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1994.A
MEMORIAL SERMON,
PREACHED IN THE
Thirteenth Street Presbyterian Church,
MAY 1st, 1864,
Being the 25th Anniversary of his Pastorate,
by
Rev. S. D. BURCHARD, D. D.
NEW-YORK.
a. F. BUNCE <Sc CO. PRINTERS, 325 PEARL STREET.
1864.New-York, Monday May 2, 1864.
Rev. S. D. Burchard, D. D.
The undersigned, in behalf of the officers and members of the Thirteenth
Street Presbyterian Church and Congregation would respectfully represent, that
the Memorial Sermon, delivered yesterday morning, as it exhibits the true mission
of the Christian Pulpit, and presents a valuable record of the Divine goodness
in the history of our Church, is of permanent and general interest, and well
calculated to provoke unto love and to good works; and we do therefore request’
that a copy of the same, may be given us for publication, that its influence may
be extended and perpetuated.
Yery Respectfully and truly yours,
John W. Thompson,
Wm. Wade,
Nath’l Ellis,
Welcome R. Beebe,
Thos. H. Herring,
Andrew Lester,
L. E. Jackson,
H. H. Christie,
D. Gilmour,
Geo. W. Beale,
Hermon E. Giffin.
New-York, May 8, 1864.
Dear Brethren,
Your kind note of the 2d inst,, “on behalf of the Officers and Members of
the 13th Street Church and Congregation” requesting a copy of my “Memorial
Sermon” for publication is before me. The Sermon was hastily prepared amidst
pressing pastoral cares and duties, still it may be valuable to my own member s,
as embodying a brief and summary history of our beloved church; and if it
shall “provoke unto love and good works,” I shall not regret to see it put in to a
more permanent form. I therefore submit the manuscript, as preached, with
the addition of two or three explanatory notes, to be used at your discretion.
With sincere gratitude for all God’s mercies and your past kindness, and with
good hopes and prospects for the furture.
I am very truly,
Your affectionate Pastor,
S. D. BURCHARD.
To Messrs. John W. Thompson, Lester, Christie, Wade, Ellis and others.SERMON.
“ And I brethren, when I came to yon, came not with excellency of speech or
of wisdom, declaring nnto you the testimony of God; for 1 determined not to
know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified,—And I was
with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. And my speech and
my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstra-
tion of the Spirit and of power; that your faith should not stand in the wisdom
of men, but in the power of God ”	1 Cor. 2d., 1, 2, S, 4, 5.
This is the language of Paul, addressed to the church in
Corinth—a city distinguished for its affluence, its art, its learn-
ing, its luxury and its most abandoned lewdness. Various
causes had conspire^ to bring over the church a moral para-
lyses, to introduce among the brethren strife and alienation.
There was abundant occasion for these two letters from the
Apostle, letters full of warning and Apostolic counsel. In the
verses selected for our present meditation, he refers to his first
coming among them—to the manner, to the matter and to the
object of his mission. If you carefully observe, you will per-
ceive that these three points are presented in the text.
We have deemed them, not inappropriate to the present
occasion. It is just a quarter of a century, this very day,
since I was ordained and set apart to the work of the ministry
in this city and installed Pastor of the Houston Street Pres-
byterian Church; And I think I can truly adopt the language
of the Apostle as my own.”
“ And I brethren, when I came to you, came not with ex-
cellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the tes-
timony of God. For I determined not to know any thing
among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was
with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.6
And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing
words of man’s wisdom, hut in demonstration of the spirit and
of power, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of
men, but in the power of God.”
I. Let me first call your attention to the manner or rather
to the Spirit of the Apostle’s ministry in Corinth.
Though he was learned and eloquent, and could take rank
among the first scholars of his age; though he might have
wielded the power of logic and used the arts of the rhetori-
cian, yet he came, not after the manner of a philosopher, to
theorize and to speculate about questions to no profit. Bur-
dened with the weight of his message and his responsibility
as an ambassador of Christ, he determined not to encounter
the learning, the idolatries and the corruptions of the city
with weapons of man’s invention, or the carnal philosophy of
the schools. He needed a profounder faith; he must realize the
Divine paradox, that “ God has chosen the foolish things
of the world to confound the wise, and the weak things of the
world, to confound things which are mighty; and base things
of the world, and things which are despised hath God chosen?
yea and things which are not to bring to nought things that
are.”
