©Itealogir^l Seminary, 
 
 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
 No. Case, D^-^ E:.3.3... 
 
./ 
 
ME 
 
 OF THE 
 
 GOODNESS OF GOD, 
 
 IN 
 
 TWO DISCOURSES, 
 
 DELIVERED AT THE OPENING OF THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN 
 CHURCH IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, JAN. 11, 1S46, 
 
 BY THE PASTOR 
 
 ^V' ^/>y\/.PUli^<i ,j) j>. 
 
 PRINTED BY REQUEST AND FOR THE USE OF THE CONGREGATION. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 ROBERT CARTER, 58 CANAL STREET. 
 
 PITTSBURG 56 MARKET STREET. 
 
 1846. 
 
EDWARD O. JENKINS, PRINTER, 
 
 114 Nassau street 
 

 
 
 -<( 
 
 ■rTO^j' -r 
 
 goodiess'oT'god. 
 
 DISCOURSE I. 
 
 Text. — Jeremiah li. 10, last clause of the verse, " Come and 
 let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God." 
 
 Our meeting in this house of prayer 
 to-day is calculated to awaken the most 
 tender and thrilling recollections, and 
 to call forth our warmest expressions of 
 gratitude to the great Head of the 
 Church. We have, as a congregation, 
 passed through a severe ordeal. To be 
 obliged to leave our former place of wor- 
 ship, . and to break away from all those 
 associations by which it had become 
 endeared to us — to abandon the ground 
 
upon which our predecessors, through 
 successive generations, had met, and 
 upon which many of us had so frequently 
 been permitted to engage in the wor- 
 ship of Ahnighty God — where the glo- 
 rious Gospel of the grace of God had 
 been for so long a period proclaimed, 
 and the sacraments administered by dis- 
 tinguished servants of Christ — where so 
 many prayers had been offered and an- 
 swered — where the Holy Spirit had been 
 poured out — and where, through His in- 
 fluence so many had been born into the 
 kingdom of God, sanctified, comforted 
 and prepared for heaven — was a great 
 trial, and occasioned a painful conflict. 
 Yet, if we could, upon our first removal 
 from thence, at once have entered this 
 commodious edifice, it would have been 
 an alleviation of our regret, and would 
 have prevented the danger of disper- 
 sion to which the congregation has been 
 
exposed ever since. But it was not so — 
 we have been subjected to great incon- 
 venience and serious injury through the 
 want of a suitable and comfortable place 
 of worship in the meantime. 
 
 The result, however, has been most 
 gratifying, and is a just cause of thanks- 
 giving. Instead of having been weak- 
 ened, we have been strengthened dur- 
 ing the period of our temporary exile, 
 and under all the unfavorable circum- 
 stances attending it. The attachment 
 of the members of the congregation to 
 the church of their fathers, and of their 
 choice, has triumphed over all the con- 
 siderations and influences by which they 
 were tempted to separate from us, and 
 we now know who are the true, sincere, 
 conscientiously devoted, and tried friends 
 of the First Presbyterian Church. They 
 have done well — they have endured and 
 performed a good work — the record of 
 
6 
 
 which is on high. We pray that the 
 blessing of our covenant God, to whom 
 they look for their reward, may descend 
 upon them and upon their childrev, 
 henceforth and forever. 
 
 The words of the text have been 
 selected on account of the sentiments 
 which they express. They inculcate the 
 duty of acknowledging the goodness of 
 God, and of recounting his mercies to- 
 wards us ; and they teach us that this 
 duty is to be performed in Zion. We are 
 not merely in secret and as individuals to 
 feel grateful — we are called upon as mem- 
 bers of the Church to express, in a pub- 
 lic manner, a sense of our obligations to 
 the Lord — declaring in Zion what he 
 has done for our souls and what he has 
 done for his Church. The glory which 
 Jehovah receives from his people in re- 
 turn for distinguishing mercies bestowed 
 upon them, is the public and social 
 
praise which they render to him in the 
 ways of his own appointment — " whoso 
 offereth praise glorifieth God." This is 
 our reasonable service, and is in accord- 
 ance with our very constitution. lur 
 gratitude is a transgression of the law 
 of our nature. Those who are guilty of 
 it discover the deepest depravity, and 
 are justly condemned as brutish in the 
 sight of God, as it is written, " I have 
 nourished and brought up children but 
 they have rebelled against me. The ox 
 knoweth his owner and the ass his mas- 
 ter's crib, but Israel doth not know, my 
 people doth not consider." We are at 
 all times to set a just value on the bless- 
 ings we receive whilst we are to feel 
 and acknowledge our unworthiness of 
 them. We should cherish the senti- 
 ments expressed by Jacob, when he 
 said, " I am not worthy of the least of 
 all the mercies, and of all the truth 
 
8 
 
 which thou hast showed to thy servant ;" 
 and by David, when he exclaimed with 
 unaffected admiration, "Who am I, or 
 what was my Father's house ? what is 
 man that thou art mindful of him, or the 
 son of man that thou visitest him ?" 
 Every good gift, and every perfect gift 
 Cometh down from the Father of lights, 
 and all the return we c&n make him for 
 the benefits and mercies we receive from 
 him continually, is to cherish and to 
 acknowledge in sincerity a sense of our 
 obligations to him. Instead of rest- 
 ing in the gift, we must ascend with our 
 hearts and affections to the Giver. We 
 must declare the wonderful works of the 
 Lord — his grace and condescension to 
 the children of men, and give him thanks 
 that we may show forth his praise. The 
 performance of this duty with a right 
 spirit, and in a suitable frame of mind, 
 will bring with it its ow^n reward and be 
 
