USA > New York > Kings County > Brooklyn > Lives of the clergy of New York and Brooklyn: embracing two hundred biographies of eminent living men in all denominations. Also, the history of each sect and congregation, Pt. 2 > Part 25
USA > New York > New York City > Lives of the clergy of New York and Brooklyn: embracing two hundred biographies of eminent living men in all denominations. Also, the history of each sect and congregation, Pt. 2 > Part 25
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At seventy-three years, Dr. Tyng finds himself thus vigorous for labor in the church and the world. In his prime of intellectual power, mighty with all the influence which his public and exalted life has brought to him, he may well be considered as one of the most useful clergymen of the day. All enterprises of his church-those of charity, philanthropy, and education-have in him a zealous friend. The Sunday school is another delight. He was greatly enwrapt in a talented son, who, although young, was prominent in the ministry, and who came to his death by a heart-rending ac- cident. Ilis memory is embalmed in the affecting and eloquent memorial of his father, to whom his decease was an almost over- powering blow. The son was a model of manly and Christian graces, acquired by a close study of the example of the father ; and the shadow which fell upon the life of the last is even now only re- moved by the monuments which remain of the young minister's faith and works, and more especially by his brilliant flight from carth. Looking to that coming hour in his own destiny, Dr. Tyng has but one purpose in all his efforts, which is, so to guide his steps that his end may be peaceful and triumphant, like that of the saint who has gone before.
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REV. STEPHEN H. TYNG, JR., D. D.,
RECTOR OF THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY (EPISCOPAL), NEW YORK.
EV. DR. STEPHEN H. TYNG, JR., is the son of the distinguished rector of St. George's Chapel, New York, and brother of the late Rev. Dudley A. Tyng, a leading reetor of Philadelphia, who lost his life by an accident. He was born in Philadelphia, June 28th, 1839. Entering Williams College he was graduated in 1858, and would have completed his theological course at the Episcopal Seminary in Fair- fax county, Va., had not the opening of the war obliged him to leave the State. During his theologieal studies he had charge of a Mission church at Georgetown, D. C. He was ordained deacon May 8th, 1861, at St. George's Chapel, and priest at Poughkeepsie, September 11th, 1863. From May, 1861, to May, 1862, he was assistant to his father, and then accepted the reetorship of the Church of the Mediator. He subsequently organized a new parish up town, under the title of the Church of the Holy Trinity, and a tasteful edifiee was erected on the corner of Forty-second street and Madison avenue, and consecrated in 1865. He soon gathered a numerous and in- fluential congregation.
Early in 1873 the old church was torn down, and on Trinity Sunday, June 8th, 1873, the corner-stone of the present imposing edifice of the congregation on the same site was laid. At the last meeting in the old church Dr. Tyng gave the following statement of the work of the church since their organization :- baptisms, 768; confirmations, 511; funerals, 438; marriages, 212; communieants, 1,300 ; Sunday school children and teachers, 1,863 ; contributions to the poor and general offerings, $18,529 ; domestie missions, $11,464; and all collections made during the nine years, $519,000.
They support five mission churches in different parts of the city, and also maintain a college, or " House of the Evangelists," for the education of young men for the city mission work. These enter-
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prises cost the Church of the Holy Trinity about twenty thousand dollars annually, to which also must be added a dispensary connected with the church, which is supported at a cost of fifteen hundred dollars a year, and where two physicians give advice and medicine freely day by day. Several beds in St. Luke's Hospital are also en- dowed by this church. The "Pastoral Aid Society " comprises nearly all the membership of the church, male and female.
As chaplain of the Twelfth Regiment, N. Y. S. M., Dr. Tyng accompanied the regiment to Harrisburg, when the New York troops were called to the defence of the border.
Dr. Tyng was reported to the standing committee of his diocese, charged by a New Jersey rector with having preached in the parish of said reetor without his consent, in violation of a canon of the Episcopal Church. After trial, he was publicly eensured by the Bishop. This matter, however, has in no way affected Dr. Tyng's character or influence.
Dr. Tyng received his degree of D. D. from Williams College in July, 1872.
He is about of the average height, and equally proportioned. His complexion is fair, and his cheeks are ruddy with youthfulness and health. He has a peculiarly expressive, beaming face, and a bright, intelligent eye, which reflects every thought. IIe is of a quiek, nervous temperament, and very zealous in his Christian work. He has genial, fascinating manners, and there is a frankness and sincerity about him which secure fast friendships. While as a young man of talent he is not at all backward or awkward in any position, still he always conducts himself with dignity and deferenee for his elders.
