USA > Virginia > Henrico County > Henrico County > The first century of the First Baptist Church of Richmond, Virginia. 1780-1880 > Part 9
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brutes than his ability to profit by the experi- ence and wisdom of those who have gone before him. In studying the history and the habits of the various animals around us, we are impressed with the fact that they have made no improvement. The bee builds honey-comb to-day, just as his ancestors in the wilderness of Judea built two thousand years ago. The eagle of to-day is no wiser than his progenitors who made their nests among the Cedars of Lebanon. The beavers construct their dams just as they made them ages ago. Instinct makes no progress. But intelligence grows. The wisdom of the past accumulates for men into a capital for the present, and the thoughts of one generation pass into and fructify in the next.
This great earth, on which we stand to-day, surrounded by so many objects that please the eye, and delight the soul, was brought to its present state through different creative periods, each embracing millions of years. Stratum was laid upon stratum, creation was added to creation, until God looked out from the hea- vens and pronounced it good, complete. Just so it has been with the successive generations of men. They have not been simply repeti-
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tions of each other, like the generations of the lower animals ; but each as it has passed away has left some new stratum of knowledge, wis- dom, and experience to be added as its instal- ment to the patrimony of the race. We are wiser and richer than our fathers, because we come after them, and inherit their wisdom and wealth.
"We walk abroad and gather as our own,
The precious harvests which the dead have sown."
The secrets which Galileo discovered when he turned his rude telescope to the heavens, and the laws which Newton so ably expounded, are elementary principles in our education. The progress of learning since their day has placed us in possession of a world of know- ledge, of which they never dreamd.
ยท Who doubts that the Church of the Lord Jesus is richer to-day than it was a hundred years ago! By all that was accomplished by such men as the Wesleys, Whitefield, Carey, and Judson; by all that was ripe in the wisdom, grand in the eloquence, and noble in the lives of such men as Thornwell, Frederick W. Robertson, Francis Wayland, and Richard Fuller ; by all the victories that have been won
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for Christ in battles with pagan superstition and infidel philosophy, the Church is richer, stronger, and better equipped for holy warfare to-day than it was a century ago.
" I have sent you to reap that whereon you bestowed no labor." That is our position. We stand in the midst of a harvest prepared for us by the toils of other men. We have entered into other men's labors. We are build- ing on foundations which our fathers laid, and with a thousand helps and advantages which they never possessed. The practical question before us to-night, the question which I pray God to lay upon the conscience of every mem- ber of this Church, is, what will you do with this legacy? What will you do with the results of a hundred years of faith, and prayer, and sacrifice, and toil ? Will you improve them and add to them, so that you shall leave them to those who come after you, enlarged and en- riched by some new deposit of your own? or will you sit down in idleness and see them waste away and perish ?
It has grown into a proverb. "The boy who begins his fortune where his father left off, will end where his father began." As a rule, in- herited wealth is a title deed to sloth. Many a
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Church has begun a downward career at the point when she felt that she was "rich and in- creased in goods, and in need of nothing." No young man will succeed in any trade or profes- sion who aims at being simply a repetition of his father. His father ran a lumber-mill with horse-power and succeeded, grew rich ; but let him attempt it in this day of progress and how signal will be his failure! His father learned music by a system of patent notes. Let him begin according to the same method, and how inglorious will be his career. Ministers and Churches must work in harmony with the spirit and wants of the age in which they live. David served his generation by unifying and extend- ing his kingdom, and by collecting treasure for the building of the Temple. If Solomon had attempted to do just what his father did, no progress would have been made. But he entered into his father's labors : he took up his father's plan for the building of the Temple, and pursued it to a glorious consummation.