9 
 
 acceptable to God. It elevates the soul 
 and prepares it for the pure and holy 
 exercises of heaven. " It is good to give 
 thanks unto the Lord, and praise is come- 
 ly for the upright." The Lord says of 
 his Church, " This people have I formed 
 for myself They shall show forth my 
 praise." She is also required to remem- 
 ber her origin and all the way in which 
 she has been led, that with the blessing 
 of God such a remembrance may be made 
 the means of strengthening her faith and 
 confidence in her Redeemer, and of in- 
 creasing her love and gratitude to him. 
 
 We think we can see the hand of God 
 in our ecclesiastical organization, and in 
 our preservation as a branch of the 
 Church of Jesus Christ. Believing that 
 this has been his work, we wish to de- 
 clare it and to give him thanks for it. 
 
 Without assailing, or making invidious 
 comparisons with, the religious creed of 
 
10 
 
 other Christian denominations — and cer- 
 tainly without any design of disparaging 
 or denouncing them — we propose on the 
 present occasion to give a general state- 
 ment and brief defence of that system of 
 truth and ecclesiastical order which has 
 been adopted by the Presbyterian Church . 
 We believe that our doctrine, form 
 of government and discipline, are strict- 
 ly in accordance with the Word of God, 
 and therefore prefer and hold them. 
 We think we are prepared to show, by 
 a fair interpretation of the Scriptures, 
 as a reason of our faith and preference, 
 that the doctrines contained in our Con- 
 fession of Faith and Catechisms were 
 taught by our Lord and his apostles. 
 Many of them are expressed in their 
 very language, and all of them are founded 
 on their declarations, being according 
 " to that form of sound words once de- 
 livered to the saints," It is notorious 
 
11 
 
 that the same objections which were 
 raised against some of them when 
 preached by the Saviour himself, and by 
 his inspired Apostles, and which were 
 answered by them at the time, are still 
 urged against them as they are taught 
 in our standards, and when they are 
 faithfully preached by our ministers, 
 which proves the unity of our doctrine 
 with theirs, in those points at least* 
 They are the same which were taught by 
 the Holy Ghost from the beginning — 
 in the faith of which the Fathers lived, 
 obtained a good report and inherited 
 the promises. They are the same which 
 were believed, taught, and earnestly 
 contended for by the Reformers, who 
 learned them from the Scriptures as in- 
 terpreted and applied by the Spirit. 
 
 The truth is one, and the source of it 
 unchangeable. Hence, all who learn 
 it from that source, and come to the 
 
12 
 
 knowledge of it through their expe- 
 rience of its power, will agree substan- 
 tially in their views of it. 
 
 Those doctrines which have been 
 called, by way of distinction, the doc- 
 trines of the Reformation, were in the 
 Bible from the beginning. They do not 
 date from that period nor were they 
 then first discovered. They had been 
 always held by true believers, and were 
 held by those who constituted the true 
 Church of Christ during the darkest pe- 
 riods of her history. When a part of 
 what was called the Church had aposta- 
 tized, was in alliance with the world — 
 had substituted vain traditions of men 
 for the truth of God — heathen and child- 
 ish ceremonies for the simple and spirit- 
 ual worship required in the gospel of 
 Jesus Christ — the true Church was to be 
 found in the valleys of Piedmont, among 
 the Waldenses and Albigenses, and 
 
13 
 
 among the followers of Wickliffb in dif- 
 ferent places. Then, as there always 
 has been, there was a remnant accord- 
 ing to the election of grace, who did 
 not bow the knee to Baal, and who were 
 kept in the faith and love of the truth. 
 
 Those doctrines which have been 
 also called by way of distinction Calvin- 
 istic, because they were more methodi- 
 cally arranged by John Calvin, whose 
 name they bear, than they had pre- 
 viously been, and were more clearly and 
 ably expounded by that wonderful man 
 than by others — a man so great, so 
 learned, so wise, and yet so good that 
 his equal has not appeared in the Church 
 since the days of Paul — w^ere the doc- 
 trines taught from the word of God by 
 all the Reformers, and w ere almost uni- 
 versally received by the friends of the 
 Redeemer who lived in those days. 
 
 Luther and Calvin agreed substantially 
 2 
 
14 
 
 on all matters of faith, excepting as to 
 the manner of the presence of Christ in 
 the sacrament, and as to the divine inspi- 
 ration of some parts of the Scriptures. 
 Luther taught the doctrine of God's 
 sovereignty, of the divine decrees, of 
 predestination and election, of original 
 sin, of salvation through grace, of justi- 
 fication by faith alone, of the influences 
 of the Spirit on the hearts of sinners in 
 their regeneration and sanctification, and 
 of the perseverance of the saints, as ful- 
 ly, as explicitly, as boldly, and as con- 
 stantly as Calvin did. He did not con- 
 sider these doctrines dangerous, and of 
 pernicious tendency — neither did he re- 
 gard them as mere abstract speculations 
 with w^hich the people of God have no- 
 thing to do. They were the sum and sub- 
 stance of the Gospel which he preached, 
 and which God was pleased so remarka- 
 bly to bless to the salvation of many souls. 
 
