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 4
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The whole number of communicants whose names are re- gistered on the books of the church is one thousand and sev- enty-nine. Of them how large a portion are numbered with the dead, having been called to the service of the sanctuary on high! Of this number three hundred and thirty-seven are
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at present in actual communion, traveling to the same inheri- tance of immortal blessedness and joy.
The past ten years have been most eventful years. That little flock whose journey through the wilderness we have traced in the preceding memorials, and which we have seen in- creasing in number under the care and labor of faithful pastors employed to edify it, and the dews of divine influence sent from heaven upon it-has during these years been divided into two bands. When this event occurred it produced necessarily a disruption of many tender ties and hallowed associations- and was not effected without many tears. This was to be expected ; but now we are prepared to acquiesce in it, and concede that it was right. The number in our communion has already been so inercased, by the blessing of God, as to exceed what it was previous to the division ; and the accession in families is nearly equal to the loss : so that the actual strentgh of the church is not materially impaired by what has occurred.
The edifice in which our fathers so long worshiped has also been replaced by one more commodious and better adapted to the wants of the congregation ; and thus all those vered questions, which arose out of the necessity of enlargement or reconstruction, and operated to the injury of our peace, are put at rest for a long time. Unanimity exists to as great an extent among all the members of the church, as it ever did at any pre- ceding period. If we could only witness a deeper spirit of de- votion in the house of God on the Sabbath day, and an enlarged measure of prayer animating the Christian bosom, we should be encouraged to hope for much. As it is, there seems to be danger of a Laodicean temper springing up among us, saying, " We are rich and increased with goods, and have need of noth- ing ;" while in spirituals we may become actually " poor, and miserable, and blind, and naked."
The oldest living member in the communion of this church has now been connected with it fifty-five years. This indivi- dual sat with us at the table of the Lord on the last commu- nion season. All those who were here when he united himself with the people of God have gone to rest ; he alone remains, to link the past with the present-the only remnant of a for- mer half-century. During this long period, he has worshiped
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almost every Sabbath-day around the same altar. He has welcomed with joy all those who came to confess Christ, and mourned at the graves of all the departed. Few in this chang- ing world have been permitted to serve God so long in one place-very few to spend so many Sabbathis and communion seasons in one honse of worship-and fewer still have had the privilege to welcome eight hundred and forty-four to the fel- lowship of the church. Honored servant, may his end be peace !
During the period we are commemorating there have been numerons changes in this community. Many, called in provi- dence to other places, have been cheerfully and honorably dis- missed, and some have gone to form for themselves another place of worship and other associations. But this is not all ; the de- stroyer has also been at work. The leaders of the host have fallen in great numbers and with frightful rapidity. Among those who welcomed me here and gave me their confidence, when with fear and trembling I consented to assume the pas- toral charge of this numerous people, but who are not here to- day and will not be here again, are Howell, Talmage, Veghte, Frelinghuysen, Van Doren, Vroom, Van Arsdalen, Van Dyke, Van Arsdalen ; besides all the mothiers in Israel, whose ardent prayers were accustomed to rise like morning incense to hea- ven and bring down showers of blessings upon this heritage of the Lord. So busy has the destroyer been among the strong men and the aged, that now, when we look around, there are only a few venerable heads remaining to counsel and encou- rage. The pillars of the sanctuary are falling around us-the men who bore the ark disappearing-and as they fall, we feel in each stroke as if we had one friend less.
Death ! great proprietor of all ! tis thine To tread out empire and to quench the stars ; The sun himself by thy permission shines, And one day thou shalt pluck him from his sphere !
The complete number of deaths in our communion I have not the means of ascertaining, but it has been large. The number added on confession during ten years is two hundred and thirty-two; the number of infants baptized two hundred and forty-five. Thus "one generation passeth away and an-
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other cometh"-the living are taking the places of the dead, and treading upon their steps. From the cradle to the tomb is only a span, but it is all we have to prepare for that vast eternity which ensnes. It is like the vestibule to some mag- nifieent temple, the glory of which swallows up all our impres- sions of what went before, and proves those only to be wise who so live as to seenre an everlasting rest in heaven.
