influences of their early associations and their church privileges. In this wilderness they found no Sabbath-no " sound of church-going bell," and no minister of Christ to instrnet, admonish, and lead them to the cross. . As a' necessary consequence of such destitution their children grew up almost in a state of nature, without any of the in- fluence of those teachings and associations in which thei. fathers had been nurtured. When there was no persecutor to endear by his violence the very faith he sought to destroy, that faith was less esteemed and had less power. Their fathers' example and prayers, in the nature of things, would not be entirely lost upon them ; but it was too much to expect that they would transmit to their descendants the spirit of their piety, or that the children would become what they would have been if the sanctuary and the Sabbath had lent their aid to enforce parental precepts and example. Hence the natural effect of the position of the early settlers here would be, to impart to them a veneration for their fathers' faith, but to leave them without the savor of its divine influence. Now that this was a fact, and that we have given a true pieture of their moral condition, is proved by competent witnesses, bear- ing testimony of others in the same circumstances. Says one.
25
MEMORIAL SERMONS.
" The difference between the church and the world was vanish- ing away, church discipline was neglected, and the growing lax- ness of morals was invading the church. The young were aban- doning themselves to frivolities and amusements of dangerous tendency ; and party spirit was producing its natural fruit among the old. The progress of Arminianism had become so manifest as to cause alarm." This is a picture of the Puri- tan churches at this time, and there can be but little question that the features were general, and applied as well to the state of things in New-Jersey as in Connecticut and Massa- chusetts.
We produce another. The Rev. Samuel Blair, one of the fathers of the Presbyterian church in America, employs the following language in reference to the state of the churches in Pennsylvania : " A very lamentable ignorance of the main essentials of true practical religion, and the doctrines nextly relating thereto, very generally prevailed. The nature and necessity of the new birth was but little known or thought of. The necessity of a conviction of sin and misery, by the Holy Spirit opening and applying the law to the conscience, in order to a saving closure with Christ, was hardly known at all, to the most. There was scarcely any suspicion at all, in gene- ral, of any danger of depending upon self-righteousness and not upon the righteousness of Christ alone for salvation."
But we have testimony which is still more applicable. We come into the bounds of Mr. Frelinghnysen's very charge itself ; and we hear Gilbert Tennant saying of the state of the church in New-Brunswick in 1744, a little before the time when Mr. Frelinghuysen's labors closed, "I examined many about the grounds of their hope of salvation, which I found in most to be nothing but as sand." He is speaking of his own people, and not of those who had been converted under Mr. Frelinghuysen's labors, as we shall show presently by another extract from the same account.
Now this was the aspect of the field which was to be culti- vated; at least its moral condition could not have been more favorable than those of which we have given testimony ; and if we consider the fact that for more than thirty years, most of the inhabitants of this section of the country had been living
26
MEMORIAL .SERMONS.
in a wilderness without the Gospel, we may think it neces- sary to regard it as being even less favorable than they indi- cate ; and this would be nearer to the truth.
Now mark the effect. Mr. Frelinghuysen commenced by preaching pointedly and seriously the necessity of a new heart. IIe insisted on Christian experience as a preparation for church membership and communion ; and restored disci- pline to its legitimate place in the house of God. There was immediately clamor, resistance, reproach;" but he was not a man to be turned away from a course which he considered it his duty to follow, by any such influences : and besides the Holy Spirit had already begun to testify to the truth and ren- der it the power of God and the wisdom of God to the salvation of souls ; how could he refrain from preaching it ? As early as 1726, when there were probably not more than twenty members in communion in the whole congregation, and only six years from the time of his first settlement, during all of which opposition and defamation had been rife, there were admitted to the communion seven at one time on con- fession of faith. It must have been a day of joy to his heart, and of triumph to the cause of truth. It was indeed a great day .. Seven added to twenty is equal to an addition of forty in a church composed of one hundred members ; and this would, even now, be regarded as an extraordinary work. But we must consider that this was the fruit of his work Raritan. Now if the same state of things existed at North- Branch, Six-Mile-Run, and New-Brunswick-and that it did all traditional history asserts-and a corresponding number were introduced into the churches in each of these congrega- tions, it was indeed a great day for Zion. But it did not end here. There is evidence that it continued in subsequent years. There were also accessions to the church of more than ordinary - numbers in 1729 and 1734.