This was his chosen philosophy and the manner of his en-
trance into that polished and profligate city was in perfect har-
mony. If as an orator he could have played upon the passions
of the people; if he could have silenced cavillers by the irre~
sistible force of his reasoning, he preferred to have their faith
stand not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of * God,
His manner was simple; his words, though well chosen,
were neither technical, nor scholastic. He reasoned, he con-
vinced the understanding; he impressed the heart, but not
with the words which man’s wisdom teacheth. He spake, but
“in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” He showed
himself a workman, that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of life. Still he was frail and human, and
when he canvassed the strong holds of Satan in that city—the7
/
many temples dedicated to his worship, his unscrupulous de-
votees—the wealth, the learning, the influence consecrated
to his service, he felt his utter incompetency and says, “ I was
with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.”
No wonder, that he should have exclaimed, “ who is sufficient
for these things ?” The erudite Paul was not.
He felt it; he realized that he was alone there in that great
city, without human sympathy, co-operation or help. And
what could he do? Nothing, but to cast himself in his weak-
ness, upon the Divine strength. And now, but for the occa-
sion, it would seem to be incongruous to turn from the Apostle
to speak of myself. “ And I brethren, when I came to you,
came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring
unto you the testimony of God. And I was with you in
weakness and in fear and in much trembling.” When I came
to yyu, I came a young man, in conscious weakness, without
experience, witho ut reputation, without any knowledge of the
field I was to cultivate. I came to a feeble church, few in
numbers, poor in their pecuniary resources, distracted and
torn with the agitating questions of the day, prejudiced and
/stigmatized as the “ pauper church”—the theatre of all ex-
/ treme measures. This is no overdrawn picture, as all who are
acquaintedwith the facts can testify.
What could I do ? The odds were against me. All the cir-
cumstances, viewed from the human side, prophesied failure.
“ I was with you in weakness, and in fear and in much trem-
bling.”
I saw that it was “ not by might, nor by power”—nor by
mere human instrumentality—not by plans of human devising,
that the church was to be raised from its depression and estab-
lished in its unity and strength. Though fresh from the groves
of the Academy and the School of the prophets, yet “ when I
came to you, I came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom
declaring unto you the testimony of God.” I sought not to
attract or win the people by art or finesse, by strange or start-
ling novelties. I had no new gospel to preach—nothing but
the old doctrines of depravity, legal condemnation, justifica-8
cation by faith, regeneration by the Spirit and redemption by
the precious blood of Christ. These were all, unattractive to
the multitude, hated by the carnal heart, yet “ mighty through
God to the pulling down of strong holds.” Had I adopted a
different course, had my speech savored of worldly wisdom,
had I preached an easy and attractive morality, overlooking
sin, and salvation by the cross, I might have had my reward
and secured a temporary popularity, but no arrow would have
penetrated the shield of the mighty, no Heavenly blessing,
would have descended and no work accomplished, over which,
the angels could have rejoiced. I am thankful for the grace
given to withstand the temptation and to so far imitate the
great Apostle, as to speak and to preach, “not with enticing
words of man’s wisdom, “ not to mix a carnal and worldly phi-
losophy with the pure and simple doctrines of the cross.
Paul’s learning wa3 a help; he brought to his work a
thoroughly disciplined mind and in speaking of the maimer
of his ministry, we do not desire to be understood, as under-
valuing thorough mental training—a mind sharpened by sci-
ence and philosophy, yet thoroughly penetrated with the
spirit of Paul, then the manner of the preacher will be\
like his, simple and earnest “ not with enticing words of man’s \
wisdom,” but in demonstration of the Spirit of power.
II. I am to speak in the second place, of the substance or
the matter of the Apostle’s ministry.
This is stated in the second verse. “ For I determined not
to know any thing among you save Jesus Christ and him cru-
cified.”
This implies singleness of aim and purpose. The one great
theme of his ministry was Christ and him crucified. What-
ever other topics he might have introduced, they were related
to this, revolved around it, as the grand, central truth, were
vitalized and made effective only through it. The law he .
preached but only to make sinners feel their need of Christ;
justification he preached, but only through the righteousness
of Christ ; the necess ty of good works, he preached, but only
as the fruit of a life in Christ.It was Christ in him, the hope of glory, that made the ob-
jective Christ or the Christ crucified so prominent and poten-
tial in all his ministry. On the plains of Damascus, he had
been smitten to the earth with a sense of sin, and when the
burden was heavy and all hope of salvation by the law had
died out, Christ appeared to him “ as the end of the law for
righteousness to every one that believeth. This experience
gave the key note to his ministry and he determined, from that
moment, to know nothing save Christ and him crucified, and
whether on Mars Hill in Athens, among the philosophers and
judges of the iEropagus, or in the dissolute city of Corinth,
he was ever true to this one purpose. The dialectics of the
schools, the debates of the Forum, the conflicting politics of
the nation failed to kindle the fervors of his eloquence. His
mind moved upon a higher plane of thought and grappled
with the deep mysteries of God in Christ—the souls worth and
destiny. Whatever questions in philosophy, science or art
which might have interested him, as a man of letters and taste,
failed to divert him from the one great object of his ministry.