w 
 
 It may, perhaps, surprise some, to find 
 these doctrines prominent in all the 
 writings of Luther — expressed at large 
 and without reserve — when it is known 
 that so few of those who are now called 
 by his name, as a distinct religious de- 
 nomination, agree with him. We may 
 add, also, that these same doctrines which 
 have been so much spoken against, 
 which are regarded with so much pre- 
 judice by many, are contained in the 
 Confessions of Faith of most of the lead- 
 ing Protestant Evangelical Churches 
 which have been formed since the Re- 
 formation. They are set forth and ex- 
 pressed as explicitly and strongly, in the 
 Articles of Faith and in the Homilies of 
 the Church of England, in the Doctrinal 
 Standards of the Reformed Churches of 
 Holland and of their descendants, as 
 they are in the Confession of Faith and 
 Catechisms of the Westminister Assem- 
 
16 
 
 bly of Divines, and which are the com- 
 mon and pubHcly-expressed Standards 
 of Faith in all Presbyterian Churches in 
 Great Britain and in the United States. 
 If there be any peculiarity in the Pres- 
 byterian Church on this subject, it is not 
 in having those doctrines in our Con- 
 fession, and in our professing to believe 
 them, but in our openly preaching and 
 maintaining them. We have no desire 
 to keep our faith of them a secret, nor 
 to withhold them from the people. 
 We feel bound, as honest men, and as 
 commissioned preachers of the Gospel, 
 to declare the whole counsel of God, 
 whether men will hear or whether 
 they will forbear. We dare not keep 
 back any of that Scripture which has 
 been given by inspiration of God, and 
 which is profitable for doctrine — for 
 reproof — for correction — for instruction 
 in righteousness. Neither do we feel 
 
17 
 
 any desire to suppress any part of that 
 truth by which God has made himself 
 known, and through the knowledge of 
 which alone, men can be saved. We 
 do not preach it reluctantly, nor by 
 constraint, but willingly, as that through 
 which God is glorified and his people 
 sanctified. We must know God as he 
 is, and we must know of his purposes, 
 of his judgments, and of the methods of 
 his grace, or we cannot know whether 
 we love him, and cordially approve of him 
 as our God. We must also understand 
 the nature of His salvation, and be ac- 
 quainted with the way in which He be- 
 stows it, or we cannot know whether 
 we desire it ; nor can we seek after it 
 intelligently. 
 
 It has been objected by some, even of 
 
 those who had professed their faith in 
 
 these doctrines, that the preaching of 
 
 them would not be for edification, inas- 
 
 2* 
 
18 
 
 much as many would be offended at 
 them. But this is only in confirmation 
 of the Scripture which saith that the 
 carnal mind is enmity against God ; 
 and that the preaching of Christ cruci- 
 fied, as the only ordinance of God for 
 the salvation of sinners, is a stumbling- 
 block and foolishness. To suppress them 
 for such, or for any reasons, would be 
 to take unwarrantable liberty with the 
 Word of God, and a presumptuous at- 
 tempt to remove the offence of the cross. 
 We believe that we have no such dis- 
 cretion ; but are solemnly bound to be 
 consistent and faithful, to speak as we 
 think, to do as we profess. Besides, if 
 we attempt to please men, we cannot 
 be the servants of God, nor expect his 
 blessinsr. We know^ that the wisdom 
 of God is wiser than men. He employs 
 means adapted to the end which they 
 are intended to accomplivsh. He will 
 
19 
 
 bless his own truth, and will make it 
 efficacious to humble, purify and save 
 men ; but not the inventions of human 
 wisdom. Nor can these effects be pi'o- 
 duced, without a knowledge of the whole 
 truth. If men are, in their hearts, op- 
 posed to the truth, and will not hear 
 sound doctrine ; if they cannot renounce 
 self; yield their own judgments, wills 
 and prejudices to the teaching of God's 
 spirit ; if they are not willing that God 
 should be God — supreme, sovereign and 
 absolute — a just God and a Saviour — we 
 ought not to attempt to deceive them 
 respecting the state of their hearts ; nor 
 should they conceal from themselves the 
 melancholy fact that they are unbeliev- 
 ers, have not the love of God in them, 
 and will not have Christ to reign over 
 them. Surely, the sooner they learn to 
 know themselves as not subject to the 
 law of God, the better. We have been 
 
20 
 
 commissioned to make known the God 
 of the Bible, as possessing those attri- 
 butes and exercising those prerogatives 
 which are peculiar and essential to him ; 
 and also the plan of salvation through 
 Jesus Christ, in whom his people were 
 " chosen before the foundation of the 
 world, that they might be holy and with- 
 out blame before him in love, and who 
 was manifested in these last times for 
 them who by him believe in God." If 
 any are saved, it must be through him, 
 for his is the only name given, under 
 heaven, among men whereby we can be 
 saved. They must be saved ; not in a 
 way of their own fancy or choice, and 
 which would gratify their pride, but ac- 
 cording to the will of God ; not by works 
 of righteousness which they have done, 
 but according to his mercy, according to 
 his purpose and grace, by the washing 
 of regeneration and renewing of the Holy 
 
21 
 
 Ghost. We are sent to publish the re- 
 cord which has been committed to us : 
 "that God has given us eternal life, and 
 that this life is in his Son, and that this 
 is eternal life, to know Him who is the 
 only living and true God, and Jesus 
 Christ whom he hath sent." Thus, in 
 teaching our people all which we be- 
 lieve, and in giving them a reason of the 
 hope that is in us, we act under com- 
 mission, and with a desire to promote 
 the salvation of their souls. If, in doing 
 so, we give offence, we regret it; but 
 we cannot do otherwise than speak the 
 truth ; and we will constantly remind 
 those who are offended, that their quar- 
 rel is not with us, but with God, whose 
 truth we endeavor to speak in love. 
 
