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 7
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of its days come on. We have lived in harmony so long, that I cherish no apprehensions but that we shall be able to con- tinue it to the end. Where I have buried my dead it may be that my ashes will also rest ; and when my work is done, that I shall leave only the memorial of a grave by which to hold a place in the thoughts of the living. If it should be so, may I meet you all in heaven to spend a happy eternity in the enjoy- ment of the rest of God. What blessedness to have all my friends with me in glory !
When I look back to-day over the past years, many pleasing memories likewise rise up to view. I have to acknowledge almost universal kindness, respect, and attention, on the part of all the members of this congregation. When I look over the face of this whole audience I see a friend in every one. In many of you such firm, fast, tried, lasting friends, as few minis- ters, even in our happy connection, have been permitted to claim. There are even some of the Fathers here who selected me as their pastor and sent for me; to doubt them would be to doubt mankind, and disavow all faith in truth and honor. Here, too, are others who have east in their lot with us, and already proved that they are not a whit behind the foremost and the best, in devotion to the church and willingness to main- tain her interests; and a noble band of youth, strong in their love of the truth, earnest in their piety, and ardent in their de- sire not to prove themselves unworthy of the just expectations formed of their character as men and as Christians ; besides many godly women whose hearts have always been warm, and whose hands have ever been ready, where any affection was to be shown and any work to be done-they are all here and will be here, until God has need of them in his higher work, and translates them to his own house in heaven !
There is, however, one thought which comes in like a dark eloud, to obsenre the sunshine which illumines this happy day- It is the knowledge that there are some here in the same condition in which they were here twenty years ago. They were strangers to renewing grace then, and they are strangers to renewing grace now. They have been warned of their danger, reasoned withi, expostulated with, and entreated, but all in vain. Twenty years of Sabbaths and gospel privileges 5
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is no small item in the account of eternity. How will they meet it ? What can I do for them ? I know of no argu- ments to prevail with them which have not been employed, no depths in the love of Christ which have not been displayed, no heights in his merey which have not been shown, no at- tractions in his eross which have not been unfolded, no joys flowing from communion with God which have not been paint- ed, no power in heavenly things which has not been urged again and again ! I can not preach stronger, elearer, more earnestly, or more affectionately than I have preached. I can not tell you any more of Jesus than I have told you ; nor ean I paint the value of your souls in stronger colors than I have painted it. What, then, can be done for you ? Must I leave you ! Leave-you ! where ? In sin-enemies to God and his govern- ment-unregenerated and nnmatured for heaven ! To leave you where you are, is to leave you to perish, with all your sins upon your souls. I ean not leave you thus. You must hear me to-day, if you have never been willing to hear me before. You must not leave me to witness against you at the bar of God, when I come to give an account of my stewardship as your pastor ! You must come to Christ ! Above all others you are bound to repent and believe on the Saviour. So mueli grace lias been expended upou you, so much long suffering has waited on yon, so much compassion has entreated you, that you must not throw it all away, and like a mariner perishing in sight of land, die on the borders of heaven. There is an obligation upon you which rests not upon others. You have had your cup of mereies running over. You are Chorazin and Bethsaida in the days of Christ, "exalted to heaven," and if - you are reereant to all at last, you will like them be thrust down to,hell -- the lowest, darkest, most despairing portion in the " horrible pit." Oh ! how much the misery of the lost will be increased by their mercies and Sabbaths on earth. What sorrowful reflections will be inspired by these solemn assemblies where God comes to woo and to win us to himself ! My dear friends, you must not leave your Saviour. You must not let the world ensnare you and cheat you ont of your souls. They are too valuable to be trifled with. The estimation of then in the sight of God is too high, for you to barter them
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for a promise which will prove to be but an empty shadow. Hear us then, when we plead with you to-day, though you may have refused to hear for twenty years ; aud as you hear turn to God and live.
