USA > New York > New York City > A history of the Brick Presbyterian Church in the city of New York > Part 8
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Although the special funds referred to above had made possible the establishment of this institution, they were far from adequate to pay the annual running expenses. Nor did a legacy of £200 in 1792, from Mr. James Leslie, a school-master, supply the deficiency. The trustees were, indeed, forced to depend principally upon an annual collection in each of the two churches. This was very far from being a disadvantage, in that it made the school a genuine and continuing part of the church work. It was thus not merely a monument to the generosity of an older generation, but an appeal to the support and interest of living men and women, and at the same time a striking reminder that the church was called to minister to the general welfare of the people as well
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as to their definitely religious needs. We shall hear more of this enterprise at a later time.
It has already become evident that, during the quarter of a century which this chapter covers, the history of the church was quiet and uneventful. It was a period suited to normal and gradual growth. In particular-contrasting decidedly in this with the period of the war-there were no external events that seriously affected the church life, either for good or for evil. To this, however, one exception must be made. The church life must have been affected not a little by the dreadful epidemics which persist- ently ravaged the city. It is hard to realize nowadays that in the period under discussion New York stood in constant terror of plague and pestilence, and that sometimes year after year the scourge returned in spite of all attempt at prevention. In 1791, in 1795, and especially in 1798 yellow fever carried off great numbers of the inhabitants. No less than one hun- dred and eighty-six members of the Presbyterian Church perished in the last named year. Again in 1803 and 1804 the prevalence of the plague was great enough to interrupt seriously the work of the church and to cause undisguised alarm.
These occurrences must have affected greatly not only the number of members, but the whole religious temper of the church. Considered, as they were, to be more or less directly an indication of divine dis- pleasure, these visitations had a very important rela- tion to the religious experience of many people. Mr. Miller, who, as Dr. Rodgers aged, took the lead in the church, makes this evident in several sermons that have come down to us, He himself, faithful to
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his trust, remained in the city throughout the whole of "that melancholy season" in 1798, preaching every Sunday to his trembling fellow-citizens; and his sermon, delivered early in the following year, "On the Removal of a Malignant and Mortal Disease," gives us a vivid impression of the experience and of its appeal to the conscience of religious people.
"There are probably few cases," said Mr. Miller, "in which we feel ourselves more completely helpless, and more entirely in the hands of God, than when he sends forth pestilence, as a messenger of his wrath to chastise a guilty society. . Then it is, if ever, that human pride bows its head: then, if ever, that the incorrigible infidel thinks, for a moment, of a God, of Providence, and of prayer. Have you for- gotten, my brethren, that such was lately our situa- tion ? . .. Have you forgotten those gloomy days, when scarcely any sound was heard but the voice of mourning and death ? . .. Have you forgotten the vows which you made, and the resolutions which you formed in those serious and solemn hours? The badges of mourning which I see before me bring to my remembrance a husband or a wife, a parent or a child, a brother or a sister, recently torn from your embraces and consigned to the insatiable tomb." With an exuberant rhetoric, which these brief excerpts but faintly suggest, the hearers were led to acknowl- edge their unspeakable gratitude to God for his deliv- erance. "Some he saved by providing a place of refuge, where the salubrious breeze and the hospitable board sustained them till the evil was past; while others were preserved, though walking in the midst of the devouring poison, to discharge the duties of
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benevolence and humanity. . . When the sur- vivors were helpless, and apprehended a devastation still more awful, he appeared to stay the plague.
But let all your thanksgivings be mingled with - humility, and all your joy tempered with the recollec- tion, that sinful beings are continually exposed to wrath and chastisement. . . . It becomes us to trem-
ble lest we should be again visited by a similar, or a more dreadful calamity. . If I am not deceived, the spirit of prophecy informs us that the days in which we live are the 'last days.' . Such a general derangement in the political and moral world has not, probably, existed since the antediluvian scenes of depravity. . . When I look round this populous
city, which was, a few weeks since, clothed in mourn- ing, and contemplate the criminal dissipation and the various forms of wickedness which have so soon taken the place of those gloomy scenes, I am con- strained, with anxious dread, to ask, 'Shall not God be avenged on such a people as this ?' . . . Do not hastily imagine, from this strain of address, that . . . it would be my wish to see every innocent amusement discarded. . .. But do we see no other than inno- cent amusements prevailing around us? Are the lewdness, the blasphemy, the gaming, the unprinci- pled speculation, the contempt of Christian duties, and the violation of the Christian Sabbath, so mourn- fully prevalent in our city and land-are these innocent? Then were the cities of Sodom and Go- morrah innocent. Then are the impious orgies of infernal spirits harmless in the sight of God."