 But the distinctive peculiarity of the 
 Presbyterian Church, as such, is to be 
 found in her forms of worship, and in 
 the principles of her government. These 
 
22 
 
 we believe to be also in accordance with 
 the Word of God, and derived immedi- 
 ately from the Scriptures. They are as 
 nearly in conformity with the simple, 
 unadorned and unostentatious worship 
 which was instituted by the Apostles, 
 under the New Testament dispensation, 
 as they can be under our different cir- 
 cumstances. Our mode o^ public prayer, 
 in a standing position, and of praise, with 
 Psalms and Hymns, and spiritual songs, 
 in which the whole congregation join — 
 of reading and expounding the Scrip- 
 tures throughout, and of administering 
 the two only sacraments which have 
 been instituted by the Great Head of 
 the Church, of Baptism and the Lord's 
 Supper — are authorized by the usage of 
 the disciples, and by the express com- 
 mands of our Saviour and his Apostles. 
 The great Protestant principle, and 
 which is held as fundamental by Pres- 
 
23 
 
 byterians, is, that God alone is Lord o{ 
 the conscience, " and hath left it free from 
 the doctrine and commandments of men 
 which are in anything contrary to his 
 Word, or beside it in matters of faith and 
 worship." " There is oTie God and one Me- 
 diator between God and man — the man 
 Christ Jesus." No being intervenes, or 
 can interpose between us and that Me- 
 diator. We have immediate and direct 
 access to Immanuel. As Jehovah incar- 
 nate, he comes down to us, and brings 
 us nigh unto him. He is our only Con- 
 fessor, Teacher, Guide, Counsellor, Sa- 
 viour, Friend and Portion. No enact- 
 ments of the Church, whose power is 
 only ministerial and declarative; no eccle- 
 siastical legislation ; no decrees of coun- 
 cils; no priesthood; no Hierarchy; no 
 Pope, nor creature of the State, can 
 come between us and Jesus Christ, to 
 debar us from his presence, cut us off 
 
24 
 
 from our interest in him, and from our 
 communion with him. This simple truth, 
 when comprehended and appreciated, 
 lifts us above tyranny and oppression, 
 whether civil or ecclesiastical, and gives 
 us a place among ihef7^ee. It is the germ 
 of all true liberty. The knowledge and 
 faith of it have effected a far greater 
 change in the moral character of those 
 who have embraced it, than climate has 
 ever effected in the physical character 
 of the races of the human family, and 
 one by which they may be as distinctly 
 marked in their history. The men who 
 have lived in the light of this doctrine, 
 have stood erect like men. They could 
 never be made to bow to arbitrary hu- 
 man authority ; they were subject to 
 every ordinance of God, while they 
 breathed the air of heaven and had their 
 conversation there. It was for this the 
 Covenanters of Scotland contended so 
 
25 
 
 long and so nobly. It was their know- 
 ledge of this truth which made them 
 what they were — which raised them so 
 far above the world, and placed them so 
 far in advance of their cotemporaries, as 
 it regarded their views of truth, integ- 
 rity, human rights, civil and religious 
 liberty. They have received the por- 
 tion in this world which our Saviour de- 
 clared must be expected by his faithful 
 followers — hatred, persecution and trib- 
 ulation. They were hunted like wild 
 beasts, and down-trodden, while they 
 lived, and have been caricatured and 
 ridiculed since their death ; still, in Christ 
 they had peace. Their testimony and 
 example remain as a monument in honor 
 of their memory and of their attain- 
 ments through grace, more durable than 
 brass. 
 
 The same is true of the Puritans of 
 England, who have been, in some quar- 
 3 
 
26 
 
 ters, as much abused as the Covenant- 
 ers ; but who have been also most ably 
 and eloquently defended by those who 
 could appreciate their character, as men 
 to whom, under God, this nation and the 
 world owe so much. It was their im- 
 mediate, direct and constant intercourse 
 with God, which made them wise, in- 
 trepid and mighty in the truth ; indiffer- 
 ent to the honors, riches and pleasures 
 of the world ; grave in their whole de- 
 portment; faithful, upright and consci- 
 entiously sincere in all their intercourse ; 
 cool and collected under every emergen- 
 cy ; determined, persevering and daunt- 
 less, in the accomplishment of their pur- 
 pose ; calm and tranquil, peaceful and 
 happy in their death. 
 
 We give men the Scriptures, as con- 
 taining the only infallible rule of faith and 
 practice ; to be diligently searched by 
 every individual; to be received and 
 
27 
 
 obeyed on the authority of God ; to be 
 interpreted according to the analogy of 
 faith, comparing Scripture with Scrip- 
 ture, under the teaching of the Holy 
 Spirit. This is the method, as we be- 
 lieve, by which God intends graciously 
 to restore man, and elevate him to his 
 true dignity, as an intelligent, moral and 
 responsible being. 
 