Application .- The practical lessons which we are taught from this view of the past seem evidently to be, that God has recorded his name here, and in that record left the promise, sure to be fulfilled, " I will come and bless." It would seem to be sinful to doubt this, after what he has done ; and to forni any other expectation than that which embraees the fulfillment of this promise would be culpable umbelief. There will be seasons of dearth, and cold and chilling winters-the church must pass through these; but there will also come showers from heaven, and the spring-tide will appear, with its profu- sion of springing blades and opening flowers, giving presage of the fertility of the summer, and the fruits of autumn, to re- ward the faith and the toil of those who seek the good of Zion. Glorious things are spoken of thee, Zion, city of our God !
The effect of all the past is encouragement. If we abound in the work of the Lord, he will cause that our labors shall not be in vain in the Lord. When we wait upon him, he hears, and answers, and sends his Spirit down. But if we turn from him, he will hide his face from ns, send his judgments to affliet us, and bring all our designs to naught. Should not a people, therefore, seek unto the Lord their God? Seek him with all your heart, and he will be found.
It would not be just if we did not also notice here the faet that in the relation of pastor and people we have enjoyed ten years of uninterrupted peace. I acknowledge the kindness with whiel: I have been uniformly treated, the favor with which all my public services have been received, and the promptness with which every failure (and I am conscious of more than you seem to have noticed) has been passed over. I have been with yon in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling; but what I have attempted has been sincere and with a good conscience. I have labored for your profit, and
3
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.
never furnished any but beaten oil for the light of the sanetua- ry. This has not been always regarded in the right point of view. There are some who would rather have a social visit from their pastor than a good sermon, and there are some, too, so unreasonable as to expect both ; but I can not consider them wise or just. There may be others who think that it costs noth- ing to preach well, but they know nothing. There are ministers who shake their sermons ont of their sleeves ; but are they worth "the shaking" after they are ont ? The flock soon shows the kind of pasture upon which it has been subsisted. For myself I do not know a more heartless thing, or one more wicked, than for a minister to ascend the pulpit on the Sab- bath, and, when souls are hungry for the bread of life, talk nonsense in the name of the Lord ! If I have never done it, it has not been for the want of temptation, nor from a disinelina- tion to social intercourse ; but because I have been afraid. I could not so trifle with your sonls and my own responsibilities. It is much easier, and much more agreeable likewise, to spend an afternoon in a social circle, than in close and laborious think- ing in a silent chamber. It has not been for want of inclina- tion that I have never been a great visitor, but because my conception of what a faithful pastor ought to be embraced higher traits of character than those which are gratified with admiration in a lady's parlor; and if you are wise, and seek the good of the church, you will allow me unmolested to pur- sue this course : so far it has been well.
One generation passeth away and another cometh ! We are now the living ; our children will be in a few years what we are to-day ! We are passing away ; and they will take onr places. This solemn thought intrudes itself, like those effigies of the dead with which the Egyptians adorned their feasts, into our most sacred, as it does also into our most joyful, assemblies and associations. The hand of the destroyer is upon us all, and the gaping tomb waits to receive ns. Oh ! if we could see to- day what ravages another ten years will make, how deeply would we be affected. Who is to die? The pastor? Which of the flock ? If we are wise, we shall so live as to make our calling snre ; and if we can conceive adequately of our responsi-
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bilities to the church, the world, our own souls, work while the day lasts !