Nor would we forget another and an opposite class of our hearers to-day-the rising youth. To them my heart turns with infinite yearnings. Many of them I have consecrated to God by sprinkling upon them the water of baptism ; and all their life long, I have prayed that God would add his bless- ing, and sprinkle upon them clean water, that they may be clean-communicating the regenerating influenees of the Holy Spirit to make them new creatures, the children of God. Many of them I have instructed carefully in the excellent formulas of our faith, and made them acquainted with the way of life. Should I not rejoice to see them entering upon it ? My young friends, when I think how soon you are to be in the place of your fathers and mothers, the responsibilities of the church and the world resting upon you, I feel the deepest solicitude that you should prove yourselves worthy of your privileges, your instruction, and your opportunities. More is anticipated from you than from them, because you have grown up under a bet- ter train of influences, and have enjoyed what was denied to them. Yon must be better Christians than they have ever been. Your benevolence must be larger, your zeal warmer, your piety more active. This age of the church calls you to inany duties from which, in providence, they were exempt. There are things for you to do, which they had not the privi- lege of doing. All our missionary operations and our Sabbath- schools are lights of this generation ; and they open to you wider departments of labor, and furnish pleasing opportunities of displaying a Christianity of a purer type, than that which performed the duties and met the responsibilities of the past generation. Let the examples of the Scriptures encourage yon. Samuel, the chief among the prophets under the Old Testament, ministered to God in his childhood-his mother "lent him to the Lord," and he grew up, as it were, in the very temple of God. Josiah, one of the very best of the kings, had a heart that was tender toward God in his tender years. When Christ was on earth, and the priests and the Sanhe-
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drim rejected and insulted him, the children went out to meet him in the way, and sang joyful Hosannas in his praise. Timothy, one of the most interesting characters in the New Testament, and one of the most sneeessful among the early mis- sionaries of Christ's Gospel, was from a child acquainted with the Seriptures, " which are able to make us wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus Christ." Nay, there is a point of higher interest still to be remarked in the piety of this young apostle. He was a child of the covenant-"the faith that was in him had dwelt first in his grandmother Lois, and in his mother Eunice." Like some of you he was born of prayers and baptized early with the dews of divine influences. The house in which he grew up had been a Bethel, where God was present often, even when unknown. Oh ! if Timothy, the son of such parents and privileges, had proved recreant to his holy obligations, what a wretch he must have been ! And yet there are such in this world of sin-sons who renounce their bap- tism, shame the piety of their parents, and deliberately turn away, even from that heaven where those parents are living and waiting to receive them, for the sake of the baubles and the lies of this deceitful world. My young friends, let me warn you against this-let me entreat you to avoid so un- natural a sin. Devote your early years to wisdom, and give your young affections to Christ and heaven. God claimed in ancient times the " first-fruits" for himself. Carry your " green ears" to the sanctuary, and lay them upon the altar as an offering and an emblem of the consecration of your- self, soul and body, to be the Lord's. Give the pleasures of sin to those who know of no better portion. They are at best but vain delights. Their honeycomb has always a sting in it : and it is like the little book of John, sweet in your month, but wormwood and gall when you have eaten it. Religion offers you in their place "spiritual delights, sweet and pleasant to the soul." It will bring you to a banquet- ing house," and spread over you such a banner of love," that you will be made to rejoice with "joy unspeakable and full of glory."
In regard to the future-I neither have any new plans of usefulness to announce, nor any methods or measures of doing
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good to recommend, with which you are not already acquainted. I have not in fact even any new promises to make. I do not expect to labor more than I have done, to preach in a different way, or indeed to try any experiments whatever : but as long as I remain the pastor of this church, I shall preach what I think to be the truth-truth as I learn it in the Bible ; and I shall not preach it any the less because it is unwelcome to some, but the more ; because in the unwelcomeness I shall find both the need of it and the motive to enforce it. I shall ex- peet the cooperation, sympathy, support, countenance, and prayers of all the pious among my people. I must have them. The claim is not put forth as a favor, it is demanded as a right-and if you withhold these things from me you will do yourselves more harm than you will do me. I may in such an issue seek another place, and secure from others what you deny, but you can not avoid the consequences of delinqueney in a duty so important. I shall expect that these prayers will be something more than a form; for the form and the words are nothing without the heart, without faith. "Right believ- ing," says one, " is powerful praying." The knees, eyes, and tongue bear the least share in prayer. The whole of the work lies upon the soul, and particularly upon faith in the soul. which is the life and power of prayer. Faith can pray with- ont words, but the most eloquent words, even the "tongnes of angels," are not worthy to be called prayer without faith. This is not only a solemn truth, but an important reality.