 We have the ordinary officers which 
 are mentioned in the New Testament, 
 and all which were intended to be perma- 
 nent in the Church, but no more. God 
 has mercifully preserved us from error, 
 from innovation and corruption in this 
 respect also. We do not believe that 
 the Church has been left without a Head, 
 nor do we belong to a Church without a 
 Head — far from it — but we believe that 
 her glorious Head is in heaven. To this 
 headship of the Church we hold, and can 
 acknowledge no other; nor can we be- 
 
lieve that the Lord Jesus Christ has left 
 any other vicar on earth besides the Holy 
 Spirit, whom he promised to send, and 
 whom he did send, to supply the absence 
 of his human nature, which the heavens 
 must receive, until the time of the resti- 
 tution of all things. We, therefore, look 
 upon it as worse than mockery, as an 
 impious and presumptuous usurpation, 
 for man to affect, in any form, to act as 
 the Head of the Church, or to perform 
 the office of the Holy Spirit. The Lord 
 Jesus Christ has left authority, and es- 
 tablished government in his Church, but 
 it is executive merely. The names, qual- 
 ifications and duties of those who are to 
 bear rule in his house, and the manner 
 in which they are to be inducted into 
 office, are all mentioned in the Scrip- 
 tures, and are adopted by us as our 
 guide in these matters. 
 
 The Apostles were extraordinary offi- 
 
29 
 
 cers, and as such had no successors. It 
 was essential to the office of an Apostle 
 that the incumbent should have seen 
 the Lord — that he might testify to his 
 resurrection as an eye-witness. To 
 qualify Saul of Tarsus to become an 
 Apostle, a special miracle was wrought. 
 Jesus actually appeared to him. Be- 
 sides, the Apostles were enabled to per- 
 form miracles by which to confirm their 
 divine commission. They could not, 
 therefore, have successors; nor was it 
 necessary that they should have, except 
 as they were Presbyters and Ministers 
 of Christ. That they were such, they 
 themselves declare. Even Peter, who 
 has been made to father all the abomi- 
 nations of Rome, says, " the Elders I ex- 
 hort who am also an Elder," a co-presby- 
 ter, with you; and the Apostle John 
 styles himself " the Elder to the elect 
 lady " in his Epistle. We read in the New 
 3* 
 
30 
 
 Testament of Bishops who had the over- 
 sight, the watch and care of a particular 
 Church or Churches, and who performed 
 the duties of a Pastor to them, but not 
 of Bishops over the Ministers in a cer- 
 tain district. The Lord Jesus Christ is 
 the great shepherd and bishop over Min- 
 isters and people. The Bishops spoken 
 of in the Scriptures are Presbyters. 
 
 Every reader of the New Testament 
 knows that the terms Bishop and Pres- 
 byter are convertible. They are used 
 interchangeably to designate the same 
 officers, who were required to possess 
 the same qualifications, and who were 
 ordained in the same manner. Paul, 
 writing to Titus, says, i., 5, that he had 
 left him in Crete, to ordain Elders, Pres- 
 byters, (more than one,) in every city, 
 as he had appointed him ; and then de- 
 scribes the character of those who might 
 be ordained, verse 6 : "If any be blame- 
 
31 
 
 less, the husband of one wife, havmg faith- 
 ful children not accused of riot or un- 
 ruly/' and gives as a reason for this caution 
 in selecting candidates, what follows 
 in the next verse, " For a B'shop must be 
 blameless, as the steward of God," &c., 
 thus evidently identifying the office of 
 Presbyter and Bishop. By comparing 
 this passage with what is written in 
 1 Tim. iii., 1, it will be perceived that 
 the same qualifications which are enu- 
 merated as essential to the office of a 
 Bishop, are those which are here named 
 as necessary to the office of a Presbyter. 
 Another instance of the interchangeable 
 use of these terms we have in the well- 
 known passage in Acts xx., 17-28. Paul 
 sent for the Elders, the Vresbijters, of the 
 Church of Ephesus to meet him at Mile- 
 tum, and enjoined them, among other 
 things, to take heed to all the flock over 
 which the Holy Ghost had made them 
 
32 
 
 overseers, Bishops, to feed the Church 
 of God, which he hath purchased with 
 his own blood ; but we need not enlarge 
 on this point. 
 
 We read, also, of Ruling Elders, who 
 do not labor in the word and doctrine, 
 1 Tim. v., 17, but who, as helps, have 
 authority to govern in the Church, tak- 
 ing the oversight of the flock in connec- 
 tion with the Pastor, having no authority 
 as such to preach, administer the sacra- 
 ments, nor to ordain. And we read of 
 Deacons who were appointed, not to 
 preach — not as a distinct order of the 
 ministry, nor to hold an office which is 
 to be a stepping-stone to a higher or- 
 der — but as officers who were to manage 
 the temporal affairs of the Church; to 
 have the care of the poor, and to dis- 
 pense to them the charities of the Church. 
 They were appointed expressly to re- 
 lieve the Preachers of the Gospel from the 
 
33 
 
 duty of serving tables, and to enable 
 those who were Preachers to give them- 
 selves "continually to prayer and the 
 Ministry of the Word/' Acts vi., 1-4. 
 Besides these, we acknowledge no other 
 permanent officers nor titles of office in the 
 Church, because we do not find them in the 
 Word of God, which is our only directory. 
 