But the greatest blessing seems to have been enjoyed in 1789, simultaneous with the revival at Northampton under
* See the complaint published by a part of his Consistory, in which it is „attempted to be shown that his doctrine of regeneration is not the doctrine of the Church-and exceptions are taken to his whole course, especially his adiscipline.
.
27
MEMORIAL SERMONS.
Jonathan Edwards; and between these two revivals in other respects there was a striking similarity. They both originated in pointed doctrinal discussions, brought on a conflict between formalism and practical Christianity, and stirred up some of the worst passions in the human heart; but while Edwards was ejected from his charge, Mr. Frelinghuysen not only maintained his place and his influence, but perpetuated the work, until, finally, in the days of his successor, Dr. Harden- bergh, even the hearts of his enemies were conquered.
The effect of this state of things was to give an entirely new aspect to the state of the congregation. Religion became an object of almost universal attention and concern, and increased the desire and necessity for pastoral labors so much that Mr. Frelinghuysen was constrained to adopt an expedient, which seems to have been original with him ; indeed, we have no knowledge of its having been adopted at any time anywhere else. He appointed from among the most gifted and experi- enced of his male members certain individuals whom he called " helpers," whose office was to expound the Scriptures in the meetings for prayer and conduct them with order, visit and converse with the anxious and inquiring, and to catechise the youth. This step was considered as a bold departure from long-established usage in the Dutch Church by those who ex- cepted to Mr. Frelinghuysen's course, and would even now be regarded as a "new measure" of very questionable propriety and usefulness. It may be that it was, upon the whole, nei- ther wise nor safe; although, from the character of the indivi- duals, their prudence, zeal, and godliness, its effects were seen in the most favorable light ; but it is certain that his latter days were greatly embittered with strife, arising from the strong disapprobation expressed by some of the most influen- tial members in his church of the course which he thought proper to adopt. But whether it would have been possible, with his views of truth, to avoid such a contest, may admit of a doubt. It seems, at least, to be certain that in some sections of the church, whatever the ostensible pretenses may have been, the great contest of Coetus and Conferentie was, in fact, a struggle of formalism against vital godliness-of the law of progress against the inertia gendered by an admiration of the
1
28
MEMORIAL SERMONS.
past. It was the spirit of this age and of this land fighting for liberty when the attempt was made to bind it down by forms, customs, and veneration for the fatherland; and it conquered then, as it always will conquer in any future struggles.
The records of the church warrant us in estimating the fruit of this year as having been the conversion of at least fifty souls within the bounds of Mr. Frelinglinysen's pastoral charge. Of this number, ten are recorded as having united with the church at Raritan on confession. The accession is again equal to about one third of the whole number in con- munion. The records of the other congregations have perish- ed, or, we have no doubt. our conjecture would have been confirmed, by their names actually appearing upon them.