And now, in conclusion, let me remind you that one volume of our mutual accountability, as pastor and people, is closed ; and another commences to-day. In the past, alas, there is too much written against us! Records of neglect and an imper- fect spirit testify to the want of zeal and love in the service of our God-records which we shall not be able to meet at the judgment seat of Christ, unless the pardoning blood of the Saviour shall be imputed to us to wash their guilt away. Let us first seek for grace, to enable us to secure to ourselves the efficacious virtue of that blood, and then let us arm our souls with faith, and so warm them with love-love to God as the effect of communion with him around the mercy seat-that in all the future we shall be enabled to abound so much in works
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of righteousness, as to "prove onr title elear to mansions in the skies." We are standing, many of us, on the borders of Immanuel's land. We ean almost look across the dark vale, and see the shining hills on the immortal shores; we ean almost hear the music that is swelling there, as they sing and are joyful in God. Let the thought of this home cheer our spirits amid the toils of the way, and strengthen us to run patiently the race set before us, looking unto Jesus, the anthor and finisher of our faith. Oh! it will be sweet indeed for the weary to come and rest "on Canaan's calm and peaceful shore ;" and before another twenty years have run their course, many who are here now, will be there. Oh! that we might all be sure of coming there at last. Let us all strive so to live as to consummate this highest good.
And now may the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant make you perfect in every good word and work, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ ; to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
THE FIFTH MEMORIAL SERMON.
PREACHED OCT. 1ST, 1857.
A PROPER AND PROFITABLE REMEMBRANCE.
" Call to remembrance the former days."-HEB. 10 : 32.
IN our text, this reminiscence of the past is referred to for the purpose of increasing the confidence of the Hebrew Christians in the favor and protection of God, while suffering the obloquy and persceution of their enemies. It is not, there- fore, with the same design that we propose to " call to remem- brance former days," for we have had no such obloquy to meet, and no such afflictions to endure. Our reminiscenees of the past reveal mercy and not judgment ; and we have more of the kindness of our God to record than any visitation of his anger against our sins to acknowledge or to deplore. We ean truly say, "Loving-kindness and tender mercies have fol- lowed us all the days of our life," and by the help of God we continne until the present time the witnesses of his long-suf- fering favor.
This is the twenty-fitth anniversary of our settlement in the pastoral charge of this congregation, and we propose to im- prove it by a special recognition. We have been accustomed to notice this event at intervals of five years, and this is the fifth anniversary. For a quarter of a century, we have stood in this place, preaching the Gospel of the grace of God to this congregation. It is a long time to minister to one people ; and the fact of the pastoral relation having continued for o many years, must bring up to view many things worthy to be recollected and recorded. It is by no means commnon, in this
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age of fickleness, excitement, and perpetually recurring novel- ties, for a minister and his people to continue so long united. It mnst certainly be owing as much to your steadfastness, as it can be to my faithfulness and earnestness in the perform- anee of my duties. Many a pastor, more faithful than I have been, has been rudely discarded and dismissed ; while not a few have allowed themselves to be attracted by more inviting fields, or the prospect of less onerous service, and have left their people to mourn ! I feel, therefore, and you ought also to feel, that we have mutually reason to thank God, not only that these ties have not been sundered, but that they are, apparently, more lasting and tender to-day than at any for- mer period of our connection. It is not in a spirit of boasting that I call you to witness publicly that "I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God," and that I have kept back nothing of all that I have been taught, either of doctrine or of practice, as essential to life and godliness ; and it is certainly no slight commendation of your Christian character and your love of the truth, that you have been willing to hear it all. That I have always been wise in the mode and time .of utterance is more than I feel at liberty to elaim, but whatever failure there may have been in the ex- hibition of truth, or the improvement of providential dispensa- tion, your charity has been abundantly willing to exeuse it. One thing I will affirm, that I have never intended, by per- sonal allusions, to wound any one ; nor have I ever left the Gospel to preach on " tlie topics of the day," or to favor the peculiar views of any set of men, on politics or any thing else ; and of the propriety of this course I am more than ever con- vineed. I might have gained notoriety, produced excitement, and been lauded by certain persons, if I had pursued another course ; but I have preferred to be faithful to my duty, and to honor the Gospel, rather than seek any temporary advantage or ephemeral éclat !