It is perhaps almost unfair thus to subject an eighteenth-century discourse to the criticism of an
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age which in its literary taste and the spirit of its re- ligion is very materially different. But there can be no doubt that Mr. Miller's * sermon was in its day impressive and capable of stirring the most serious emotions in his hearers. The quotation that has been made from it is indeed valuable, not only for the outward picture which it aids us to form of a tragic episode in the city's life, but for the insight which it gives us into the religious condition of the period, and the means which the Christian Church, and in particular the Presbyterian Church in New York, was using at that time for the conversion of sinners and the revival of true religion.
* He received the degree of D.D., in 1804, from the University of Pennsylvania, of which he was a graduate.
CHAPTER VII
THE SENIOR PASTOR
"If solid and respectable talents, if acquirements which enabled him to act his part in various important stations with uniform honor, if patriarchal dignity, if sound practical wisdom, and a long life of eminent usefulness, be worthy of grateful re- membrance and of respectful imitation, then the life of Dr. Rodgers is worthy of being written and perused."-SAMUEL MILLER, "Memoirs of John Rodgers," p. 11.
"I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding."-Jeremiah 3 : 15.
B Y the beginning of the new century Dr. Rodgers, as has been already intimated, was beginning to feel his age. He had now served the church for nearly forty years, and in spite of the great growth during that period and the many other able men, both clergy and laymen, who had contributed to the church's welfare and progress, the impress of the personality of Dr. Rodgers upon the whole history was unmistakable. The record of the years to which the last chapter was devoted would be like a watch without the mainspring, unless the senior pastor were given his place in the middle of the scene. The picture presented at the beginning of this history, of the "new minister" just entering upon his city pastorate, must now be completed by a description of the well-known New York divine, whose work is firmly established and whose position as a religious leader is now secure.
And, first, let us take a somewhat casual view of
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him as he appeared to the outward eye and upon short acquaintance. Dr. Manasseh Cutler, in whose company we have already attended the church, will now introduce us to the parsonage. The date is July 7th, 1787, a Saturday. "Waited on Dr. Rodgers," says our escort, "and drank tea in com- pany with Dr. Ewing, Dr. Witherspoon, and several other clergymen. The Doctor urged me exceedingly to preach for him, at least a part of the day, on Sunday; but as the two Presidents * were in town, and I had just come off a long journey, prevailed on him to excuse me."i
This cannot be regarded as more than a formal introduction, but on the following Monday we be- come a little more intimate. "Dined at Dr. Rodg- ers'," continues the journal at that point, "in com- pany with Dr. Witherspoon, Dr. Ewing, Dr. Mc- Courtland of Newark, Mr. Wilson, colleague with Dr. Rodgers, and two other gentlemen from the Southward, whose names I do not recollect. It seemed like a ministers' meeting. They appeared to be much of gentlemen, and I must do them the justice to say, I was treated with particular marks of attention, notwithstanding my being a New England man. Dr. Rodgers is certainly the most accom- plished gentleman, for a clergyman, not to except even Dr. Cooper, that I have ever been acquainted with,"¿ and here we are presented at once to a characteristic that must always have counted much in the first impression of those who came into Dr.
* Ewing, of the University of Pennsylvania, and Witherspoon, of the College of New Jersey.
t Cutler's "Life," etc., Vol. I, p. 231.
į Cutler's "Life," etc., Vol. I, pp. 236 f.