To the youth, the return of this anniversary Sabbath makes a special appeal. You have seen how the blessing of God has attended his word and ordinances, converting souls to God ; how the ark has been sustained and carried forward; how the Lord has been with his church here, blessing her and making her a blessing. The responsibilities which your fathers have so nobly borne in past years, are now coming upon you. Prove yourselves worthy of the trust reposed in yon. These walls Innst be dear to you by many hallowed associations. They are not only consecrated to holy things, but baptized by the Holy Ghost and by prayer. Within this saered inelosure the Spirit has sealed your parents as the sons of God. If you desert them, or ever suffer them to remain desolate, you will be as guilty as though you had suffered the sepulehres of your fathers to be profaned.
It has likewise another voice by which it speaks. You have enjoyed ten years of earnest appeal from the word and ordi- nanees of God. Why has it not resulted in your salvation ? Can you give any good account why you are yet in your sins ? Oh ! be persuaded to turn to God and live. Religion is design- ed for man. It is necessary to his happiness. He is never what he ought to be, nor does he ever enjoy what he is capable of enjoying, without it. It sweetens every joy, destroys the edge of grief, and helps to bear the cross. It is the cordial of life-a sun to gild our path through the world, to light onr. steps when they are verging toward the dark valley, and to. shine upon ns in noonday effulgenee in heaven. Make it vonrs. Where so much prayer has been answered, come and consecrate yourselves to the service of the covenant-keeping- God of your fathers, and make him your God and portion. To-day is the accepted time-now is the day of salvation ... May God bless his truth ! Amen.
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THE THIRD MEMORIAL SERMON. PREACHED OCT. 31ST, 1847.
EXPERIENCE AND DEATH INSTRUCTING MEN.
" Inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers : shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart ?"-JOB 8 : 8-10.
HISTORY, it has been said, is "philosophy teaching by exam- ple." "God," says D'Aubigne, "is in history." If this strik- ing sentiment is true, then it must be important for us to be acquainted with the records of the past, because we shall be able to draw from them many practical lessons, enabling us not only to live more wisely in the present, but to secure every advantage from the future.
A poet has said of experience as it is taught us in history-
"'Tis very pregnant ; The jewel that we find, we stop and take it, Because we see it : but what we do not see, We tread upou and never think of it ; Therefore be in eye of every exercise !"
Want of reflection, which is in fact inattention to the instruc- tion of the past and a neglect of the lessons which it teaches, is one of the most indubitable marks of a frivolous mind-a mind that will not become wise, however great its advantages or its acquaintance with life. In Scripture such neglect is characterized as a sin, and is charged as one of the occasions of the punishment of the Jews. "Israel doth not know ; my peo- ple do not consider." " If thou hadst known, even thon, in this thy day, the things which belong to thy peace; but now they are hid from thine eyes." Inconsideration then constitutes the very centre and heart of that affectionate lamentation which our Saviour poured upon Jerusalem, as he looked upon it from the Mount of Olives, and foresaw how by rejecting and crucifying the Savionr, sent to redeem it from ruin, vengeance would be armed against its guilty people and fall upon them
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in utter desolation. Inconsiderateness was in the case of that doomed city the occasion of her destruction.
There is, therefore, not only an intrinsie but also a personal interest in the records of the past. It has those lessons to teach us, which we can not well be wise and neglect ; those instruc- tions to give, which, if we refuse, we shall be almost certain to regret. If God is in history, it must be important for all God's creatures, if they would understand the order of his provi- dence, to acquaint themselves with it; for there they may ob- serve the ways of God-how he blesses those that seek him, and destroys transgressors out of his sight ; proving in his works what he has declared in his word, that " the willing and the obedient eat the fruit of the land, but those that refuse and rebel perish without remedy."