As a preacher he is decidedly able. It is fully evident that his desire is to establish a fame based on substantial acquirements rather than sensational eccentrieities. He has been and is a painstaking student, and modesty as to his own merits is a most conspicuous _characteristic. He is ambitious and not at all loth to press forward to places of dignity and preferment in his profession, but advance- ment is not sought without he proves his qualifications and claims for it. Of a bold, impulsive spirit, he is free with his opinions and unsparing in his rebuke of all sinfulness, but at the same time he is careful to guard himself against everything like presumption, ar- rogance, and self-sufficiency. He recognizes the important fact, which is lost sight of by so many young clergymen, that he has a present
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station becoming to his years and ability, which it is altogether honor- able to fill meritoriously. Exerting all his talents, and still showing a most humble appreciation of them, he best proves how capable he will be when he shall wield the full strength which he is gathering.
Dr. Tyng is one of the most acceptable readers of the church service in the New York pulpit. He reads with eloquent intonation, and imparts to it great fervor-it seems a pleasing and holy occu- pation with him, and in the prayers especially he appears to rise away into celestial realms. To the young Christian enthusiast the service certainly presents a most touching appeal to all the sus- ceptibilities of the believing heart, and in the case of Dr. Tyng the effect is to render his delivery almost strangely impressive. Ile moves with his own soul filled with kindred emotions, and he kindles the inextinguishable fires of faith. This power over the the feelings of his audience is not lost in his sermon ; there is the same carnestness, sincerity, and pious seriousness. Being a fluent speaker, often much that he says is extempore-at such times his face is all animation, his soft, persuasive voice steals to every heart, and he pleads with the irresistible powers of eloquence and religious inspiration. His lan- guage does not degenerate into outbursts of poetic rhapsody, and the misty vaporings of an undisciplined mind, but, on the contrary, it is practical, logical, and convincing.
Such are the terms in which it is proper to speak of this talented young clergyman. He is a patient laborer in the field of moral and religious duty and an example of pure and lofty virtues. Time and years will bring him matured talent, enlarged experience, and in- creased influence, but the present period has been made illustrious by the exhibition of all the elements of a sterling Christian character.
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REV. HENRY J. VAN DYKE. D. D.,
PASTOR OF THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHI, BROOKLYN.
EV. DR. HENRY J. VAN DYKE was born in Mont- gomery county, Pennsylvania, March 2d, 1822. IIe was graduated at the University of Pennsylvania in 1843, and also studied at Yale College. His theological course was concluded at Princeton Seminary in 1845, and his ordination took place in June of the same year. He was installed pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Bridgeton, New Jersey, where he remained until compelled to leave, from ill health, in 1852. In July of this year he settled in Germantown, and remained about one year, going in June, 1853, to Brooklyn, to become pastor of his present church, the First Presbyterian, one of the former Old School churches. Immediately after his college course he edited a collegi- ate magazine, and subsequently contributed to various literary pub- lications. During a visit to Europe, in 1857, he furnished the New York Presbyterian with a series of very graphic sketches of travel. His congregation has largely increased under his ministry, and in the same period a debt of thirty thousand dollars has been paid, and somne sixty thousand dollars contributed for benevolent objects.
On the evening of Sunday, the 9th of December, 1860, Dr. Van Dyke preached one of the most remarkable sermons ever delivered in the American pulpit, under the title of " The Character and In- fluence of Abolitionism." The murky clouds of civil strife were already stretching across the political firmament of great, prosper- ous, and, in other respects, happy America. Geographical antipa- thies, misrepresentations, and passion had combined to array the North and South in an attitude of dangerous hostility. At this momentous h ur, Dr. Van Dyke stepped forth as an expounder of the Scriptures on the subject of Slavery. The sermon delivered un- der these impressive circumstances is devoted to the discussion of four points.
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" I have four distinct propositions on the subject to maintain," says Dr. Van Dyke-" four thesis to nail up over this pulpit and defend with the word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit.
" I. Abolitionism has no foundation in the Scriptures.
"II. Its principles have been promulgated chiefly by misrepre- sentation and abuse.
" III. It leads, in a multitude of cases, and by a logical process, to infidelity.
" IV. It is the chief cause of the strife that agitates, and the dan- ger that threatens our country."
The sermon is written throughout in language of commanding power and lofty eloquence. It gave great satisfaction to the conser- vatives in every part of the country. They claimed that the whole question in regard to abolitionism was gone over, and argued with the ability of the scholar, the impassioned fervor of the orator, and the zeal of the true patriot.
