USA > New York > Onondaga County > Jordan > Our church and her interests : being a souvenir of the past history and a survey of the present and future interests of the First Presbyterian Church of Jordan, Onondaga Co., N. Y. . . . > Part 8
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" weeks before entering upon my mission in Western Colorado."
" Praying that the good-will of Him who dwelt in the Bush may rest upon " and abide with you, I am, dear Brother,
" Sincerely and affectionately yours,
"GEO. W. WARNER."
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Ben. John Covert
supplied the church for one year immediately preceding Mr. Thacher's call. After leaving Jordan he spent six months in Auburn Seminary ; then preached three years in Smithville and North Adams, Jefferson county, N. Y .; four years in Black River Literary and Religious Institute, Watertown, N. Y .; seven years in Columbus, Ohio, ten in Cincinnati, Ohio, eight in Terre Haute, Indiana. In all the last-named places he founded seminaries of learning. He was also actively engaged in build- ing an institution of learning for the Michigan Synod at Kala- mazoo. Mr. Covert has been, under God, the instrument of accomplishing much good, and leading many souls to Christ. He is now residing at 1281 Indiana avenue, Chicago, Ill.
Rev. Huntington Lyman,
now of Triangle, Broome co., N. Y., succeeded Rev. W. Thacher, and was stated supply of this church from November, 1841, to March, 1843. He was a son of William Lyman, D. D., and was born in East Haddam, Conn., April 25, 1803. Converted in Utica, N. Y., during the winter of 1831-32, at revival meetings conducted by Dr. Lansing, assisted by Dr. Kirk ; he soon after abandoned mercantile life and entered Lane Seminary, being one of the first class formed there for the study of theology. He and several other young men, who had already been before the public, were graciously voted into the class, not as having received a collegiate training, but as exceptional cases : the phraseology used in their matriculation was, "On the score of general attainments." Under the instruction of Drs. Beecher, Stowe, Briggs and Morgan, the class flourished. At the end of two years the anti-slavery movement broke up the class. The step which brought the class into temporary notoriety was taken, not on account of dissatisfaction with the institution or its venerated pro- fessors, but because the authorities above had " transferred them " (as one of them puts it) from the government of men whom " they knew and loved to the hog and lumber dealers of Cin- " cinnati, whom they did not know and of whom they doubted. " The remarkable enactment which frightened them away being
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" in these words : 'The Executive Committee of the Trustees " shall have power to dismiss any student when they shall think it " necessary so to do'-they having reason to suppose that they " would 'think it necessary so to do' to any anti-slavery student " who had any influence." Many of the fragments surviving this dispersion (one of which was Mr. Lyman) formed the first class at Oberlin, under Mr. Finney, Professor of Theology, of world-wide reputation. After graduation and licensure in 1836, Mr. Lyman was called to a church at Buffalo, N. Y. He has successively ministered in Arcade, Warsaw, Palmyra, Jordan, and Truxton, all in New York. In 1845 he went as Home Missionary to Wisconsin, gathering out of the Presbyter- ians and Congregationalists of the county of Sheboygan enough to organize a church of fifteen members. The place where it was organized is now a flourishing city. The church has been divided again and again until from it have sprung five or more of the Presbyterian churches of that county. After ten years in Sheboygan, he was engaged as financial agent of Beloit college -- afterwards settled at Johnstown, Rock Prairie, Wiscon- sin. Of his missionary experince he says : " In my missionary " life I have seen the wonders of the Lord like them that go " down to the deep and do business upon the great waters. One " winter I was sustained as mysteriously and by means as unex- " pected as was Elijah when fed by the sparrows. Providence in " his favor was not a whit more surprising than in mine."
From the west he returned to Marathon, N. Y., laboring there from 1860 to 1872, removing thence to Triangle, Broome county, N. Y., where he now resides and continues the service in which he has grown aged.
Ben. H. B. Hostord
followed the Rev. Aaron Judson (Mr. Lyman's successor) as stated supply from 1848 to 1849. When last heard from Mr. Hosford was President of a college in the west. He was suc- ceeded by Rev. Calvin Waterbury (deceased).
P
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Rev. Bansom B. Tilelch, D. D.,
recently called from the Presidency of Union College, Schenec- tady, to the Chair of Theology in Auburn Seminary, com- menced his ministerial labors here, being supply during the ill- ness of Rev. C. Waterbury, and for one year subsequent to his removal from Jordan, viz .: from June, 1851, to 1852.