 There were Evangelists, as we also 
 ordain Missionaries, without charge for 
 special services in the Church ; but 
 they belong to the same order of Minis- 
 ters of the Gospel, among whom there is 
 a perfect paiity, according to the com- 
 mand of Christ, Mat. xx., 25-28. 
 
 We require the same qualifications 
 in those whom we ordain to these offi- 
 ces, and the performance of the same 
 duties which belong to them respective- 
 ly, as are specified in the Scriptures. 
 And they are ordained to office, not by 
 a Diocesan Bishop, because there is no 
 
84 
 
 such officer named in the New Testa- 
 ment. There is no account of any one 
 who ever exercised such an office. We 
 do not find the quaUfications of such 
 an officer enumerated, nor his duties de- 
 fined. We therefore have no such officer 
 in our system ; we do not beheve in him. 
 Nor is ordination performed by the 
 people, the body of behevers. They 
 have no such power, and cannot confer 
 it on others. There is no instance on 
 record, in the New Testament, in which 
 the people exercised that power. The 
 power and commission to preach the 
 Gospel, administer the sacraments and 
 govern the Church, was not given to the 
 people merely as worshipers, but to the 
 Church, to be exercised by her officers. 
 It comes from above, and is descending ; 
 it comes from the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
 is delegated to those whom he has de- 
 signated as officers in his Church, and 
 
35 
 
 through and by them is it to be imparted 
 to others. The error of those (for I con- 
 sider it an error and an abandonment of 
 Presbyterianism) who reverse this order, 
 and teach that the people are the source 
 of this power, and that it is ascending 
 in its nature, arises, as it appears to me, 
 from their putting asunder what God has 
 inseparably joined together, viz., the 
 body of the people and the officers who 
 are to rule over them. They speak of 
 the Church as distinct from, and in op- 
 position to, the officers of the Church, 
 whereas the Church includes her officers 
 and her Head. Through a fear, as it 
 would seem, of being charged with hold- 
 ing the odious doctrine of succession, 
 they destroy the unity of the Church, 
 divide her into ten thousand indepen- 
 dent fragments which may spring up 
 anywhere like mushrooms, having no 
 connection with any that have gone be- 
 
36 
 
 fore them, or that co-exist with them, or 
 that shall come after them; and they 
 subvert the order of Christ's house, leav- 
 ing these independent societies without 
 a Head and without a government, ex- 
 cept as they may be created by them- 
 selves. From an examination of the 
 Scriptures, we cannot find that there 
 ever has been a Church without a Min- 
 istry. There can be no Church where 
 the Word and sacraments are not admin- 
 istered, and these can be administered 
 by an ordained Ministry only. There 
 have been congregations without Pastors, 
 but they belonged to the Church which 
 had a Ministry. We learn, also, that 
 under the New Testament dispensation, 
 the Ministry was before the Church, in 
 the order of nature and of time ; but 
 was given to the Church for her edifica- 
 tion. Now it is as easy for God to pre- 
 serve a succession of Ministers, as it is 
 
37 
 
 to preserve a succession of believers; 
 and it is matter of history that he has 
 done so. As the Church has been pre- 
 served through all the changes of time, 
 through all the revolutions of empires, 
 and through all the persecutions of the 
 infuriated world, so has her Ministry 
 been preserved. With them is lodged 
 the power of ordination — of inducting 
 suitable men into the Ministry as their 
 coadjutors and successors. This may 
 be called the doctrine of succession, but 
 it is a very different doctrine from that 
 which teaches that there has been a 
 succession of Popes or an unbroken chain 
 of individual Bishops, ordained after a 
 particular form, who have transmitted, in 
 one line, a certain subtle, mysterious in- 
 fluence and authority, the exercise of 
 which is essential to the validity of all 
 religious administrations, and to salva- 
 tion. It is the doctrine of the succession 
 4 
 
38 
 
 or preservation of the Church, in fulfill- 
 ment of the promise that " the gates of 
 hell shall never prevail against her," and 
 that the Lord Jesus Christ will be present 
 with her always, even unto the end. It is 
 to maintain "that God cannot lie," and that 
 the Scriptures cannot be broken. He has 
 appointed offices to be executed by a dis- 
 tinct class and a separate order of men. 
 To fill those offices, persons were or- 
 dained by the Apostles, with an injunc- 
 tion to ordain others. On them rests 
 the responsibility of looking out and 
 training up others, and with them is 
 lodged the power of ordaining them. 
 " The things that thou hast heard of me," 
 says Paul to Timothy, "among many wit- 
 nesses, the same commit thou to faithful 
 men who shall be able to teach others 
 also'^ 2 Tim. ii. 2. It may be asked. Have 
 the people no voice ? have they no rights ? 
 Unquestionably ; they elect their own 
 
39 
 
 officers, they choose their own Pastors, 
 and no one can be placed over them, in 
 the Lord, without their consent ; yet 
 their spiritual Rulers and Teachers must 
 be inducted into office by the existing 
 Ministry, just as it was in the case of the 
 Deacons of whose appointment we have 
 an account in the Acts vi., 5, 6. The 
 people were required to make the selec- 
 tion of suitable persons ; the choice was 
 left entirely to them : but after they had 
 been thus designated and elected by the 
 people, the Apostles ordained them ; and 
 as it is in a manner in our civil affairs, 
 the people elect their own officers, but 
 they do not invest them with office. 
 They are inducted into office and clothed 
 with the authority of it, by the existing 
 government. 
 