The discourse was reported for the leading papers, and extensively republished North and South. A committee of the congregation requested a copy for publication in pamphlet form, and the first edi- tion of five thousand copies was immediately exhausted. The Messrs. Appleton, of New York, published a stereotyped edition, and other editions appeared in the principal cities. In all there were eleven pamphlet editions, and it was published in full in more than twenty newspapers.
It received much critical attention from the abolitionists. The Anti-Slavery Standard treated its reader to " literal extracts," as the ser- mon was to be regarded "as an illustration of the popular Christianity of the United States-the Christianity for rejecting which the abolition- ists are denounced as infidels." Professor Taylor Lewis opened his batteries in the New York World, and a lengthy discussion arose between himself and Dr. Van Dyke. An indignant reply was made by Rev. Dr. Leonard Bacon, of New Haven, in a sermon entitled " The Jugglers Detected."
Other published sermons by Dr. Van Dyke are " Moses, the Ser- vant of the Lord ; " " How Old art Thou ?" " The Commandment, with Promise ; " " The Conversion of Saul ; " " Politics for Christ- mas ; " " Giving Thanks for All Things; " "The Character and Blessedness of the Peacemaker." These sermons all show much originality of thought, clearness of expression, and earnest eloquence.
In 1870 Dr. Van Dyke was prominent in the movement for the
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re-union of the Northern and Southern Presbyterian Church. He was one of a Committee of the General Assembly, convened at Philadelphia, who were sent to the General Assembly in session at Louisville. As is well known, the movement was a failure. Dr. Van Dyke published a pamphlet on the subject. In all the assem- biages of the church he is regarded as an authority on doctrine and discipline.
During 1872, after the faithful labors of nineteen years, he re- signed his pastorship over the First Church of Brooklyn, and accepted a call to a leading Presbyterian Church of Nashville, Tennessee. His separation from his old congregation was characterized by intense feeling of grief on both sides. He went abroad before entering per- manently upon his duties in Nashville, and on his return, when about to undertake them, the serious illness of his wife rendered it necessary for him to remain in or about New York. Under these circumstances, the First Church immediately gave him a call to re- sume his pastorship with them, which he finally accepted. Much to the advantage of all parties, the former relations were renewed, pro- bably not to be broken again in the lifetime of this long-tried shep- herd of the flock.
Dr. Van Dyke is under the medium height, his complexion is pale, and he wears heavy whiskers. His face has an amiable, cheerful expression, and when animated is as radiant as the day. His look is fixed and penetrating, while his conversation and actions evince quickness and impulsiveness. He is very cordial with all, ardent in his friendship and sympathies, and has a courage for all things which is sublime. Those who know him best say he is a modern John Knox. He fears only God. Armed in what he believes to be a just cause, there is nothing on earth that ean intimidate him. Ca- lumny, insults, threats are utterly idle. He will not turn or yield a hair's breadth ; but, on the contrary, keeps more strictly and de- fiantly in the path he has chosen.
He is a very effective speaker. His voice is strong and harmo- nious, and he displays that style of vigorous reasoning which is at once proof of sincerity and ability. A man of a thoroughly religious nature and deeply learned in the Seriptures, he preaches with strik- ing powers of pathos and logic. The heart is melted, and the head is instructed ; you are lifted into the spiritual atmosphere of the eloquent speaker, and the truths of salvation fall as balin upon the tossed and wounded soul.
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REV. THOMAS E. VERMILYE, D. D., LL. D.,
ONE OF THE PASTORS OF TIIE COLLEGIATE REFORMED CHURCHI, NEW YORK.
EV. DR. THOMAS E. VERMILYE was born in the city of New York in February, 1803. He was graduated at Yale College in 1821, and studied theology at Prince- ton College. He was licensed as a Presbyterian minis- ter, by the Presbytery of New York, in April, 1825, and after ordination by the same Presbytery he was installed pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Vandewater street, New York, in Janu- ary, 1826. In May, 1830, he became pastor of the Congregational Church of the first parish, West Springfield, Mass., and in May, 1835, he settled over the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church in the city of Albany. He removed to New York in 1839, to take the position of one of the pastors of the Collegiate Dutch Church, which he still holds, standing next in length of service to the senior pastor, Rev. Dr. De Witt. Ile received the degree of D. D. both from Rutgers College and Union College, in 1836, and the degree of LL. D. from Jefferson College, in 1856. He has published various occasional sermons. He preaches in each of the churches once in five weeks.