In " calling to remembrance former things," and especially in the review which I propose to take of the last five years of my ministry here, there are both trials and joys which elaim notice. Life is always made up of these two predominant elements. It is like a picture composed of light and shade.
T
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Both are necessary to a proper and proportionate exhibition of the objects represented. It is the contrast which brings them out in their mutual relation to one another, and shows their dependence and connection. I begin, then, with some of the sad memories of these years. How can we ever forget that we are living among the dying ? Death is always stand- ing at our door, waiting the permission of God's providence to enter and do his work ; and if he has not found admittance into all our houses, it is because the angel of the covenant has guarded them and kept the entrance closed. Where he has come, he has been the messenger of woe, and his presence has been known by sorrow and tears. In this respect I have been no more favored than yourselves. If you have carried darlings to the tomb, so have I; and if some of your hearts have been painfully tried in these sad bereavements, so has mine. An- other of my little ones sleeps in yonder cemetery-and the sorrow came in an unexpected hour, and far from home; but shall I therefore refuse to bless God and bow to his sovereign will ? I can not ! I feel thankful that another one is safe from the snares of sin ; that I have another child in heaven ; another tie to bind me to the things that are above ; another motive to live to God and press onward to that glorious prize which is set before us. God intends these things for our good ; he tells us so, and that is enough !
In reviewing, however, the progress of the great destroyer in the midst of us, we have rather occasion for thankfulness that he has removed so few, than any real cause for grief on ac. count of those who have been called and taken. Our old men, and wise men, and godly men are most of them spared to us to enable them to edify the church a little longer by their prayers and example ! Few churches can boast of so many. Two have numbered more than fourscore and ten years ; and others are approaching fourscore ! But, while we notice the preservation of the fathers as occasions of thankfulness, we are also obliged to record with regret those who are not. John Garretson, John Herder, Frederick Cox, Peter Tillman, John B. Camman, Isaac Davis, Christian Miller, Job Squire, and Ferdinand .Vander- veer are here no more ! To us they are not, for God has taken them. They have fulfilled the duties of their calling in the
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church below, and are united with the church above, enjoying in its fullness the rich grace of that Saviour whom they pro- fessed before men, and served in sincerity all the days of their lives. A glorious transition it is indeed, when time becomes eternity, and we exchange this world of sorrow and sin for the bliss of heaven ! With what wonder and gratitude must their eyes have opened upon the splendors of the New Jerusalem, and the throne of the great King; and with what rapture must they have heard the songs of the blessed in heaven! No wonder that the apostle felt it to be "far better to depart and be with Christ." No wonder that the saint, when heaven in all its glory and rapture opens to his view, longs to be released, and eries out in his anxiety for its "hallowed rest," "Come quickly, come, Lord Jesus!" Oh! that it may be so with us when we are called away ! May we have a holy calm in our hearts, and a bright hope of heavenly fellowship in our souls. and the eye of faith piercing completely through the gloom of the narrow vale and looking upon the Canaan beyond, assuring ns that there are the mansions of rest in our Father's house waiting for ns! We shall then, indeed, scarcely " feel death's cold embrace," while " Christ is in our arms" and our souls are borne away in "songs of most surpassing grace," up to the very presenee-chamber of the Divine Being himself ! It is a privilege to die when we can so calmly breathe our spirits away in the arms of Christ !