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Rodgers' presence, "the peculiar and uniform dignity of his manners."* He was plainly a clergyman of the old school, conscious of his position, grave in his demeanor, and carefully observant of formalities in his social intercourse. There is a tradition that "the last thing which he and his wife always did before retiring for the night was to salute each other with a bow and a courtesy."f This particular statement is possibly an invention, but of the reserve and dignity of the senior minister of the Presbyterian Church there is abundant testimony, and however much the fashion of such formal manners may now be out of date, they were in his day highly admired, and added, as Dr. Miller says, to his reputation and to his usefulness as a Christian clergyman. The same writer adds, indeed, that Dr. Rodgers was "often facetious and sportive," but these terms must be interpreted in the light of the somewhat serious temperament of the biographer himself. In fact, he adds that the "sportiveness" intended was of a sort that "w 'was always remarkable for its taste and dignity."
It is not difficult, then, to see before us Dr. Rodgers' stoutish figure, of medium height, walking with a majestic step among his neighbors and parishioners, dressed in clothes that were "invariably neat, elegant, and spotless."¿ To this last matter he always gave
* "Rodgers Mem.," p. 338.
t "N. Y. in 1789," p. 149 f. į "Rodgers Mem.," p. 341. "In this respect he resembled his friend and spiritual father, Mr. Whitefield, whose sayings and example on this subject he not infrequently quoted, and who often remarked that a min- ister of the gospel, in his dress as well as in everything else, ought to be 'without spot.'" From a letter of Samuel Miller, quoted in Sprague's "Annals," Vol. III, p. 165.
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careful attention. Washington Irving, whose family belonged to the Presbyterian Church in New York,* could in his old age still remember his father's pastor, "old Dr. Rodgers with his buzz wig, silver-mounted cane, well-polished shoes, and silver buckles." t If we follow him into his parsonage at No. 7 Nassau Street, we find that "he lives in elegant style and entertains company as genteelly as the first gentlemen of the city." } We find, too, that, as his position deserved, he was on the "dinner and supper list" of Mrs. John Jay.§
These somewhat trivial details and scraps of old gossip will have served a good purpose, if they help us to see the man within the saint. For to Dr. Rodgers the latter title might without reservation be applied, and it would be easy, in reading the long list of his virtues, to feel that he had been reduced to a sort of abstract perfection. But if we have once caught sight of him, as it were, have seen the man himself and felt his human relation to those about him, it will then be a task doubly profitable to set his virtues before us.
Dr. Miller, his colleague and successor, to whom we are indebted for his biography, shall be our guide in summing up this good man's character and work.|| And, first, let it be said that at all the points where he touched the common life of the world, or shared in it, he maintained in himself a notably Christian
* One of the burial vaults in front of the Beekman Street Church be- longed to his father, William Irving.
t "Life and Times of Washington Irving," (1883), Vol. III, p. 260.
į Cutler's "Life," etc., Vol. I. p. 237.
§ "Mem. Hist of N. Y.," Vol. III, p. 99.
|| "Rodgers Mem.," Chapter IX.
JOHN RODGERS From a painting in the possession of the church
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THE SENIOR PASTOR
spirit. For instance, in the matter of money, which he did not lack, he was chiefly marked by his generous dispersion of it, and in spite of a prosperous career, not interrupted by any special financial losses, he succeeded in closing his earthly account with a smaller balance than he possessed at the time of his original settlement in New York. In like manner, when he shared, as he did, in the social intercourse of the city, he invariably brought with him such a tone, in conversation and behavior, as was worthy of his calling, and demanded that others should meet him on the same high plane.
In his personal character he may best be described by a few large single words, rather than by much comment. He was disinterested: "few men have ever been more free from private and selfish aims than he." He was upright in all the dealings of a life of over eighty years: "in no one instance was [his character] ever impeached:" every one who knew him believed in him. And he was a man of God: his goodness was the fruit of a deep and utterly sincere religion: "he seemed never, for a moment, to forget that he was a servant of Jesus Christ."