As a philanthropist, he was not indifferent to the enormous
cruelties practiced under the huge systems of oppression in
the countries, where he preached and planted churches; still
his theme was the cross. The great and effectual remedy for
all social evils, in his estimation, was the glorious gospel of
the blessed God, which bringeth salvation to every man. He
sought not to lop off the branches of the Upas; he laid the ax
at the root of the tree; he would make the fountain pure. In
this regard, it has been my purpose to imitate the Apostle.
My first sermon, after my arrival in this city and to my people,
was from the text, “ God forbid that I should glory save in
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Local questions were
agitating the church and I was frequently and urgently soli-
cited to come-down from the high theme and discuss matters
of temporary moment, but my reply was, “I am determined
to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and him cruci-
fied.” And this was a stumbling block to some, and an offence
to others, and they became wandering stars, clouds without
water, their influence lost to the church.10
After the lapse of a few months, and after the blessed Lord
had given many precions seals to my ministry, I was ordained
by the Third Presbytery of New-York; Rev. Db. Eeskine
Mason, now in Heaven, preached the sermon, Rev. Asa D.
Smith, D. D. delivered the charge to the pastor, and Rev.
Chables Pobteb, then pastor of the Second Avenne Presby-
terian Church, now Roman Catholic, charged the people.
The first Sabbath after I was inducted into the pastoral
relations, I indicated to my people, what as their Spiritual
teacher, they might expect from me, in a sermon from the
text, “ I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the
power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;”
In which, I endeavored to show, that Christ is the sum and
substance of the gospel, that without Him, it would be a weak
and powerless thing, like a magazine without powder, like an
engine without steam, like a body without a soul, like a world
without a sun.
Since then many of you have been witnesses to the fidelity,
with which, I have endeavored to preach Christ. I think I
may, without arrogance, apply to myself what Paul said to
the Ephesians concerning his'ministry among them. “ I have
been with you at all seasons and have kept back nothing, that
was profitable unto you, but have showed you and have taught
you publicly, and from house to house, testifying repentance
towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ.” I
have been with you at all seasons—in seasons of depression
and sore trial; in seasons of family and personal bereavement,
when the. shadows were heavy, when the blows fell in quick
and stunning succession. I have been with you to speak
words of comfort and to hold back nothing that was profita-
ble to you, but especially to exhibit Christ as one ever ready ■
to bear your burden—the burden of sin—the burden of all
providential trials—an all sufficient help—a refuge from the
tempest—a hiding place from the storm. “ I have taught
you publicly and from house to house.” My pastoral calls,
judging from the only two years in which I kept an accurate
register, have averaged more than a thousand a year, making11
in the aggregate, by this estimate, more than 25,000 pastoral
calls during the whole period of my ministry. I have never
yet declined to attend a funeral in any part of the city, or to
visit the sick when called, unless positively prevented by some
previous engagement. If the last two years is any fair cri-
terion, then I have attended not far from 2500 funerals during
my pastorate.
True, comparatively a small proportion of these have been
among my own people. I have been the poor man’s pastor
and the neglectors of our sanctuaries and of the great salva-
tion have turned to me for sympathy and official service, when
they would bury their dead, and in all these scenes my theme
has ever been, Christ—the resurrection and the life !
I am free from supposing, that my ministry has been fault-
less. I see many deficiencies; many things to condemn and
lament both in spirit and manner; still I am not conscious,
that through the fear of man, or any other motive, I have
ever kept back any divine truth, or so presented it, as to blunt
its edge and prevent its intended effect. My heart’s desire and
prayer to God has been that my people might be saved, and
realizing that to this end, they must know the truth as it is in
Jesus, I have not shunned to declare the whole counsel of God,
whether they would hear or forbear. Though my ministry
has been in a most exciting age of the world, when great na-
tional questions were to be settled and settled for all time, and
though ever true and loyal to my country, yet I have not been'
diverted from the one great purpose of preaching Christ and
him crucified.