Barrow has expressed himself so justly and appropriately in- regard to the use of history, that we adduce his language : " The perusal of history, how pleasant illumination of the mind, how useful direction of life, how sprightly incentives to virtue doth it afford ! How doth it supply the room of experience. and furnish us with prudence at the expense of others, inform- ing us about the ways of action and the consequences thereof by examples, without our own danger or trouble ! How may it instruet and encourage us in piety, while therein we trace the paths of God in men, or observe the methods of divine providence, how the Lord and Judge of the world in due sea- son protecteth, prospereth, blesseth, rewardeth innocence and integrity ; how he crosseth, defeateth, blasteth, curseth, pun- isheth iniquity and outrage; managing things with admirable temper of wisdom, to the good of mankind, and the advance- ment of his own glory." If there are such lessons to be taught us in history, and such benefits to be derived from it, we can not well be wise, guide ourselves properly, or secure all the ad- vantages of our position without making the study of it a part of the serious business of our life.
And what is history but an aggregation of individual life and experience -- a record of that special care which is extend- ed by our Heavenly Father to each of his little ones? It is; in fact, individuality in its social combinations. The men of a nation, each one gazing upon his own portrait, in the picture
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which it presents to view-the good and evil of each separate life seen in the common record of the whole. It is a summing up of innumerable items, to enable us to conceive more impres- sively the gross amount. And as God is the same yesterday. to-day, and forever, there must be a certain degree of uniformi- ty in his providence and ways. What "has been is that which shall be, and there is no new thing under the sun." The future is foreshadowed in the past. If we are anxious to know what will be, we may read the record written in broad characters upon the seroll of time. Hence there is an important indivi- dual applicability in the recommendation of Bildad, the friend of Job, as it stands in our text-" Inquire I pray thee of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers : shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and ntter words out of their heart ?"
We intend on the present occasion to make a special, and to some extent a personal, application of these words, and shall not therefore spend any more time in illustrating their general import or in enforcing their importance. This is a Sabbath of peenliar interest-to me not only, but to yon. It ought to have a voice and a power by which to speak to our hearts, so that they shall not need to be spoken to again. The thoughts of the past which it recalls and the emotions of the past which it prompts are almost overwhelming. It completes fifteen years of labor and care as the pastor of this elmreh ; and when I think of it-all the weight of responsibility involved in all those years -the idea so burdens my spirit that I exclaim, " Who is suffi- cient for these things ?" and tremble to realize that it must all be brought into account at the judgment. May God be merci- ful to us for the sake of Jesus Christ ! I can see no other hope, and have confidence in no other name. Grace affords the only possible refuge.
When Joshua had brought the tribes over Jordan and they actually stood within the preeincts of their land of rest, lie took twelve stones out the river, and pitched them in Gilgal, the place where the tribes first rested, as a pillar of memorial-" & heap of witnesses"-and spake unto the children of Israel, say- ing, " When your children shall ask, saying, what mean these stones ? then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel
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came over this Jordan on dry land ; for the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, that all the people might know the hand of the Lord, that he is mighty, that ye might fear the Lord your God forever."
Such a memorial of the past we mean to erect this morning ; not in a pillar of stones-" a heap of witnesses"-but by recall- ing names and awaking memories once fresh in your minds, and thus marking upon the tablets of your hearts, as deeply as affection and sentiment will enable us to do, the track of years. They have been more or less eventful to every one of us, and their passage has left traces upon our feelings, which all the friction of the future, however wearing it may be, will not obliterate. They have brought to ns many lessons which are destined to be- come "fixed things" in eternity, constituting the matter of our joy and sorrow, our weal and woe, throughout the intermi- nable revolution of all its ages. Fifteen years, according to political economists, is half a generation ; and we may there- fore consider ourselves to-day as standing amid the graves of half of those who commeneed this period of time with us, and whom we have seen passing away under our own eyes. IFere is indeed a great " heap of witnesses" of what the Lord has been doing by the instrumentality of " the king of terrors." In our cemetery there are more than " twelve stones," the witness- es of " death's doings," the frail memorials of crushed hearts -efforts made by affection