 Our Ministers are ordained by the 
 laying on of the hands of the Presby- 
 tery. 1 Tim. iv., 14: "Neglect not 
 
40 
 
 the gift that is in thee, which was 
 given thee by prophecy with the laying 
 on of the hands of the Presbytery." 
 Ruling Elders and Deacons are ordained 
 by the Pastor of the Church in which 
 they are to serve. 
 
 Thus it appears that our govern- 
 ment is not monarchical ; it is not 
 administered by a single individual i 
 it cannot, therefore, be despotic nor 
 arbitrary. It is not aristocratical ; the 
 power is not placed in the hands of a 
 ew self-constituted officers, who act in- 
 dependently of the people, who are 
 under no responsibility to them, who 
 may perpetuate themselves, and from 
 whose decision there is no appeal. The 
 Pastor and the officers of particular 
 Churches are not chosen by their prede- 
 cessors, nor are they placed over congre- 
 gations in an arbitrary manner by the 
 Presbytery, but are regularly called by 
 
41 
 
 the people. Every member of the Church 
 has an equal privilege in this respect, 
 having a voice in the election of those 
 who are to be over him in the Lord. 
 
 Here we may notice the salutary 
 check which the Presbytery and the 
 people mutually hold upon each other. 
 If, on the one hand, the people should, 
 at will, ordain their own minister, who 
 would be accountable for his doctrine 
 and life to them only, the greatest abuses 
 might be practiced, under the garb of 
 religion. They might be influenced by 
 the most unworthy motives, in the se- 
 lection of an individual to become their 
 Pastor; and if he could succeed to render 
 himself acceptable — if he should become 
 popular, on account of his talents, style 
 of writing, or eloquence, he might preach 
 his own speculations instead of the Gos- 
 pel, or himself instead of Christ, and his 
 
 conduct be connived at notwithstanding. 
 
 4=^ 
 
42 
 
 He might privily introduce error, and 
 seduce the people from the simplicity 
 that is in Christ, and yet they would 
 sustain him. This is matter of history. 
 In this way men have " brought in damna- 
 ble heresy, even denying the Lord that 
 bought them," and have corrupted some 
 of the fairest portions of God's heritage. 
 In some instances, also, the grossest im- 
 moralities have been countenanced by a 
 people, in their favorite Preacher. We 
 are told expressly, that those who have 
 itching ears, who are actuated by a spirit 
 of self-pleasing, will, after their own lusts, 
 heap to themselves Teachers. 
 
 On the other hand, if the Presbytery 
 should, at will, ordain persons who had 
 not been tried by the Churches, who had 
 never been called to the work of the 
 Ministry by any of the people of God, 
 they might add indefinitely to their own 
 number, and burden the Churches. They 
 
43 
 
 would destroy the balance of power in 
 the Presbytery, wiiich is now eqvially 
 divided between the Ministers and the 
 Ruling Elders, who are the representa- 
 tives of the people ; and whenever the 
 people are not represented in Church 
 courts, and where their will is not con- 
 sulted, there may they expect to be 
 Priest-ridden and oppressed. 
 
 Nor is our government a pure Democra- 
 cy ; it is constitutional ; it is uniform, ac- 
 cording to fixed principles ; and it is or- 
 derly subject to the authority of the one 
 great Head of the Church. We have 
 laws, with their sanctions and officers, by 
 whom they are to be executed, and 
 who are clothed with power to preserve 
 the purity and peace of the Church. 
 
 It is, in many respects, analogous and 
 most congenial to the free and happy 
 civil government under which we live, 
 and may, with propriety, be called a 
 
44 
 
 Representative Republican Government, 
 under which there is no respect of per- 
 sons. It is the same form of government 
 which was established in the primitive 
 Churches, and we know, from history,that 
 it is the same which the Reformers es- 
 tablished, wherever circumstances per- 
 mitted them to do so, and which they 
 intended to establish in all the Churches 
 which were, through their instrumental- 
 ity, delivered from the darkness, idolatry 
 and abominations of Popery. Luther, 
 Calvin and Knox, with their coadjutors, 
 were all Presbyterians. They were of 
 one mind on this subject, as well as of 
 one spirit, and designed to establish a 
 uniform government in the Church, as 
 they did set forth a uniform faith. The 
 continuation of Prelacy in England was 
 owing entirely to the circumstances 
 under which the Reformation was intro- 
 duced into that country. The civil gov- 
 
45 
 
 ernment was monarchical, analogous and 
 most friendly to which is Prelacy. 
 
 The reigning monarch at the time, 
 who had received from the Pope the 
 title of " Defender of the Faith," as a re- 
 ward for the book he had written in 
 Latin against Luther, found it afterwards 
 convenient and desirable, in order to 
 accomplish certain domestic arrange- 
 ments, to have himself acknowledged 
 the Head of the Church, instead 
 of, and in opposition to, the Pope at 
 Rome, with whom he had quarreled. 
 Henry VIH., that he might be divorced 
 from one wife, and married to another — 
 and, without having changed his reli- 
 gious sentiments — was accordingly so 
 proclaimed, and therefore it was that 
 the English Church only exchanged one 
 Pope for another. At the present time 
 their sovereign Queen is the Head of 
 their Church, as her predecessors have 
 