The age in which we live has problems of its own-problems which differ from those of every previous age-and we must solve them, and thus improve upon the wisdom of the past. The truths of the gospel are immutable, but the
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methods of presenting them must change to keep up with the progress of thought and taste. The men who centuries ago stood at the very pinnacle of pulpit power and renown, would hardly be listened to to-day. The men and women who made the first fifty years of this Church's history were noble spirits. In their own peculiar way they wrought wonders. They built honestly and solidly. But if we were to attempt a repetition of their methods, we should utterly fail to compass the work which we are expected to do. A more eloquent man than John Kerr never stood before a Richmond audi- ence. He was the " eagle of pulpit-eloquence." Many moons will wax and wane before Virginia will produce his equal. But his was eloquence born of peculiar circumstances, that have long since passed away. The impetuosity, the wild abandon, which gave him such power over the multitude, is not the style of speech which ac- cords with the spirit and tastes of the audiences to which some of his successors have preached.
What would become of the Sunday-school, if we should attempt to conduct it according to the fashion of our fathers? How long would it abide the ordeal of long prayers, long chapters, long lessons, long metres, and long faces ?
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Would it be wise to revive the Church Music of fifty years ago? I can well remember when in one of the best of our Southern Churches the sermon was usually preceded by the singing of "Hark! from the tombs a doleful sound." It was sung as a solo by one of the Deacons, whose voice was as rickety as the sentiment was plaintive. When some of our fathers were children the violin, the flute, and the bagpipe did the work which is now performed by the organ. A country pastor, occupying for the first time the pulpit of a city Church, in which such music was in vogue, made the disastrous mistake of asking the choir to "fiddle and blow the opening hymn."
Not to reproduce the past, but to develop, out of all that is good and noble in it, results that will be of greater value to the world than those which our fathers produced-that is the duty of the hour-that is the work committed to our hands. Let us take all that has come down to us from former generations of good and faithful men, and adapt it to the needs of the day in which our lives are spent. Our relation to the generation that shall come after us is just that which our fathers sustained to us. They were sowers of seed, and so are we. We
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reap the results of their labors, and those who follow us will gather the fruits of our faith and toils. They live in works which they left behind them, and we may project our influence into the far future by leaving upon the shores of time proofs of our love and loyalty to God. The Lord grant that we may leave to posterity as rich a heritage as has been left to us.
Standing here upon the threshold of another century of our Church's life, let us look about us and see what new enterprise we can under- take by which we may send our benediction down to those who shall write our history and celebrate our worth? We propose to make this occasion the inauguration of such an enter- prise. What shall it be? Already you have answered that question. With great unanimity you have said, " The completion of the Rich- mond College building." You have decided to erect the other wing, and to dedicate it to the memory of the man to whom both Church and College are more indebted than to any other man living or dead.
A few months ago the sad tidings went out to the country that J. B. Jeter was dead. Deep was our grief, loud were our lamentations. While we were yet weeping over our great.
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loss the demand was heard from every quarter -" Let his monument be built, and his epitaph be written "! The sentiment was universal, that the Baptists of Virginia ought to erect some memorial of the beautiful virtues and noble deeds that made his life a light to the world. Nothing seems to be more in harmony with the " eternal fitness of things," than that this Church, in which the prime of his manhood was spent, and where the brightest results of his ministry were realized, should take the lead of any movement to honor his name and per- petuate the memory of his worth.
Out of the very bosom of the blackness which the infidelity of this age has gathered about our blessed religion, " shines the light of holy lives, like star-beams over doubt." Among the number whose holy living have demon- strated the divinity of our faith, there is no one more worthy of mention than the man to whom this monument will be built. Phidias proposed to make a statue of Alexander out of Mount Athos, holding in one hand a beautiful river, and in the other a magnificent city. The reali- zation of his conception would have been the supreme triumph of art. Such was the tribute of which the great sculptor felt his hero worthy.