In his work as a minister of the gospel, he was as- sisted not so much by great genius or extraordinary powers as by a "happy assemblage of practical qual- ities, both of the head and the heart," and his reward was something better than fame, namely, practical success in the work he had undertaken to do. One or two of his characteristics deserve a special com- ment in this connection. Together with a determined and not easily daunted spirit, he possessed a certain tactfulness, based on a strong sense of what was
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both fair and kind, which enabled him to avoid the bitterness of controversy and strife. While most positive in his views, he was ever ready "to take by the hand, as Christian brethren, all who appeared to possess the spirit of Christ," and he was particularly reluctant to take upon himself the task of directly attacking even those with whom he most disagreed. "You must excuse me," he said on one occasion to the officers of his church, when they urged him to take the errors of a certain sect for the subject of his sermon, "I cannot reconcile it with my sense either of policy or duty to oppose these people from the pulpit, otherwise than by preaching the truth plainly and faithfully. I believe them to be in error; but let us out-preach them, out-pray them, and out-live them, and we need not fear."*
One can have but little doubt that the preach- ing of such a man would speak to the mind and con- science of his time. Its full value, however, would probably not be made evident by giving samples of it to a modern congregation, for times have changed. "Whoever went to hear him at any time," says Dr. Miller with evident approval, "would be sure to find him dwelling on one or another of the following themes," and he proceeds to give a page of titles, such as "Total Depravity," "Sovereign Election," "The Divine Existence in a Trinity of Persons." Even the subjects which admit, and indeed invite, a practical treatment, are stated as propositions in theology. This, however, was exactly the method which the congregations of that day approved and expected, and the question of Dr. Rodgers' power as a preacher
* Rodgers Mem.
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THE SENIOR PASTOR
of Christianity is not to be determined by an appeal to modern taste, but by studying the historic church which by his preaching was built up in the faith.
Of the manner of his preaching and the impression made by it upon an intelligent stranger we have a pleasing glimpse in Dr. Manasseh Cutler's journal, already quoted. The entry is as follows: "Sunday, July 22d. Attended public worship in the morning at the old Brick, in Wall Street .* Dr. Rodgers preached. He made no use of notes, but he arranged his subject very well; gave us a very pretty sermon on the first part of our Lord's Prayer. His address is easy, soft, and engaging-no display of oratory, so called. His style was pure, sentimental, and nervous, put plain and familiar. He made me think of Dr. Cooper." t
Yet, after all, it may well be that preaching was but a small part of this strong man's influence. As one studies the record of his life, one cannot but be much impressed by those passages which point out his patient faithfulness in a multiplicity of occupations. One of these passages is peculiarly well adapted to the purpose of the present sketch of Dr. Rodgers' character and influence; for we are, of course, chiefly concerned here to learn as far as possible what it was that the Brick Church owed to the man who brought
* This unexpected designation for the Wall Street Church is probably due to error, on the part either of Dr. Cutler or his editors.
f Cutler's "Life," etc., Vol. I, p. 296. The journal entry for the even- ing of this same day is worth quoting for its own sake. "Attended a lecture at the Old Dutch Church. The sermon was delivered in Dutch with a great deal of vehemence and pathos, but whether it was good or bad I know not." Dr. Cutler had in the afternoon heard Mr. Wilson, the Presbyterian associate, whom he describes as methodical, but not, in his judgment, a good preacher, adding, however, by way of compensation that "he was very catholic in his sentiments." (Cutler's "Life," etc., Vol. I, p. 297.)
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it into being and guided it through its first forty years, and this one paragraph, about to be quoted, goes far toward answering that question.
"In preaching, in catechising, in attending on the sick and dying, in all the arduous labor of disci- pline and government, and in visiting from house to house, he went on with unceasing constancy from year to year, from the beginning to the end of his ministry. He not only abounded in ministerial labors; but he labored systematically, uniformly, and with unwearied patience. Difficulties did not usually appall him. Delays did not discourage him. If he were totally disappointed in the result of his exertions in one case, he did not hastily conclude that all subsequent endeavors in similar cases would be useless. .. . Those who found him busily engaged in pursuing a certain regular and judicious course at one period, would be sure to find him after a series of years, pursuing with steady and undeviating steps the same course." * This is indeed a good description of "a wise master-builder," one who might be trusted to lay firm foundations.
And now when he was nearly eighty years of age, and when it might be supposed that the time for rest had come, we find him still setting an example of energy and faithfulness. In 1805 he writes to a friend, "I am able, through divine goodness, to preach once every Lord's Day, and to do my full share of parochial duty." This was the spirit that controlled him to the end.