to make the dead live in the mem- ories of the living. We must speak of some of them, and re- call their image to your thoughts. Their names have indeed (some of them at least) long since ceased to be heard in our streets ; but we may repeat. them in this sanctuary, and we shall do it, but not without reverence. Many of them were "Fathers and Mothers in Israel," and the memory of their holy life and the testimony of their faith belongs to the church for her encouragement and edification. They were " pillars in the house of God; " let piety and affection crown them with flowers and perfume them with incense, an offering of grati- tude appropriated to them where they stood, and where they still stand, " distinct in memory's eye," as prominent helpers and benefactors of the church .: The first Sabbath of these fif-
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teen years is renewed to-day to my consciousness; and I see it all, almost as distinctly as I saw it then. Two days before, I had stood beside my mother's open grave, and saw it shrond her venerated form forever from mortal eyes ; and when its morning dawned, instead of the cheerful vibration of the church- going bell, there was a sound of death. We met for the first time, not in the courts of Zion, but in a house of mourning ; and my first exhortation to you was, " Prepare to meet your God." Death had thus met me on the threshold with his sable pall, and he strode on before me like a giant, dealing his fatal blows in rapid succession, until Veghte, Frelinghuysen, Van Doren, Talmage, and Howell-all men of consecrated hearts, eminent for piety and influence, were no more-all gone before two years had elapsed. I stood appalled amid their graves, and anxiously inquired, " What hath not the Lord done?" Hath he indeed forgotten to be gracious ? Will he draw ont his anger to all generations ? I remember that it has been said, that just before the Babylonish captivity the pions and es- pecially the aged in Israel died in rapid succession. It is men- tioned as a well-known historical fact, in illustration of the lan- gnage of Isaiah, " the righteous perisheth and no man layetli it to heart ; and merciful men are taken away ; none consider- ing that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come." To the mind of the prophet the circumstance seemed so noto- rions, and the effect of the loss of their example and influence so disastrous to religion, that he says, " Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that exeenteth judgment, that seeketh the truth." It seemed as if the godly had all ceased, as if all the merciful men were taken away, and that the nation was ready for the excention of delaying vengeance. " Go ye'up and down her walls and destroy ; take away her battlements, for they are the Lord's," was the commission to the avengers, and the effect of it which followed-" abroad the sword devoureth ; at home there is death."
So, in our circumstances, such a succession of bereavements exeited many fears that heaven had in store for ns some approaching judgment. There was more than one mind sym-
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pathizing with their feelings, and waiting with anxious solici- tude for the leadings of Providence. It seemed indeed as if some sore calamity was certainly impending over ns. But in the result all our fears were disappointed ; the clouds in dne time passed away, and mercy was revealed instead of judg- ment.
When I recall that first Sabbath, and look around me for those who sat here in the house of God, I am reminded of the absence of many besides those already named. Vroom and Davis and Tunison ; Van Arsdalen, the Bryants, Van Arsdalen : Taylor, Dumont, Hardcastle, Van Neste, Quick, Black, and Herriot are all gone ; they have ceased from their labors, and been promoted from a seat in these courts below, to a place among the company of the redeemed who serve God in their white robes in the temple of glory. So faith judges, so liope whispers, and so imagination paints them to our view ; while affection stands weeping beside their graves, and rears up her frail monuments, inscribing upon them, " These all died in faith." How privileged ! how honored in their resting- place, reposing as they all do on that magnificent couch-
" With patriarchs of the ancient world, with kings, The powerful of the earth-the wise, the good, Fair forms and hoary seers of ages past, All in one mighty sepulchre ! The hills Rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun ; the vales, Stretching in pensive quietness between ; The venerable woods ; rivers that move In majesty ; and complaining brooks, That make the meadows green : Old ocean's gray and melancholy waste, Are but the solemn decorations all Of the great tomb of man ! The golden sun, The planets, all the infinite host of heaven, Are shining on the sad abodes of death Through the still lapse of ages! All that tread The globe are but a handful to the tribes That slumber in its bosom !"
And, what is more comforting for us to know, for it may teach us how to die like them, they all " had hope in their death !" They passed through " the swellings of Jordan"
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" Sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust ! They neared the grave
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams."
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