When upon the Sabbath, you have come here burdened
with a sense of ill desert, you have been pointed to “ the
Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.” If, at
other times and on occasions more secular, sympathy has been
expressed for the oppressed, as bound together with them, and
free utterance given to the patriotic and struggling emotions
of my heart, still, my brethren, you have heard nothing more
than I deemed it my privilege and duty to utter, as a man; a
citizen and a servant of Christ. Loyalty to Christ, to my con-12
science and to my country has been my motto; while I have
been sorry ever to have offended any one, yet I should have
felt myself degraded to have suffered any man or any set of
men to deprive me of this, my privilege and my birthright.
Who does not admire the boldness and the manhood of the
Apostles, who, when they were threatened by the Chief Priests,
the Eulers and Elders of the people and commanded not to
speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus, answered and said
unto them “ "Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken
unto you more than unto God, judge ye; for we cannot but
speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
III. In the third place I am to speak of the object of the
Apostle’s ministry.	'	'
This is stated in the fifth verse, “ That your faith should not
stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” In
other words, that your religion should not rest upon the deduc-
tions of human reason, as a basis, but upon the authority of
Jehovah. Whatever may be the verbal exposition of this pas-
sage, we know that its practical meaning is to exhibit the end
and aim of all the Apostle’s labors. He had an object su-
preme and controlling, stimulating him to the most heroic sa-
crifices, nerving him to the most herculan toils and prompting
him to brave the most formidable perils and to count his life
not dear to himself, that he might finish his course with joy
■ and the ministry which he had received of the Lord Jesus to
testify the gospel of the grace of God. What then was his
underlying and ultimate purpose? And wrhat is the grand offi-
cial aim of every pastor and preacher formed on the high
Scriptural model? Is it pecuniary gain? Is it, with the eye of
a speculator, that he surveys his field, to discover its capabili-
ties for remunerative cultivation, calculating on a harvest of
monetary gains, ample profits, ease and worldly advancement •
Were suoh his sordid aims, he had better seek their realiza-
tion in the conflicts of trade, in stocks and merchandise, in
either of the other learned professions, aye, even in following
the plow or toiling in the work shop. The ministerial profes-
sion is not the* sphere for the gratification of the carnal and13
unsanctified desires of the heart. With what a holy frankness
did the author of onr text repel any whispered suspicions of
such sordid motives, when he said to those for whose spiritual
good he labored, “ I seek not yours, but You.” What was
it that attracted him to the emporium of Asia Minor, the
chief city of commercial enterprise, of architectural gran-
deur, of Pagan liberality ? Had he an eye upon the Silver
Shrines of Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen ? Had it been
intimated to him, that in that large field of usefulness, there
would be a corresponding salary ? Hone of these, Paul at
Ephesus was a self-supporting city Missionary. “ I have
coveted no man’s silver or gold or apparel; yea, ye yourselves
know that these hands have ministered unto my necessities
and to them that were with me.”
To beloved friends at Philippi, who had expressed, in some
tangible form, their appreciation of his labors, he made great-
ful acknowledgements, adding, “Hot that I desire a gift, but I
desire fruit that may abound to your account.” His perqui-
sites, for the most part, lay “in afflictions, m necessities, in
distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors,
in watchings, in fastings.” What then was the grand inspir-
ing motive, that sustained the Apostle through all labors and
trials? You have the answer in the text, “That your faith
should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of
God.” “ For what is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing ?
Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at
his coming? For ye are our glory and joy.” Paul labored
for souls, that should shine, at last as stars in his crown of
rejoicing forever. This, to him, was a motive mightier than
earth could afford, richer than coffers of gold, more attractive
than the plaudits of fame. Hever was a man more entirely
consecrated to a single purpose. “This one thing I do,” was
his motto. And this, in substance, is the aim of every Christian
minister who is thoroughly devoted to his work. He seeks
not worldly popularity, nor wealth, nor ease, nor self gratifi-
cation, but the salvation of souls. Said Dr. McAll. “ I have
admiration enough; but I want to see conversion and edifica-
tion ; I care nothing what the people may think or say of my14
abilities, if I may but be useful to souls.” “ With me,” said
the Apostle, “ it is a very small thing that I be judged of you
or of man’s judgment.”—With something of this Spirit did I
commence my labors in this city. I was not ambitious of po-
sition and am not conscious of any other motive actuating me
than a love of souls. If ease had been my object, I should
not have sought it in this city—if pecuniary emolument, then
my ministry has been a failure. During the first years of my
ministry I virtually went to warfare on my own charges. But,
brethren, I have had a reward richer than ingots of gold. As
I have labored for the salvation of souls, souls have been given
to me for my hire; “ ye are my glory and joy and crown of
rejoicing.”