We extract from his letter of greeting :
" UNION COLLEGE,
" SCHENECTADY, N. Y., Dec. 4, 1876.
" Rev. J. Edward Close,
" DEAR BROTHER :- Your note revives pleasant memories of the
" time which I spent in Jordan. * * * With especial pleasure do I remem- " ber the church and people of Jordan. That was the place of my earliest " work in the sacred ministry. There was my earliest professional love, as a " provisional pastor, tender, ardent, hopeful. The church was warmly " responsive. The official board, mindful of my youth, were helpful with " kindest counsel, and were courageous and constant in my support. The days, " as they passed rapidly by, were days not only of peace, but of prosperity. " The Word of God grew and multiplied. Divine blessings cheered us in our " work ; a precious revival quickened the church, and added to its members, " especially from the young of the congregation. * * Barnes, and Hough,
" and Richards, and Chadwick, and Carson, and McDougal, and Botsford, and " other christian men and 'noble women not a few,' I recall so vividly, some of " whom are not : for God hath taken them, and they have entered upon 'the " recompense of reward.' * * * I send my christian salutation, and invoke " upon you a heavenly benediction.
" Sincerely, your Brother in Christ, " RANSOM B. WELCH."
Ben. Immer Crittenden,
now of Meadville, Mich., was pastor from 1852-5. During his ministry, thirty were added to the church. He writes from
" MEADVILLE, December 2, 1876.
" To the Members of the First Presbyterian Church and Congregation of ' Jordan, N. Y.,
" BELOVED :- Having returned only a few weeks since from the East, " it would be quite out of the question for me to be present at your Centennial " Reunion. It would afford me, however, the greatest pleasure to meet again, " after so many years of separation, the dear people of the Jordan church and " congregation. When I call to mind my three years' labor with you, and the " score or more who united with the church during that period, I find my heart
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" inclining towards you with more than ordinary warmth of affection. I trust " your history has been marked with prosperity, and that you, as has been in " my own experience, have passed through many more precious seasons of " revivals ; and further, I hope the present finds you all full of faith and trust, " and largely prosperous. No doubt the changes by death and removal have " altered the complexion of your church and congregation ; still, your existence " as a church, with a pastor, is evidence that God has been with you, and " blessed and prospered you-which may He continue to do in all the future.
" With these few hastily written expressions of regard, I remain
" Yours, in the Gospel of Christ,
" I. N. CRITTENDEN."
Rev. Robert Proctor,
stated supply of this church, from September, 1863-4, now at Freeport, Ill., sends us a cordial and lengthy epistle of reminis- cence and greeting, which we much regret our means and space forbid our copying in full. Referring to the reconstruction of the church, during his supply, he proceeds :
" By the next time I shall have the pleasure of passing through Jordan, I hope " also to have the pleasure of seeing that you have aspired to remodel the spire, " and thus make the external beauty of the building correspond with the inter- " nal. Spiritually we are taught that the internal is the most important and " essential. This, in the building, you have attended to. The external will " receive due attention, no doubt, when it is convenient. The many kind friends " we met while among you have made the remembrance of our brief service " there a pleasure, and Mrs. Proctor often mentions the fact in our conversation. " The hundred dollars you entrusted to my hands, at the time of my last visit, " toward the erection of a church in McComb, Mississippi, was expended in the " erection of a church there, about the size and beauty of your own, for which " the recipients express much gratitude.
"I remember that during my sojourn with you, Jordan was visited by a " destructive fire, which at one time threatened nearly all the town. It com- " menced in Mr. Newall's grain elevator and storehouse, and all the stores in " that part of the town to the main street were destroyed. The Munroe Block, " on the opposite side of the street was saved only by the most persistent "efforts of a few persons-Mr. Orcutt, myself and others, going on the roof " with water and extinguishing the fire as it took in the shingles frequently. " At that time I took fire myself, and had to be 'put out,' which was done " by Mr. Orcutt's efforts. And now, again, I learn that you have been vis- "ited with a Centennial fire, equally destructive. The losers and sufferers have " my sympathies and good wishes. May none of you fail to be warned of " the final conflagration. * * * * * *
" Finally, brethren, it is my wish and prayer that the days to come may be
" better than the past-better in the men that shall be called to minister unto
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" you in holy things; better in the lives of the members ; better in the larger " ingathering of souls into the Master's kingdom ; and better in the greatly " increasing numbers of those who shall from your church ascend to the joys " of the church triumphant before. the throne. Be afraid of nothing but sin. "Affectionately, your friend and brother,
"ROBERT PROCTOR."