In summing up, then, the results of the ministry of Mr. Frelinghuysen, we arrive at the following facts : There were thirty-eight added to his churches on confession in 1726, there were sixteen in cach of the years 1729 and 1734, and there were fifty in 1739; the whole amount is one hundred and twenty. We do not say that these numbers are also- Iutely correct ; but we do say that the data furnished ns by the records of the church of Raritan fully sustain them, and even more than sustain them. From the records of New- Brunswick we have the following facts: About sixty persons were admitted to the communion. Many names are undoubt- edly omitted from the list, as some are not found there who are known to have been in the communion. The largest number received in any one year was in 1741, when there was an addi- tion of twenty-two persons. If we add these numbers together, we shall have in the two principal churches of his charge one hundred and eighty added on confession. This may well be regarded as evidence of a great revival. And when we consi- der the work of grace in connection with the external eir- cumstances of the age and the church in which it ocenrred, it magnifies itself greatly in our estimation. There was much ignorance, much laxity of moral principle, a leaning to Armi- nianism, few preachers, and but little opportunity of hearing or meeting to encourage one another. That one man should wield such an influence, and be able to sustain himself and
-
MEMORIAL SERMONS. 29
his principles in the very midst of the fire kindled to consume him and them, is surely an evidence of the divine favor, and of special spiritual communications from above. In fact, the whole work is as clearly marked with power and sanctifying grace as any of those with which the churches in other places were blessed about this period, and stamps the ministry of Mr. Frelinghuysen as having been peculiarly favored and useful. The whole of its power we shall probably never know.
There is also one other circumstance worthy of notice. Several of the converts in this revival lived until within the memory of some who are yet with us, and were uniformly distinguished for their deep experience and ardent piety. Fathers and mothers in Israel were they truly, always abounding in every good word and work. Gilbert Tennent, of New-Brunswick, alludes to them in his letter to Mr. Prince, of Boston, in 1744. " The labors of Mr. Frelinghny- sen were much blessed to the people of New-Brunswick and places adjacent about the time of his coming among them, . which was about twenty-four years ago, (in 1720.) When I came there, which was about seven years after, divers of his hearers, with whom I had opportunity of conversing, ap- peared to be converted persons, by their soundness in prin- ciple, Christian experience, and pious practice; and these persons declared that the ministrations of the aforesaid gen- tleman were the means thereof." This is conclusive as to the spiritual character of the work.
Here we are disposed to award the honor which the zeal and piety of this good man seem to demand from us. We regard him as being the instrument, in the hand of Provi- dence, to plant first the seed of truth and righteousness upon this soil, where, in subsequent years, such abundant harvests have been gathered. He broke up the fallow ground and prepared it for the glorious crop. He met and conquered the spirit of worldliness, self-righteousness, and carnal security, which had possession at least of the popular mind, if not of the church itself. This whole region owes his memory a debt of gratitude which it can never repay. His labors were the means of introducing early into the churches here, a tone
!
30
MEMORIAL SERMONS.
of piety, and a form of religious sentiment, which has been a blessing to them ever since. Their spirituality and peace are the fruits of it; and we are yet enjoying the benefit of his labors in many ways.
In order to understand the effect of his ministry, we must remember that the doctrine of the necessity of a new heart had almost entirely been lost sight of, and that formalism and self-righteousness almost universally prevailed. Christians were not ashamed to ridicule Christian experience, and many had become very resolute in opposing it. "The common names," says Blair, in reference to Pennsylvania, "for soul- coneern were melancholy, trouble of mind, or despair. The necessity of first being in Christ, and in a justified state, before our religious services can be well-pleasing and accepta- ble to God, was very little understood or thought of; but the common notion seemed to be, that if people were aiming to be in the way of duty as well as they could, as they imagined. there was no reason to be much afraid." Upon this mass of corruption and worldliness the pastor's dennnciations of the wrath of God were unceasingly poured out, warning, exhort- ing, and entreating all men, with all long-suffering and gen- tleness. In his public discourses lie laid open the depravity and selfishness of the human heart, showed its entire aliena- tion from God, and insisted upon the absolute necessity that it should be regenerated. Ilis doctrine had no sympathy with that heartless Arminianism which teaches the availa- bility of sincere but imperfect obedience; but plainly ineul- eated the great truth, that " the law is spiritual," and we are "carnal, sold under sin," and therefore must be made new creatures in Christ Jesus; and that we are justified freely through his grace, by the redemption of the Mediator. No wonder that the slumbering lion was aroused, and shook his miane in menace, when his den was thus invaded ; nor, on the other hand, that God owned his truth, and attested it by the quiekening operations of his Spirit. It is only what he has promised always to do.