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A hero he was; but how inglorious his end ! After he had climbed the dizzy heights of his ambition, and looked down upon a conquered world, he died in the midst of a shameful de- bauch. He was monarch of all things but
himself. There is a little world within man's own bosom in which he may rise or fall. " There is an inward government of the thoughts and passions, which is an object of loftier ambition, than the possession of any earthly crown or sceptre." He who governs himself is the only real potentate. Such was the man whose name we propose to honor. In the presence of any temptation ; under the pressure of any trial ; in the midst of the most exciting scenes,-he was master of himself. He was ambitious, but he never suffered ambi- tion to take him one inch beyond what he be- lieved to be the line of truth, rectitude, and honor. He was passionate, but over all feeling his great will was supreme. As the rod of Moses swallowed up all the symbols of Egyp- tian wizardry, so did Dr. Jeter's purpose to do right consume every meaner motive and un- lawful desire.
It was a custom among the Romans to place the busts of their distinguished ancestors in the
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vestibules of their houses, so that they might be continually reminded of their virtues and renown. History records the name of many a great Roman who had descended from families in which this custom was observed. Let us build a monument that shall keep green in the memories of our children and our children's children, the virtues of a man who was nobler than the noblest Roman.
Dr. Jeter was zealous and steadfast in his support of the cause of education. No man ever had a more just appreciation of the ad- vantages of education to the individual, the community, and the nation. He believed that the school-master, armed with his primer, was doing more than the soldier to uphold and ex- tend the liberties of his country. He was en- thusiastic in his devotion to Richmond College. He presided at its birth. He watched over it through all the stages and struggles of its sub- sequent career. He prayed for it; he wrote for it; he pleaded for it; and he gave to it of his means to the very limit of his ability. He was the unflinching friend of every man who occu- pied a chair in its Faculty, and of every student who came there for instruction. The welfare of that Institution was among the last subjects
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that engaged his thoughts upon a dying bed. It is said that Livingstone was found dead upon his knees. In that posture he breathed to heaven his last prayer for benighted Africa. It would be substantially true to say that Dr. Jeter died praying for Richmond College.
How, then, can we honor his name in a man- ner that will more beautifully harmonize with the spirit, character, and history of the man, than by making his monument a part of the Institution he loved so well, and for which he labored so faithfully? To erect the other wing of the building and call it the "Jeter Wing;" to set apart a spacious hall in that wing and call it "The Jeter Memorial Hall;" to place within this hall his library and manuscripts, and also a life-size portrait of his majestic form,-would be a graceful and imposing tribute to his mem- ory and a help to the College that would greatly increase its influence and patronage.
To accomplish this object, only twenty-five thousand dollars are required. If the Baptists of Virginia refuse to contribute this sum, they will prove themselves unworthy of the man who for more than fifty years bore aloft their banner in the ranks of holy war. If the old Church over whose head a century has rolled
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its suns away should refuse to aid in rendering this act of homage to such illustrious worth, let her blot out the memory of this day, clothe her- self in sackcloth, and sit down in ashes. Let her repair to the grave of her once honored leader only to weep over the degeneracy of her spirit and the departure of her glory.
ADDRESS
BY W. E. HATCHER.
M Y BELOVED BRETHREN OF THE FIRST CHURCH :- You must not expect from me an elaborate address. The late- ness of the hour, the richness and eloquence of the address which you have just heard from your Pastor, and the fact that Dr. Burrows is to follow me, requires me to be brief.
It was understood, I believe, that I would speak particularly in regard to the honored and lamented Dr. Jeter. To me such a task at any time would be most grateful, but happily the allusions to this famous man of God, in the addresses already made, have been so full, just, and beautiful, that but little remains to be added.