I commenced preaching in this city as a licentiate, in the
fall of 1838 ; and the Lord was graciously pleased to set his
seal upon my ministry, by giving us a precious ingathering of
souls during the winter, so that the church was greatly en-
couraged, united and strengthened, and the congregation so
increased, that the place became almost too strait for us. Every
successive year we were visited with revival seasons, and large
numbers who had received the blessing were added to our own
and to the neighboring churches. The church in Houston St.
like Gideon’s fleece was always moistened, either by the gen-
tle dew or the more plentiful shower. The eight y ears on my
first field of labor were profitable years, signalized by wonderful
displays of the grace of God, and their remembrance comes to
us even now as a sacred benediction. The whole number ad-
ded to the church during my ministry in Houston street, was
844, being an average of more than a hundred a year. Four
hundred and eighty-three of this number were on profession
of their faith—the first fruits of my pastorate. The ordinance
of baptism was administered to 293 children, thus putting
honor upon the covenant, which God instituted with our fa-
thers.
After I had served the church as pastor for eight years, it
was deemed advisable by the congregation “ to lengthen their
cords and strengthen their stakes,” and to establish themselves
in a better positio n and with better surroundings. A commit-15
tee was appointed to dispose of the property in Houston St.
and to invest whatever surplus might remain after paying the
mortgage, in lots farther uptown. These lots were then pur-
chased, but their remote distance, being regarded as then quite
out of town, discouraged a portion of the people, and it was
decided to let the property and the church there remain, and
those who were disposed, to come, and occupy the new field,
as a colony. The old church retained the property and the
colony took the pastor and were constituted into a church by
the 3d Presbytery of Hew York, May 27th, 1846, composed
of 180 members; none of whom were wealthy, but they were
earnest and united and determined, with God’s blessing, to
establish a church for the Redeemer in this section of the city.
Preparations were made for erecting a suitable edifice, and in
the meantime, and for nearly a year, the congregation wor-
shipped in the small chapel of the Hew York University. In
May, 1847, we entered the basement, to the mutual joy of us
all, and on the 3d of Sept, succeeding we were permitted to en-
ter and consecrate our new temple to the worship of Almighty
God. After bearing our own burdens and amid prophecies of
failure, you may well conceive, that it was a day of gladness to
us—the coronation of our hopes.*. Our property had cost us
30,000 dollars, and we were left with an incumbrance of some
24,000, but God was with us helping us, blessing us with in-
crease and strength, and our debt gradually melted away like
a snow wreath until it was reduced to 7,000 dollars, and now
we felt happy and secure in our nest; but God saw that we
needed to be humbled and purified by trials ; and hence on the
8th of Jan. 1855, the terrible disaster came, and “our holy
and our beautiful house” where, on the day previous, we had
worshipped in blessed fellowship, was utterly consumed by
fire. If a thunderbolt had fallen from the clear sky, the effect
could not have been more stunning. The people had been
taxed, as we had supposed, to their utmost, and we were ap-
prehensive of utter paralysis and discouragement; but while
as yet the flames were doing their worst, a cluster of heroic
♦See Note 1st16
men, who had borne heavy burdens and had never wearied,
might be seen, on the opposite pavement, encouraging each
others’ hearts, and resolving at once to rise up and build. The
jear previous, the congregation had passed through an ordeal
of trembling and anxiety in the unwonted and protracted
sickness of their pastor, an ordeal that developed the purest
sympathy and the most devoted affection. I should do violence
to my own feelings and injustice to you if, in this Memorial
Sermon, I should fail to mention, with gratitude, the unceasing
care and sympathy and watchfulness of my devoted people
during those long months of weakness and weariness and un-
paralleled physical suffering. While hope and fear, disease
and death were darkly struggling together, your faith tri-
umphed, your prayers were heard, and your pastor, purified, as
we trust, by the fires of the furnace, was brought back from
the very gates of death to your loving embrace, to speak to
you of all the wonderful things which God had wrought. For
just twelve months to a day, lie “ was with you in weakness
and in fear and in much trembling, declaring unto you the tes-
timony of God,” when the fire came; and fearing its effect
* upon his but partially restored health, you sent him abroad
to travel, not as the Apostles were first sent, without scrip or
purse. He visited most of the countries of Europe and re-
turned, with renewed health, to a church and a people ready
prepared to receive him.