The following eloquent extracts are from a discourse commemora- tive of the late Rev. Dr. Wm. Brownlee, delivered in the Middle Dutch Church on the evening of Sunday, February 19th, 1860.
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"On the Mount of Ascension it was boldly declared to the awe-stricken multi- tude, in most emphatic words : 'This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.' Now, these and kindred passages teach us several truths in relation to this subject. As that heaven, far distant as it would seem from the atmosphere of our earth, is vet a place which such a body as Jesus took with him from earth, the pattern of the resurrection body, can inhabit. Also, that from that place Christ shall transfer him- self to earth in person : 'The Lord himself shall descend.' Once before he was personally in our world, the babe of Bethlehem, the Man of Sorrows, to make pro- pitiation for sin. But, since He rose from Olivet, no mortal eye has rested upon 593
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REV. THOMAS E. VERMILYE, D. D., LL. D.
that glorious form. He has not, indeed, lost interest in His mediatorial office, nor forgotten His ransomed ones in this remoto region, the speck amidst the assemblage of worlds. But He now chooses to carry on His work by subordinate instrumental- ity : sometimes by special agents raised up in emergencies of His providence for deeds of special significauce, but ordinarily by His regular ministers and the ap- pointed means of grace. But then these means will have accomplished their purpose, and will have come to an end. He will delegate none of His ministering servants nor mighty angels to stand in His place ; but, attended by the heavenly hosts, the Captain of our salvation shall Himself descend to close the scene of time and earth, and bring His children home in glory. Again, it will be a visible ap- pearance. They shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds. An objection at once occurs to the mind that, should the Lord appear on any particular part of the globe, He would not be seen by all its inhabitants, but only by a very small number at the same time. But it is not said He shall come upon the earth, but that the saints shall be gathered to Him in the air. Nor is it affirmed that all shall behold Him at the same instant of time. It is not improbable that this spectacle may ap- pear successively to the different tribes of men, as the earth revolves ou its axis ; that the raising of the dead and the process of judgment, whatever it may be, then to succeed and the preparation of the saints for their ascent, in proper order, to the air, may occupy some considerable space of time. But, however this may be, and we are left very much to conjecture in regard to these particulars, it is positively said that 'every eye shall see Him,' and that 'all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.' Again, it will be sudden and unexpected-'at an hour when ye think not,' saith the Scripture. From the description given by the Saviour, we may also conclude that it will be at midnight, 'when mankind are wrapped in sleep.' And it will be ushered in with the pomp of a mighty retinue of angels, and accom- panying splendor of circumstances, to give splendor and impressiveness to the scene. At that period the business and pleasure of life will go on just as it always had done. Men will eat and drink, and marry and be given in marriage, and buy and sell and get gain. ' They will also resign themselves on that night to sleep, in full confidence that the nightly firmament will roll away its myriads of stars, and that the sun, which, for thousands of years, has never varied its course, nor withheld the dawn, will bring in a new morning. But suddenly the watchman beholds a strange sight ! Far off in the fields of space, unusual light appears. It hastens toward the earth, and as it comes ' the sign of the Son of Man' glares out from the dark background. What is it? It is a vast radiant cross, the instrument of His sufferings, now turned into the standard of victory, that all may recognize the meaning of the prodigy ! The vision halts in the air, and there Jesus, once the Man of Sorrows, now the King and Judge, takes his place : the attendant angels wheel their mighty squadrons into line to grace His coming -- from the innumerable throng goes up 'a shout' as when an army rushed to conquest-the voice of the archangel leader and the trump of God peal through the expanse, and that night is turned into 'such a day as earth saw never.'
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* "And now the promise of Christ's coming is redeemed. Through the cycles of intervening ages His suffering Church longed and prayed for it. From the stake, from the deep dungeon, from the caves and dens of the earth, whither persecution had driven them, went up the bitter cry-' How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth.' And infi- 594
REV. THOMAS E. VERMILYE, D. D., LL. D.