It accords with the finest impulses of our nature to honor the memory of the great and the good. Earth's noblest monuments were built in honor of those who, by living, made the
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world better. It is not too much to say, that within our generation no member of our Bap- tist brotherhood has passed away who more fully commanded respect and affection, than Dr. Jeter. Almost every point in his life and character touched the popular heart. We honor those who have made themselves-who, unhelped by fortune, have risen to distinction. This man, reared among the bleak hills of Bed- ford, in deepest poverty, and without good teachers, pushed upwards to the loftiest emi- nence. He was not that glaring, eccentric thing which shallow men call a genius, but he had an imperial mind -a mind so compact, vigorous, and clear, that he penetrated what- ever he saw, and mastered whatever he touched. Do we admire high, unselfish deeds? For sixty years Dr. Jeter labored without stint for the good of others. Measured by his work, by the souls saved, the saints cheered, the poor helped, the wandering reclaimed, and the sor- rowing comforted, he well merits the grateful applause of his brethren. Of all men that I have known, he had the most harmonious, con- sistent, and exalted character. His devotion to his Saviour was wonderful. It shaped his life and fixed his destiny.
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It was no surprise, though it was profoundly touching to all hearts, when the fact was made public that this great historic Church had deter- mined to devote her centennial thank-offering to the erection of a monument in honor of her old Pastor, Dr. Jeter. Not that you would rob Christ to exalt a man, but that you would attest your zeal for Christ by paying a splendid com- pliment to one of his servants. Nor is it less creditable to you that you have decided to build a monument which, while it honors the dead, shall also bless the living. Your memo- rial is not to be a polished shaft, not a tower of shining brass, not a costly statue, but some- thing which will permanently associate his name with Christian learning. The conception of a Library Hall at Richmond College in memory of Dr. Jeter will attest at once your grateful recollection of the deceased, and your broad and public-spirited interest in higher educa- tion.
It only remains for me to charge you to do this work nobly and well. You never before occupied a position so conspicuous and majestic as that which you hold to-night. If you rise to the sublimity of this hour, you will add im- measurably to the glory which already crowns
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your Church ; but if you fail now, her fame will be incurably wounded.
It has long been one of the distinctions of your Church that she has been a leader. Wise, generous, and vigorous, she has long held the lead in great movements. She has often voiced the good purposes which struggled for utterance in other churches, and often sounded the key- note which quickened others into activity. From the day that Dr. Jeter died there has been a popular clamor for a monument befitting his worth and fame. What it should be, and how it should be done, were perplexing ques- tions. But when this Church spoke, men doubted no longer. When it was announced that your centennial gifts would be consecrated to this purpose, there was at once an assurance of success, and a readiness to help. As you have taken the front, remember that many eyes are upon you. For you to give ignobly will be to damage the enterprise which you have volun- teered to champion. Failure here will be de- spair everywhere. You not only decide to- night what you will give, but in no mean degree, you suggest what others must give.
You have been regaled to-day with the heroic story of the rise and growth of your
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Church. What a charming feast you have had ! One of your own sons has painted with a master's hand, the pure and illustrious men who have been your Pastors. You have been re- minded of your fathers and mothers, who lived in the service, and died in the embrace, of this Church. The deep voice of a century has spoken to you to-day, testifying to the faithful- ness of God's word, and to the burning zeal of those who once constituted this Church. Can you resist these thrilling influences ? Do they not inflame you with an ambition to attempt great things ? If you can be stirred to noble deeds, it must be now. If these glories and festivities cannot lift you to great deeds, then you must die without knowing what it is to be noble. Standing in the line which parts the centuries and enriched by what the past has done for you, say what you will do for the future !
Remember, that you are committed. You are advertised for a great performance to-night. There is no escape for you. Your programme pledges you for a great act. Fail, and the world will laugh at your disaster.
Here hangs the picture of the glorified Jeter. You put it here in token of your esteem and
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honor. You are to lead the Virginia Baptists to-night in a movement to embalm his name. Do you work well; act in a manner worthy of the hour and the man, or else strike down his picture, and let him be forgotten.
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THE CHURCH IN ITS RELATION TO MISSIONS.
BY H. A. TUPPER.
THE CHURCH IN ITS RELATION TO MISSIONS.