The present edifice was dedicated with appropriate service
to the worship of our God and Saviour on the first Sabbath in
October, 1855 ; but with an indebtedness increased to nearly
22,000 dollars.
Notwithstanding the frequent removal of families to distant
localities, our church has continued full, and from our surplus
income, every successive year found us with a diminished debt,
and within the past month, the whole has been removed / so
that, for the first time, during my whole ministry, we may say,
we are free, and may now re-dedicate the entire property to
God without the incumbrance of a dollar or a dime. We have
now reached a point in our history, to which I have looked
with anxious desire. It is the culmination of my hopes, and I17
can now feel that the church will survive me and live through
the generations, as a benediction to posterity, long after I shall
have completed my earthly labors and gone to my rest in
heaven. I thank you, my people, for the liberal and cheerful
manner, in which you have relieved a burden from the heart
of the pastor, by removing a debt, which might soon have
become onerous and even perilous to the very existence of the
church, for whose spiritual and permanent good I have devoted
my life. In St. Paul’s Cathedral may be seen the epitaph of
its architect, ending with the word “ Circumspice”; “ If thou
seekest his monument, look round.” Thus, have I desired no
other monument than this church, that my name may live in
its history and in the hearts of my beloved people. It is my
life work, and the only visible thing that will long survive me,
to tell to future generations, that I have lived and labored for
the Master. To those of you who have labored and struggled
with me, and who commenced this enterprise “ in weakness
and in fear and in much trembling,” it must be gratifying to
behold this day the realization of your hopes, and the church,
which you have nourished in its feebleness, established in
strength upon a permanent basis. Let us rejoice and give
thanks together.
In a spiritual point of , view, we have enjoyed many precious
tokens of the Divine presence and blessing. Brotherly love
has continued. No schisms or alienations have existed. Per-
haps rno church has enjoyed greater harmony. Often have
we felt, with the Psalmist, to say, “ Behold how good and how
pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together.in unity! It is like
the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the
beard, even Aaron’s beard, that went down to the skirts of his
garments; as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that de-
scended upon the mountains of Zion ; for there the Lord com-
manded his blessing, even life forevermore.”—133d Ps.
We have received the early and the latter rain, and enjoyed
precious revival seasons. There have been added to this
church since its organization, 1456 ; five hundred on profession
of their faith in Christ. The largest number added in any
318
given year is 290, subjects, for the most part, of the great re-
vival in 1858. Yery many who received the blessing of con-
version with us, united with other churches, and eternity alone
will disclose the full extent of that wonderful work of grace.
For the most part, the converts have “run well,” and have
honored their profession. There have been dismissed from
this church or called to the church above, 866, leaving the
present number in full communion with us, 110!
The Abrahamic covenant has been honored and observed
among us, and 889 children have received the rite of baptism.
The total number added to the church under my ministry of
25 years is 2,290 ! What hath God wrought ? “ And what shall
we render unto Him for all his benefits toward us % We will
take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord ;
we will pay our vows unto God now in the presence of all his
people.”
Many striking changes have taken place during the period
of my ministry. The city has more than doubled its popula-
tion. Churches have changed their localities and increased in
numbers to meet the wants of the increasing population. Few,
at the commencement of my ministry, of any description, ex-
isted north of this ; they were not needed ; the population was
sparse; the streets were not laid out; vegetable gardens, or
fields rough and uncultivated abounded, over which wealth
and genius have since erected palaces and monuments of taste
and beauty. The whole aspect of the city has changed. My
first boarding place was in Jane Street, then quite in the
country and called “ Greenwich Tillage,” and the church next
door to the place of my abode was called “The Tillage
Church.” Then there was no “ Union4 Square”; no'Fifth Ave-
nue; no Madison Avenue; no Central Park; Washington
Parade Ground had just disrobed herself of the Habiliments of
the grave, and the pauper dead had given place to the affluent
living. “The Battery” was the place of favorite resort, and
the wealth and the fashion dwelt in its immediate vicinity.
Behold the change which time has wrought ! Our own circle19
and church have not been exempt from change, and, as in the
city, so with us, change marks the progress of improvement.
The edifice in which I first preached was plain and poor,
and oppressed with debt; now we have a beautiful and sub-
stantial building, and owe no man any thing. Then we had no
persons of means; we were all alike poor; now the rich and
the poor mingle together, affording mutual help and sympathy.