* "Rodgers Mem."
9.1. I wish an quetion to this as soon as convenient.
Newworth, July 26th " 1805.
My dear Din
I have but a few minutes to thank You for the fermons you were so how'd me to send the day the Beaver- Some Weeks ago I und a Letter from hos Kop : Land, acompanies by a Journal of Some With, Dexpreysing an anxious Wish to be employed by our missionary Some = ty-these I laid before the Board of Directors at their Cost muting-las they some afraid to anych has offer, till they cang) be better satisfied respecting his moral character, which you know has lalourd for some Time path- Thay what was the state of that mission when you gh Belknop visited it? what was the Result of your inquiries respecting his moral Character? Is the likely to the useful among those People? our Board of Directors could be Jahassaid on these Jule. - just , They won't willingly employ Him - the complaint to
I am alle the o' diman Gooings, to preach once any Loss Day, Tas my full those of parochial Duty, T my People expays full Satisfaction with this - they have it in contemplation to call another. minister, which I hope they will be able to do, in the course of a few months - They have than Eye on a hromad. - ford, a Higher of 9th Gram's- a young man of handyown Talents Mity -Thope they will unition Him.
But I must have down when I have told you that Ismorgen, as well as my falk, ways good Health- and that the joint in vinter. Regards to your has moves, with berlin, you affectionate friend How to2 in the Goshed of a precious ich John Mothers
The Kw. I Morse Thankstown, mas
Boston
FAC-SIMILE OF A LETTER OF DR. RODGERS
CHAPTER VIII
THE SEPARATION: 1809
" And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed."-1 Samuel 20 : 42.
"No man, unquestionably, who witnessed the scene, would ever again lift his hand in favor of associating several congregations under the same pastors."- SAMUEL MILLER, "Memoirs of John Rodgers," p. 274.
T will be remembered that in 1784, when the Presbyterian Church in New York was first incorporated, the official title selected was "The Corporation of the First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York." This choice was an indication, we are told,* that a second corporation, "of the New Church," was then thought to be a possibility. The law under which the papers were taken out provided that the estate held by each incorporated religious body must not exceed £1,200 per annum, gross revenue. It was in order to secure the larger liberty which in equity belonged to them as two congrega- tions that the Presbyterians at that time contemplated the future possibility of a separation of the financial affairs of their two churches. It will be remembered that ecclesiastically they were still one body, bound together in a so-called "collegiate arrangement," and so they continued for many a year. But with the practical financial difficulty, which, as just stated,
"Manuscript Hist.," p. 20.
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presented itself in 1784, there appears the first trace of that tendency toward an entire separation, which was to bear fruit after a quarter of a century had passed.
It must not be supposed, however, that at that early date a complete separation was desired, even by those who saw the advantages of a two-fold financial organization. On the contrary, when, ten years later, it was definitely proposed to apply for the second charter, the ministers, elders, deacons, and trustees, after maturely weighing the subject, voted in the negative, on the very ground that such an action would necessarily create a separation of interest, which might in time result in a dissolution of the union between the two congregations, an event which would be deeply deplored by all .* They chose rather to apply to the Legislature for special permission to hold an estate of twice the usual amount, on the ground that they were in effect two churches, and in this they were successful. The act was passed on March 6th, 1793.1
There were, however, two persons who even at this time were in favor of a dissolution of the collegiate arrangement. These were the two associate pastors, and, although in so decided a minority, they were out- spoken in their opinion and even presented the matter for formal discussion; but their proposal was at that time emphatically and almost curtly rejected. Of the two, Dr. (then Mr.) Miller į was probably the more active in this matter. He had recently arrived and
* "Manuscript Hist.," p. 25.
See also act of March 27th, 1801.
# "Life of Samuel Miller," p. 265.
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had been at once impressed, perhaps annoyed, by the difficulties inherent in the situation. He pointed out that every family in both churches expected and claimed visits from each pastor, so that the amount of work which could have been accomplished by a proper division of labor was rendered impossible. Still more unfortunate was the effect of certain par- tialities for one or another of the pastors, which tended to create unpleasant feeling and to divide the church.
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