Nor can we fail to speak also of those "mothers in Israel," several of whom have now been kept so long, by increasing infir- mities, from the house of God and from the communion-table. Under a weight of years and wasting feebleness, they have been still able to maintain a strong faith, and testify habitu- ally of the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Waiting for the coming of the Redeemer to release them from the bonds of clay, they are looking with anxious expectation to the hour of their departure, " hoping in the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ," and prepared to hear him say, "Come up higher !" The mansions in our Father's house are prepared, and a seat at his right hand waiting, and they will soon go to rest in it. There care will cease and sin no more annoy, while the rapture of glory fills the joyful soul.
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Among those " who are not," we may mention Mrs. Cox, Mrs. Toms, Mrs. Dollwer, Mrs. Voorhees, Mrs. Conklin, Mrs. Cooper, Mrs. Bangham, Mrs. Doty, Mrs. Cammann, Mrs. Vreedenburgh, Mrs. Van Veghten, Mrs. A. Voorhees, and Mrs. P. Voorhees, Mrs. Garretson, Mrs. Quick-all " godly women," who lived by faith and died in peace, after witnessing a good confession. In this way, while the number of our church on earth has been diminished, the number of the church in heaven has been increased. We have lost, but they have gained. The savor of their holy life, and the encouragement of their exemplary piety, is ons no more, but the triumph of redeem- ing grace in sanctifying and perfecting souls for heaven has been completed. It is God who hath wrought all this, and therefore it is not for us to complain. Their absence from the family circle has, in many ways, been painfully felt, but their joys are complete, and so our loss is their gain. Even their flesh rests in hope, waiting the sound of the archangel's trump and the voice of God to wake the sleeping dead, and perfect in them the beauty of renovated life; and when the morning of the resurrection dawns, and the Prince of life claims all the trophies of his conquest, they will appear with him in glory to inherit the rest waiting for the people of God. This is a glorious hope indeed ! It revives the courage of the saints in their pilgrimage of sorrow, and sheds its light upon the soul in the dying honr. All God's people may have the comfort of it, and, like the apostle, feel that "to die is gain." May it be ours when we see the dark shadows gathering around our last day, and our final farewells are to be said.
Other changes have resulted from the force of circumstan- ces. Providence has called some of our members to other portions of the vineyard, and they have been honorably dis- missed with a cheerful benediction ; while a few have given preference to other communions in our immediate vicinity, and have left us. One thing, however, deserves to be remarked, and that is the uniform steadfastness which a very large pro- portion of those who have been received into fellowship in this church have manifested for it in their permanent attaclı- ment. Discipline is rarely necessary, and complaints that any
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are carried away by other " winds of doctrine" are almost en- tirely prevented. In so large a communion as ours, this feature is remarkable. Divisions are unknown. Fends are discounte- nanced. Alienations seldom ocenr. The bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood are too strong and permanent for disruption. It may safely be stated as a fact, that at no previous time in its long history has this church been more perfectly of one mind than at this moment. This is a cause of thankfulness and encouragement, and presents an aspect of hopefulness for the future which it is delightful to contemplate. If it shall continue, we may hope that there will soon be experienced a blessing which will gladden every heart that loves and prays for the prosperity of Zion. And why shall it not be so ? "Be- hold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" A united church is a strong church. The Holy Spirit is a spirit of peace, and loves to seal, with quicken- ing and sanctifying influences, the hearts of all those that pray for the peace of Jerusalem !
We turn now to consider some of the lights which enter into the picture we are endeavoring to sketch. The past five years have been years of prosperity to our beloved church. Prayer has been mercifully answered, and converting grace bestowed in numerous instances. While there has been no wide and extended revival of religion to gladden us, no excitement which has moved masses and affected multitudes, there has been what is more desirable-a constant, a pleasant, and a healthful growth in the church ! Not one communion season has passed in which some have not come forward to take upon themselves the vows of God, and attest the living power of the Gospel. This is one of the most remarkable features in our history. Few churches can claim such remembrance before God. Few, indeed, are so highly favored. More com- monly a season of ingathering is succeeded by long seasons of barrenness, in which aridity and death prevail ; but upon our heritage the dew of heaven has constantly descended, and every year has been fertilized with refreshing influenees, and yielded its harvests !
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