Then your minister, though without family, could scarcely
be said to have received even a meagre subsistence, .now
your means are adequate to afford him a liberal salary, and
your hearts prompt the most generous deeds as the last week
can testify, f At the first public service after my arrival in
the city, I preached to 150 persons and no more; now our
average attendance is not far from 1000. Then in the or-
chestra, we had a bass viol, a flute and violin, now we are
thrilled by the deep and varied tones of our beautiful organ.
In all particulars, God has greatly blessed us. We have a
Board of Trustees, wise, energetic and prudent, whose works
praise them—a Board of Elders, such as is an ornament to
any Church and a support to the pastor—a Board of Dea-
cons appreciated for their sympathy and devotion-—a Sabbath
School, for numbers, order, interest and effectiveness, unsur-
passed by any in the city. The church in its unity, strength,
spirituality and prospects of usefulness, was never in so good a
condition as at the present. In the language of one of my el-
ders, “ we are now an institution—the little one has indeed be-
come a thousand.
It was Augustus Csesar’s boast, that he found Borne of brick
and left it marble. With us boasting is excluded. “ Paul
hath planted and Apolles watered, but God has given the in-
crease.” And I have been induced to present these contrasts,
between our past and present condition, that you may be im-
pressed with a sense of gratitude to Him.
At times, indeed, the work has seemed to move slowly
.some years have witnessed but few additions to the church.;
f See ETote.20
Still in the retrospect, I perceive, that believers, from time tp
time, have been strengthened, edified, built up in their most
holy faith and fitted for heaven. While Michael Angelo was
occupied in completing one of his famous statues, he received a
visit from a friend who expressed his admiration of the work, but
who, on repeating his visit, was astonished at the apparently
slow progress which had been made and exclaimed, “ You have
been idle since I saw you last/5 “ By no means,55 replied the
artist; “ I have retouched this part and polished that; I have
softened this feature and brought out that muscle; I have
given more expression to this lip and more energy to that
limb.55 “Well/5 interrupted his friend, “but all these are
trifles.55 “ It may be so,55 was the answer, “ but recollect that
trifles make perfection, and that perfection is no trifle.55
Thus even in times of general declension, when little spiri-
tual progress seemed to be making, have I been quietly and
earnestly toiling to realize in you the stature of perfect men
and women in Christ, chiseling down rough excrescences and
filling up in your character painful deficiencies, all the time
tremblingly solicitous, that every liniament might be perfect—
a reproduction of Christ’s own beautiful and blessed image.
During the 25 years under review, death has been busy
doing his work, both among the clergy and the laity. . Bev.
Herman Horton once the esteemed pastor of a Church in
Prince Street, the mention of whose name will awaken
grateful memories in the hearts of a large circle of friends?
was called to his rest in the midst of his years and usefulness.—
Both my predecessors in Houston Street—Bev. Dr. Lansing,
of blessed memory, and N. E. Johnson, a man of genius and
.singular eloquence, whose latter days were darkened by a cloud,
and my youthful and promising successor Bev. B. S. Dickin-
son, have ceased to walk amongst the living. Bev. Dr. Arm-
strong, the devoted Secretary of the A. F. M. S. Dr. Erskine
Mason, the scholarly and argumentative preacher, who officia-
ted at the two great occasions of my life—my ordination and my
marriage; Bev. Dr. Henry White, the first pastor of the
Allen Street Church and subsequently the honored President ofSI
Union Theological Seminary, and more recently, his successor
Key. Dr. Eobinson, of world wide fame—the Eev. James W*
McLane, D. D.—the indefatigable'scholar and faithful pastor,
and J. Parsons Hovey, D. D., whose life was a constant walk
of usefulness ; these, all of our own denomination, haye rested
from their labors and their works do follow them. We con-
gratulate them as haying finished their course and kept the
faith and are now before the throne of God and the Lamb.
Many of our own members haye we seen glorifying God in
the fires, and receiving prelibations of Heaven, while as yet,
they lingered on the terrestrial shore. As the sun of their
earthly being has declined, leaving the earthly landscape in
cloud and shadow, they have cast their eyes upward to behold
unexpected and extended wreaths of purple and gold, hanging
over vast fields of emerald and ametheyst and jasper and they
have wondered at the wealth of glory in reserve.