We have spoken of "helpers" who were appointed in the different congregations. Those for Raritan were Hendrick Fisher and Andrias Ver Meulen; for Six-Mile Run, Ruluf
31
MEMORIAL SERMONS.
Nevius and Elbert Stothoff; and for North Branch, Peter Van Arsdalen and John Wyckoff.
The years 1750 and 1751 are marked on the records of the church as having witnessed more than an ordinary blessing upon the ministrations of the second pastor of this church- the Rev. John Frelinghuysen. Twenty-seven were added to the communion of the church on confession of faith. This we record as the Second Revival at Raritan ; and it must have had the effect of again strengthening and encouraging the hopes of the pious. To understand its influence we must recollect that now the whole church was rent to atoms. Party spirit prevailed to an alarming extent, and embittered the common intercourse of life. In some places even personal violence was done at the very doors of the churches on the Sabbatlı . morning ; and Raritan was one of the centres from which this influence emanated, and where some of its bitterest spirit had been exhibited. The church had divided, and, however wrongfully, at least a respectable minority protested against the course of the pastor and consistory. That in such a state of things godliness should have triumphed, and brought so many to confess a meek and lowly Saviour, can be accounted for only by the presence of the " Spirit of peace."
The ministry of Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh, who succeeded John Frelinghuysen about 1763, and continued to serve this church nntil 1781-a period of. eighteen years-was not marked by any special revival of religion. There are, how- ever, abundant evidences of his zeal and faithfulness in his Master's work, his earnest efforts to build up the church, and his ability as a clear, sound, and practical preacher, to attest his character. In fact, if we remember that his ministry em- braced the period of the Revolution, when all minds must have been so entirely absorbed in civil affairs; that the army of Washington was encamped, for a time, within the bounds of his congregation, and he himself was obliged to desert his own house to secure his personal safety ; that there must have been a flood of iniquity spreading itself through the whole community as the effect of this state of things, no surprise can be experienced that it should be so : a revival could not be expected. And besides all this, the church edifice was
32
MEMORIAL SERMONS.
burnt to the ground, and never restored until after he had re- signed his charge ; so that the people were without a house of worship. In such a time of trial, to save the " foundations of truth and godliness from being removed" was honor enough ; and this is the praise which his exertions and faithfulness de- mand from us. He was a great and a good man. His influ- enee was second to no minister of his time; and the church manifested her estimate of his excellence by appointing him, soon after his removal from Raritan, to the presidency of Queen's College, in New-Brunswick, where he ended his days and was gathered to his fathers. He was a student of John Frelinghuysen, and subsequently married his widow, a woman whose piety has left a sweet savor in the midst of us. Juf- vrow Hardenbergh, among the aged, was a pattern of all that was good and gentle and sanctified; and they have tanght even the youth to reverence hier.
.
The period embraced between the years 1785 and 1789, im- mediately after the death of the Rev. Theodorus Frelinghny- sen Romeyn, and the settlement of the Rev. John Duryea, ap- pears to have been characterized by another outponring of the Spirit upon the word and ordinances. Eighty-two were added to the church on confession of faith during this time-and we record this as the Third Revival in the Church of Raritan. It extended through the first five years of Mr. Duryea's ministry, and materially increased the amount of vital godliness in the church. Many circumstances seem to have conspired to pro- duee a favorable influence just then. The war of the Revolu- tion lad elosed, bringing peace and independence to these Uni- ted States ; and many had seen and acknowledged God's hand in the result. The church now enjoyed almost the whole ser- vice of her pastor, for Mr. Duryea only preached at Bedmin- ster once in three weeks. The ministry of Romeyn had been unusually spiritual and fervent, and had closed most impres- sively in his sudden and early death. He was a gifted and ex- traordinary young man, and his brief career left a deep im- pression upon the hearts of many ; and God made his successor, who was far inferior to him in pulpit talent, the instrument of gathering the harvest which he had sown.