T THE missionary history of this Church di- vides itself into three periods of some thirty-three years each: First, from its organization in 1780 to 1813, when the "Foreign Missionary Society of Virginia " was formed in this Church; Second, from 1813 to 1846, when the Southern Baptist Convention held its first anniversary in this house; Third, from 1846 to 1880, when this Centenary of the Church- missionary in all its career-is celebrated.
FIRST PERIOD: FROM 1780 TO 1813.
That was missionary discipline when those fourteen members of the Boar Swamp Church went forth, in 1780, and constituted this Church in Franklin's house, on Union Hill; and further missionary experience when they set out again and erected their humble house of worship on Cary Street; and still missionary progress was
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it when they established themselves in the brick edifice, on the corner of Broad and College Streets; but the most missionary feature of these movements was the removal of Joshua Morris from Boar Swamp to Richmond, to labor for the infant Church, according to the historian Benedict, "at his own costs." Dr. Wm. D. Thomas says of Morris: "Surely the memory of this grand old pioneer missionary and planter of evergreen churches deserves to be cherished by the child of his youth." And how God blessed this missionary zeal of Church and Pastor is indicated in the fact that in 1808 the Church had grown from fourteen souls to five hundred and sixty, with several licensed preachers.
This Church was a prominent member of the Dover Association, constituted in 1783, which, like other Baptist Associations, was only a mis- sionary body. Semple, in his "History of Vir- ginia Baptists," published in 1810, says: "The chief business of these Associations was to re- ceive petitions and appoint preachers to travel into new places where the gospel was likely to flourish." The formation itself of such Asso- ciations was an evidence of decided missionary spirit, inasmuch as it was done in spite of Bap-
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tist jealousy of church-independence; which jealousy was intensified by hatred to the hier- archal domination which had just been over- thrown. The blessedness of the gospel sent to the destitute is described in an early Circular Letter of the Dover Association, in the language of Solomon: "As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country." A far country was Georgia, where our missionaries went-as far then as Asia is now. The biog- rapher of one of these Evangelists speaks of his longing to preach the gospel in that " distant land," as he calls the South; and of his preach- ing in "various benighted regions ; " and how this missionary spirit was still honored of the Lord appears in the statement of G. B. Taylor, that, in 1773, there were three thousand Bap- tists in Virginia; and of Benedict, that in 1812. there were thirty-five thousand. This is the more remarkable, as the first period of our Church's history started and ended in wars with Great Britain. Immediately after the "Old Revolution " the churches were in a sluggish spiritual state; but missionaries were active, and the churches stirred themselves, and God poured out copious blessings, from the moun- tains to the seaboard-reminding the aged
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people, doubtless, of the tidal waves of salva- tion that rolled over the land under the preach- ing of that foreign missionary, George White- field, and of the home missionaries, Stearns and Marshall and Harris, and others. Nor was the missionary intelligence and sympathy of our fathers less broad and deep than ours. Robert B. Semple-who was President of the Baptist Convention of Virginia, organized in this Church-and men of his stamp were warm and able advocates of foreign missions. Abraham Marshall, in his sketch of his father, Daniel Marshall, published in 1802, refers thus to the evangelization of the heathen: "The Scrip- tures have been translated into several barbar- ous languages. Missionaries have gone out literally into all the world, and sinners of all de- scriptions have fallen by thousands beneath the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
The interest that John Courtney, the second Pastor of the Church, experienced in this sub- ject may be inferred from his own missionary spirit, which possessed him to the very end. "Even when too old and infirm to dismount from his horse," says Dr. Burrows, "he rode, cane in hand, from door to door, and calling the friends out to him, would encourage, counsel,
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and exhort them, sometimes closing his inter- view with prayer on horseback in the street." This interest is also implied in the tribute voted to him in this Church by the Baptist Convention of Virginia, organized with special reference to Foreign Missions :-
" Resolved, unanimously, That this Convention cherish an affectionate remembrance of their lately deceased brother, Elder John Courtney, whose praise, as a laborer in the work of the Lord, is in all the churches. He has come to his grave as a shock of corn fully ripe."
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