Of the Elders of this Church, “ father Green,” whose name
is associated with its early history—Charles Davis, of blame-
less integrity and Dr. William J. Johnsoii, who was ever at his
post, have been permitted to share in this “ far, more, exceed-
ing r and eternal weight of glory.” Many others, both male
and female, have left us, giving delightful evidence that our
loss is their eternal gain. We hail them as victors—the con-
flict ended. Let us wait patiently till our warfare is ended
and then we shall meet them in the Father’s house, one family
in Heaven. Of those, who were members, when I first became
pastor, twenty-four only remain in our present communion.
Of the 180 who constituted this Church, at its organization,
forty-nine remain. Others are still doing good service in other
fields of labor; many who look back to this spot, as their
Spiritual birth place, are in distant Churches or States, hold-
ing fast their profession; some are in the army fighting our
battles; some have fallen in the great strife covered with glory,
true and loyal to the last ?
And now, in conclusion and in a review, I may truly say, I
have' had a pleasant ministry, a considerate and devoted peo-
ple, who have been lenient of my faults, who have ever been22
ready to exercise that 6C charity which suffereth long and is
kind.” Your proofs of sympathy and affection have been nu-
merous and affecting. Though I have been watched and on
several occasions caned and once banished, still I have no cause
of complaint—such chastisement has always been joyous,
the practice and the proofs of love.:):	Your last and crown-
ing act of generosity overcomes me. It was a surprise, a
grateful surprise, a testimonial of affection, such as it is the
privilege of few pastors to receive from their people. I thank
you—-every emotion of my heart throbs with gratitude. May
I ever prove worthy of your continued affection. It is my joy ■.
to serve you and I enter upon a new segment of time and la-
bor with increased fervor and hope. I have no desire to leave
you. Often have I been tempted, and called to other, and in
some respects, to more eligible fields of labor, but my reply
has ever been, “ I dwell among my own people.” And now
with more emphasis and feeling than ever before, can I adopt
the language of Ruth to Naomi. “ Entreat me not to leave thee,
or to return from following after thee ; for whither thpu goest
I will go; and where thou lodgest I will lodge; thy people
shall be my people and thy God, my God. "Where thou diest
will I die, and there will I be buried; the Lord do so to me
and more also, if aught but death part thee and me.” Ruth
1; 16,17.
In reviewing the past and the present, I have two regrets;
one is, that I have not been able to serve you with more dili-
gence and devotion, the other is, that to some, who have been
with me from the beginning, my ministry has been compara-
tively barren, as yet yielding no fruit in a ripened Christian
experience. You are among my warm personal friends; you
possess many traits that I greatly admire; you have stood by ‘
me in sickness and in health, in prosperity and in adversity?
you are attached friends; I can rely upon you, and I love you,
as Jesus loved the young man in the gospel, but I am sorry to
say that you lack “ the one thing needful.” You listened to
my appeals when a young man and you have been almost per-
j See Note.23
suaded to be Christians; will you not regard the counsels of
experience and make my Saviour yowr friend. He will be a
friend, that sticketh closer than a brother? Yery few of us
will live through another quarter of a century, and if any of
us should, we shall be old; the vigor of youth will be gone \
sad changes will have taken place; we shall have passed into
“ the sere and yellow leaf” of life. This Church may stand,
as I trust it will, but another people will occupy these seats
and another voice shall address them. We know not what
shall be on the morrow. “ Behold now is the accepted time ;
behold now is the day of salvation.” .
I have expressed my regrets, may I not express one hope?
one strong desire, that after we shall have lived and labored
together as pastor and people, suffered and enjoyed together
that we may dwell together as one soul, in that far off and
better land, to which many of our companions and friends
have already gone, where there is no toil nor weariness, nor
sin, where friendship is sanctified and eternal; where we shall
behold the King in his beauty and share in all the glory of his
triumphs and join in the anthem peal, that shall ascend from
that great and white-robed multitude,swhich no man can num-
ber, saying “ Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiv-
ing and honor and power and might be unto our God forever
and ever, Amen.”
*The sympathies of the Community and Presbytery were with the mother
Church, and the pecuniary responsibility of establishing and sustaining the new
enterprise rested exclusively upon those who constituted the young and feeble
colony.
f Reference is here made to a surprise party at the Pastor’s house, on the Thurs-
day evening previous, at which was given a purse of $1,'726, and articles of value
to himself and lady, amounting to nearly two thousand dollars.
^Allusion is here made to a splendid Gold Watch presented infho year 1859?
and to several canes, two of which are very valuable, being mounted with gold-
and to the Pastor’s extensive tour in Europe in 1855; the expense of which, was
borne by his people.