Rev. I. D. C. Aellis,
now of Gowanda (Presbytery of Buffalo), N. Y., began ministe- rial life in Jordan. Graduating from Anburn Seminary in 1865, he was installed over this church, where he labored successfully two and a half years. From this church he removed to Dryden, N. Y., thence to his present charge. Mr. and Mrs. Nellis are held in high regard by those who knew them in Jordan and vicinity. He was succeeded by
Beu. Cyrus Mì. gerry,
who is now pastor of the Congregational church of Southwick, Mass. From a cordial letter of salutation and greetings received December 6, 1876, we extract the following :
" If I may be permitted, from this distance, to offer a word of exhortation, it " shall consist simply in reminding you of the authoritative word of Jehovah, " when he bade his servant Moses to 'speak unto the children of Israel, that "' they go forward.' Forward is the watchword of the hour, with this genera- " tion, in worldly things ; and shall it be said that the children of this world " are wiser than the children of light ? Let it not be so! Having spent four " years with you as your pastor, I am not only personally interested in the vari- "ous members of the church, I am also, and specially solicitous, that the " candlestick of the Lord should not be removed out of its place, and that your " Presbyterian Zion should not fail to be more and more, from a spiritual point " of view, as a light in the world, and as salt that shall not lose its savor. " recall with pleasure my stay with you. I shall ever cherish, with grateful "Tecollection, the christian friends whom it was my privilege first to meet, and " who co-operated with me so well in the work which was given us mutually to
* * * " do. * *
" The Lord bless thee, and keep thee; the Lord make His face to shine upon " thee and be gracious unto thee; the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee " and give thee peace."
"Yours, in christian fellowship,
"CYRUS M. PERRY."
Memorial Sermon.
Good
" THUS SAITH THE LORD : 'STAND YE IN THE WAYS, AND SEE, AND ASK FOR THE OLD PATHS, WHERE IS THE GOOD WAY, 'AND WALK THEREIN, AND YE SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.' "-Jeremiah vi., 16.
The Good Old Way.
" THUS SAITH THE LORD : 'STAND YE IN THE WAYS, AND SEE, AND ASK FOR THE OLD PATHS WHERE IS THE GOOD WAY, AND WALK THEREIN, AND YE SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.'"-Jere- miah vi., 16.
Although in many respects, it may be, our condition as a church and people differs greatly from that of the Israelites when Jeremiah uttered these words, yet the sentiment and admonition they contain are seasonable and suitable for the times and circumstances in which we live.
They furnish a theme for our consideration, this morning, which will prove, I trust, a fitting and profitable sequel to the Memorial services which have so happily engaged our interest during the week past.
It has been, and is, my most earnest desire and endeavor to revive in my own heart and life, as well as in the hearts and lives of all associated with me here, a holy enthusiasm and devo- tion in all our church enterprises, and in the discharge of all those solemn and sacred duties which devolve upon us as indi- vidual Christians.
In reviewing the past, my own heart has been warmed and encouraged not a little with the assurance, that spite of some failures and shortcomings-spite of some mistaken and misguided policies and practices of the past (the result, as one good brother puts it, " of the church trying to lead herself")-this Vine (evi- dently of God's own planting, and which He has now and again visited with His especial favor,) has not been-is not now-bar-
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ren of all fruitfulness. The stock is yet alive ; there is yet sap in the branches; and if the vine-dressers will dig about the vine, and cultivate and cherish it with assiduous culture and care, we shall certainly see a more flourishing growth, and a more abund- ant fruitage unto God.
The candlestick has not yet been removed out of its place. Its light yet shines-not, it is true, as brightly as we desire or as the Master would have it shine; but (thank God !) it begins to burn with a brighter, steadier glow ; and now, if we will only reburnish the candlestick, repolish the reflectors, and feed and nourish the sacred flame, we shall assuredly see the righteousness of this Zion " go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp " that burneth !" The Master says, " Be watchful and strengthen " the things that remain."
" Let all your lamps be bright, And trim the golden flame ; Gird up your loins as in His sight, For awful is His name."