Again in 1802-3 and 4, there was a visible outponring of the
>
33
MEMORIAL SERMONS.
Holy Spirit upon the labors of the Rev. John S. Vredenburgh, who had assumed the pastoral charge of the congregation in 1800-seventy-seven individuals were received on confession of their faith. This we record as the Fourth Revival of Religion which God in his mercy has granted to this church to edify and build her up. And again in 1812-13 and 14 there were added forty-six members to the communion, on confession of faith, in the space of three years. We shall not enumerate this as a distinct revival, but only refer to it as we pass on.
In 1821, Mr. Vredenburgh died suddenly after having con- tinned to exercise the pastoral office for nearly twenty-one years ; and as he descended to his rest, the Spirit came down to bless his labors and raise up the seed which he had sown with so much patience and prayer. This was a mighty shaking in the valley of dry bones. In a year and a half, three hundred and sixty-eight were added to. the communion of the church. This Fifth Revival of Religion will long remain as one of the most remarkable eras in our history as a church. It was indeed a Pentecostal season. The influence pervaded all ranks, embodied all conditions in life, moulding and blend- ing them into one mass, upon which the fear and love of God was indelibly impressed. For months, religion seemed to oc- cupy completely and almost exclusively the , attention of the whole community, and neither business nor pleasure was suffer- ed to interrupt its services. But to record all the interesting incidents connected with it would require a volume to be writ- ten. Its great distinction from many which have been more londly proclaimed, was its noiseless progress, its power and pu- rity. It was a work remarkably solemn, deep, powerful, spi- ritual ; and its results were such as are anticipated from such traits-permanent and abiding. Only two or three cases of discipline have become necessary, in the whole multitude which came thronging to the table of the Lord. This is the more worthy of note because it is so rare, and so distinctly indicates the gracious nature of the whole work, and how much of the Spirit of God was in it. The effect I need not deseribe, since there are here so many who witnessed it, and to whom its recollee- tion is almost as sacred as that of Pentecost was to the early Christians. The cloven tongues of fire were not visible to the
34
MEMORIAL SERMONS.
eye of sense, but they burned in every heart ; and what the eye could not see the soul felt and enjoyed.
During the whole time that this work of grace was in pro- gress the congregation was destitute of a pastor, and continued so until the settlement of the Rev. R. D. Van Kleek in 1824. The public services were maintained by the generous assistance of the neighboring ministry ; and a sermon of the Rev. Dr. Livingston on the Sabbath succeeding the death and burial of Mr. Vredenburgh was referred to by many of the converts as a time when their first convictions were felt. The Consistory also engaged for six months the services of the Rev. Truman Osborn, whose visits from house to house and various labors and exhortations had a most happy effect in carrying out and assisting the work. He seems to have been a man formed for exactly such a scene, and in the kind providence of God was sent to Raritan very opportunely for the accomplishment of the Lord's work. He is yet affectionately remembered by many of the converts of that Revival; and his very dust will be sacred in their eyes. He has entered into his rest, and his works will follow him.
You must now allow me to speak of things still more recent, and' pardon the necessary personality. They belong to a complete view of the subject, and can not be omitted with pro- priety. We have yet to record another which we shall denom- inate the Sixth Revival of Religion enjoyed by the church of Raritan. In the years 1837 and 1838 there is recorded an addition of eighty members to the communion of the church ; the larger portion were received on two occasions, and were the result of a very manifest blessing upon the word and ordi- lances. They compose at the present time, to some extent, the efficiency of the church ; and we should be ungrateful if we did not record the mercy of our God, and speak forth our gratitude by building up an Ebenezer of praise for the ful- fillment of his promise to own and bless his truth.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.