dels mocked the long delay and scoffed the faith of the saints, saying : 'Where is the promise of his coming?' And He seemed not to regard their complaints, nor did he send deliverance ; and disappointment and woe sometimes awakened fearful doubts ; 'Hath God forgotten to be gracious ?' Is this Bible true? Is there 'a God that judgeth in the earth?' Yet He was faithful that had promised, although His plan must be developed in the appointed order. And now the days of man on earth have run their course-the full scheme is accomplished-the set time has come, and there, at last, He is. The consummation, the destined end of all things, is at hand : 'lift up your heads, ye saints, and sing, for your redemption draweth nigh.' "
Dr. Vermilye is now a well-preserved, gray-haired gentleman of seventy years of age. He'is of the medium stature, compactly built, and, to all appearance, still hale and vigorous. He has a large, round head, with handsome, well-defined features. He would be noticed in any assemblage of men as a person of brilliant, intellectual capa- city. His face has a calm, noble expression, and he has that dignified reserve common to the ministers of the earlier period. Being quite deaf, he naturally gives very close attention to any remarks made to him, and his face has a serious aspect, but when himself engaged in conversation, a glow of animation pervades it. At all times he seems to incline to be meditative, and he delights in instructive and scholarly discourse, though he is not uninfluenced by cheerful and genial associations. He is a man of deep conscientiousness, a studied regard for propriety in all things, and of great fixedness of purpose.
Dr. Vermilye has extensive acquirements as a theological scholar, and altogether a finely cultivated mind. His writings are charac- terized by a fascinating purity of language and much originality of thought. They are eloquent, clear, and at times pathetic. Coming from a mind imaginative as well as logical, they exhibit powerful reasoning decked in the attractive garb of an eloquent, pleasing fancy. There is an entire absence of everything that is florid and extravagant, but the inspiration of a majestic eloquence and the light of a glowing imagination are present in every word. Without the appearance of a special effort in the elaboration of the subject, and without making the discourse any the less argumentative, he grasps the higher conceptions of the intellect, and weaves them into the more eloquent forms of expression. And this is not merely true as regards a few themes, to which more attention may have been given. but it is equally so with reference to every sermon or address that he prepares. His pen is always bold, vigorous, and eloquent, and he imparts original and striking views on even the most ordinary sub
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jects. He seems to recognize the faet that a sermon, if worth writing at all, deserves to be well written, and hence gives to his own not only reflective preparation, but scholarly finish. From the intelligent reader they claim the most profound respect for their valuable, im- pressive thoughts, and with the listener they awaken the emotions which polished rhetorie and effective oratory are certain to arouse.
Dr. Vermilye has a smooth, pleasant voiee, though at intervals it is deficient in clearness and strength. He is particularly gifted in prayer. There is nothing unusual in his manner when preach- ing, nothing calculated for a moment to distract the attention of the listener from the subject to the individual. But there is something quite unusual in the intellectual feast with which he entertains you. The pure gold of the mind glitters in his methodically delivered words, and wisdom itself speaks in your ear. You hasten to obliter- ate from your memory the froth and the trash gathered from the preachers of the sensational, sentimental sort, and bow the intelligence to the dominion of brains, happy to escape once more from the fas- cination of brass.
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REV. ANTOINE VERREN, D. D.,
RECTOR OF THE FRENCH CHURCH, DU ST. ESPRIT, (EPISCOPAL), NEW YORK.
EV. DR. ANTOINE VERREN was born in Marseilles, France. He was graduated at an early age at the Lyceum of Marseilles, and subsequently continued his studies in Geneva, showing a great taste for Latin and Greek litera- ture and philosophical researches. Such was his proficiency at the end of two years, that the Faculte de Theologie conferred upon him the title of tutor, and placed under his charge such of his fellow- countrymen as were yearly arriving at Geneva to complete their studies, that they might pass the requisite examination in the Greek. He entered the Auditore de Theologie in 1821, pursuing his studies in the same chapel of St. Peter's Cathedral, renowned as the spot where the illustrious Calvin, some three hundred years before, lectured the students coming from all parts of Europe. During the first year he was appointed to the honorary position of librarian of the Students' Library, which he held until the termination of his studies, and in the second year obtained the appointment of Preteur, the holder of which office is required for six months to read, when called upon, portions of the church service in the different Protestant churches of the city, and to preach in the country churches. There were forty or fifty students to compete with young Verren, but he ob- tained the position three times in the four years. The arrival of va- cation term gave him an opportunity to visit Marseilles and Lyons, in both of which places he preached two sermons prepared for the faculty before large and delighted audiences. He passed the severe ordeal of the final examination in the fourth year with entire success, retaining his place at the head of his class. He was ordained to the ministry in August, 1825. Recovering from sickness induced by his application to study, he spent some time in rural relaxation, preaching occasionally to crowded congregations. His ability was fully recognized by learned and influential persons, and he was
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