When we remember that forty-seven years ago, on the 2d of July last, this church consisted of only eighteen members (eight men and ten women), and that now its membership is five times that number, surely we are able, by dependence on the Divine blessing, and strict fidelity to our individual charge, to "raise the gospel banner from the dust" of neglect and indifference ; and see to it, that its crimson folds wave triumphantly over an extended church, and an added number of souls redeemed- redeemed through the instrumentality of faithful, earnest exem- plification of " the truth as it is in Jesus" in the lives of each of us, His pledged disciples.
The purpose of our Memorial was not only that hallowed memories might be revived ; not only that we might be reminded of, and rejoice in, tender and touching associations of friends, and years, and scenes gone by ; but also that our courage and confidence, our prayers and resolves, might be rekindled and re-inspired for the duties of the present and the demands of the future.
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The rolling on of the years from the past to the present, accu- mulating memories and experiences interesting, instructive and profitable to us all, has multiplied the reasons for renewed activ- ity, on the part of those who remain in the service of our fathers' God-in the interests of His church-in the gospel of His Son. The vista of the past was never so long-our obliga- tion in view of achievements and benefits secured to us therein was never so weighty-as it is to-day. Time never carried such a burden of events on his shoulders. History never held in her storehouse so many treasures of knowledge and experience gath- ered from fields already reaped, or held in her hands so many seeds for future flowering and fruitage. God has never been more manifestly working around us. Men have never been more busy. There have never been so many "ways" of men to see. Never have questions more numerous, more varied, more vital, stirred men's minds than in the experience of the present-root- questions affecting every sphere of human life, social, political, industrial, moral and religious. There have never come to Christians more numerous or urgent calls, from all quarters, for the fervent exercise of all their powers ; for the faithful discharge of all their duties ; for consistent continuance in the principles and practices of the Christian religion Depend upon it, breth- ren, we shall do well at this juncture of our history, in times when intrigues and assaults are being plotted and prosecuted upon the citadel of christian truth -- upon the faith and polity of our most sacred and valuable institutions as a people -- to heed the injunction of the Lord, through His prophet : " Thus saith " the Lord : 'Stand ye in the ways, and see ; and ask for the " old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye. " shall find rest for your souls !"
. Evidently the time when Jeremiah received this message from the Lord to deliver to Israel, was a time of spiritual dearth and decline, when pastors and people were alike in need of genuine, gracious revival ; a time when the people said to the prophets, " Prophesy unto us smooth things!" and the prophets, caring more for popularity thau for the Divine approval, pandered to the clamor of their hearers, so that God said of them, "They
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" have healed, also, the hurt of the daughter of my people " slightly, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace !"- a time when their religion consisted more in form than in fact- in profession than practice-in creed than conduct ; a time when many of the Israelites had departed from the safe and narrow way of the Divine worship and service into devious and dubious ways of indifference or idolatry, drifting into habits and practices of life which deadened their interest in, and rubbed off their relish for, the words and ways of the Lord ; a time when many declined from the exalted and earnest labor and enjoyment of by gone days, into ways of selfish indulgence and worldly pleas- ure, to the neglect of private and public religious duties, or to their perfunctory and lifeless observance. They needed to be arrested and aroused. Then God's call bade them pull up in their heedless haste, and ponder well the path of their feet. " Thus saith the Lord God: 'Stand ye in the ways, and see ; " and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk " therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls."
As I remarked before, the condition of Israel at that time may not answer, in every particular, to your condition as a church and people to-day. I do not apprehend that with us there is any dearth and decline deep-seated and extensive as with them-that there has been or is now, such wholesale departure or deviation from the words and ways of the Lord, though He knows, and we feel that our works have not been perfect before Him, or our christian course worthy so high and holy a vocation. And yet, brethren, does not the fact that for so long a time in our history, we have been unvisited with a deep, genuine, general work of grace, indicate a lack of spiritual vital- ity and vigor, in view of which it is our wisdom, our privilege, our duty, by earnest search and effort to revive our own and others' interest in the work of God ? If among us there should be one or more backsliders ; if only one or more of us here to- day are conscious of declination from the ways of God and the service of our Redeemer, there is sufficient_ argument to make this a seasonable message to us-"Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls."
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The text suggests three things for our consideration :
I. SURVEY OF THE PATHS WE ARE PURSUING.
" Stand ye in the ways and see !"
II. SELECTION AND PURSUIT OF THE 'GOOD WAY.'
"Ask for the old paths, where is the good way and walk therein.
.
III. THE PROMISE AND REWARD ASSOCIATED WITH SUCH A SELEC- TION AND PURSUIT.
"And ye shall find rest for your souls "
1. CONSIDER THE INJUNCTION OF THE TEXT, "STAND YE IN THE WAYS AND SEE," AS A CALL TO SURVEY AND CONSIDER THE WAYS WE ARE PURSUING.
The picture presented in the text, is that of a company of travelers, diverted from the course they should be pursuing, by deception, delusion or delinquency. Suddenly arrested, they are admonished "to stand in the ways and see"-to consider wliat place they desire to reach, and assure themselves whether or no they are in the road that leads to it. They are advised as far as possible to retrace the steps unwisely taken, to recover ground lost by former indiscretion or folly, and to renew, with redoubled energy and zeal, their pursuit of those " old paths where is the good way."
The measure in which our attention and affection have been diverted from the pursuit of the purposes for which, by covenant vows, we are banded together as a church and society-is the measure in which the call applies to us. The extent to which our fervor and fidelity in Christ's cause have been supplanted by formality and faint-heartedness, is the extent of our need of the appeal. It is recorded in Old Testament history that during the weak and wicked rule of Ahaz, King of Israel, Solomon's beau- tiful temple was despoiled of many treasures, and the worship and service of God suffered to decline in vitality and magnifi. cence. Among other things it is said that Ahaz removed the magnificent brazen sea (in which a vast quantity of water was kept for use in the temple service) from its original costly pedes-
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tals and placed meaner supports in their room. (A miserable expedient to replenish the coffers of the King.) "And King Ahaz took down the sea from off the brazen oxen that were under it and put it upon a pavement of stones."
It happens sometimes in the management of church enterprise and individual life that inferior expedients such as these are re- sorted to, to lessen the exercise of energy or limit the flow of Christian benevolence. We easily accommodate ourselves to an inferior standard of Christian living and labor. We come to think that less prayer, less watchfulness, less trouble, less diligent use of the means of grace, less expenditure of talent and time and money in Christian worship and service, will do, and so in onr experience we practically do what Ahaz did-we take down the old historic sea and place it upon "a pavement of stones !" Thus, church life, and Christian profession, decline in power and diminish in influence. It is easy to slide down hill !
As a church and as individuals we need to "stand in the ways and see," to survey and consider the course we are pursuing, to make sure that our energies and enterprises are so directed as to meet divine approval and accomplish the desired results.
Are we as a church moving "onward, upward, Heavenward ?" Is our course powerful, prosperous, progressive in the work of saving souls and building up Christian character ? Are we adopting means and measures, pursuing plans and pathways, that shall conduce to these high and holy ends of Christian profession and church fellowship ?
Are onr sympathies and services, our hearts and hands, united in direct and determined purpose of securing, under divine guid- ance and blessing, the prosperity of our church ?
To assure ourselves on these points we will do wisely to " stand and see," to "look well to our goings," to "ponder the path of our feet," to enquire the tendency of our life and influence ; that we may escape the experience and destiny of those who "remove the ancient land marks"-forsaking the old and tried paths-to wander in "the way of darkness," for "there is a way
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that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."
If we would "stand in the ways and see," in the sense of the passage, we must ponder the past with a view to profit ; survey the present to detect and amend errors, and probe the future with an eye and endeavor for the progressive develop- ment of the Redeemer's Kingdom in our own hearts and homes ; in the church of our choice, and in the community where God in his providence has called us to live and labor for Him. We are not to be careless, willful or reckless wanderers in ways of our own choice, irrespective of the commands of God, the claims of the church and the calls of the community. We are to consider our ways and choose a course in which all the duties and demands of a christian's calling and surroundings shall be fairly and fully and cheerfully responded to ; we are to be observant, wakeful, vigilant, on the alert to discern the signs, detect the dangers, discharge the duties of the hour. We are to have " eyes behind " to read the lessons of the past, report them to memory and reap their harvest of impetus and inspiration-" eyes before " to scan the opening future, to perceive our relation to its prosperity (our power to promote or prevent it), to catch sight of the inviting look and beckoning hand of our Master bidding us " press for- ward toward the mark for the prize of our high calling of God in Christ Jesus !
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