46 
 
 been. The Reformation there was check- 
 ed, and the government of the Church 
 was continued much in the same form as 
 it had been under the Pope, being admin- 
 istered by the same Bishops who, until 
 then, had adhered to Rome, and many 
 of whom were still in heart Papists, as 
 some of their successors have been ever 
 since. Those who were truly Protes- 
 tants, and who cordially embraced the 
 doctrines of the Reformation, petitioned 
 and labored hard for the Presbyterian 
 form of Church government. They com- 
 plained and remonstated against the ob- 
 jectionable forms and usages which were 
 retained during successive reigns, until, 
 by cruel acts of conformity, attempts at 
 coercion and bloody persecutions, they 
 were driven from their native land, some 
 to the continent of Europe, and others 
 to these shores where God had prepared 
 an asylum for them. Now we say 
 
47 
 
 it is matter of thankfulness that the 
 Presbyterian Church has been preserved 
 from changes, innovations and corrup- 
 tions in her doctrine, government and 
 usages, to bear her testimony to the 
 truth. She is the same in these respects 
 now, that she was in the days of the 
 Reformation, and in the days of the 
 Apostles. 
 
 By her primitive simplicity, and the 
 form of her constitution, she is peculiarly 
 adapted to be a most useful and efficient 
 agent in the preservation and propagation 
 of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, among all 
 classes of persons, and in all time. She 
 has no outward attractions nor imposing 
 forms, and never has had ; her worship 
 is without pomp or show, and, as we 
 believe on that account, more solemn 
 and spiritual, and less liable to abuse. 
 Where people are attracted by the out- 
 ward circumstances of religious w^orship, 
 
48 
 
 and where they can unite in it without 
 preparation and without an effort of the 
 mind — Avithout the exercise of the heart 
 and of the affections, as is the case 
 where written forms are used- — they are 
 in great danger of deceiving themselves 
 with a name to live, of trusting in the 
 forms of godliness, of indulging in a self- 
 righteous spirit, of feeling self-complacen- 
 cy, and of crying peace when there is no 
 peace. It is a cheap and easy way of 
 quieting conscience, and of keeping upon 
 good terms with ourselves. At the same 
 time we do not say that it is necessarily 
 so — by no means — ^we know it is not — 
 we only say that it is peculiarly liable to 
 this abuse. 
 
 There can be no better organization 
 than ours for the promotion of educa- 
 tion and the improvement of the con- 
 dition of men — for the diffusion of in- 
 telligence, the preservation of the pub- 
 
49 
 
 lie morals, the elevation of the standard 
 of piety, nor for the preaching of the 
 Gospel to every creature, than this which 
 God has given us. It is fully compe- 
 tent to every benevolent operation, and 
 wherever it has been faithfully admin- 
 istered and fully carried into effect, it 
 has been proved efficient to accomplish 
 these important objects. 
 
 The Ministers of the Presbyterian 
 Church have, for the most part, been 
 pious, educated and devoted men, and 
 have contributed their full proportion 
 of labor and influence to the cause of 
 education and to the work of spreading 
 the Gospel. No branch of the Church 
 has done more for the establishment 
 of schools and the diflfusion of know- 
 ledge, for the instruction of youth and 
 of the members of her communion. 
 Those who have been educated under 
 her care, who have had the advantage 
 5 
 
50 
 
 of her Catechetical instruction in the 
 family and in the sanctuary, who regu- 
 larly hear the Scriptures expounded and 
 applied, unless they have been most cul- 
 pably inattentive and negligent, will be 
 found intelligent on the most important 
 subjects of their duty, familiarly ac- 
 quainted with their Bibles and with the 
 great principles of the Reformation. 
 
 The influence of this system, in the 
 formation of character, may be learned 
 from the spirit which has characterized 
 those who have embraced it. They 
 have ever been the advocates of human 
 rights, of freedom in all its forms, and of 
 the largest hberty. They have cherish- 
 ed and inculcated enlarged views of all 
 those great practical subjects which have 
 agitated society, and which affect human 
 happiness, and the most liberal principles 
 of action and of intercourse. Hence, 
 they have, in every country and in every 
 
51 
 
 age, as a denomination generally, been 
 true patriots, loyal to the government 
 under which they lived, and supporters of 
 the laws and of the constitution by which 
 they were bound. In the history of the 
 changes and revolutions which have oc- 
 curred in the nations among whom their 
 lot has been cast, they have ever been 
 found resisting oppression by all lawful 
 means, maintaining the cause of truth 
 and righteousness, and contending for 
 liberty of conscience. 
 
 They have been charged, but most 
 unjustly, with bigotry and with too great 
 rigor in adhering to their doctrine and 
 discipline. No religious sect has been, 
 nor is any evangelical denomination of 
 Christians at this moment, so Catholic 
 as Presbyterians are in their spirit, in 
 their judgment of Christian character, 
 and in their practice as it respects hold- 
 ing communion with the members of 
 
52 
 
 other denominations whom they consider 
 to be united to Christ, the living Head. 
 They are candid, frank and honest, and 
 desire to be consistent, which may give 
 them the appearance, to some, of exchi- 
 siveness, but it is the appearance only. 
 They require of those who are to be- 
 come her permanent members — who are 
 to be regularly admitted into her com- 
 munion — and to remain as constituent 
 parts of her family — an acquaintance 
 with her doctrines, and an approbation 
 of them, as well as evidence of piety — 
 and they require of those who seek to 
 be ordained as her Ministers or officers, 
 a cordial adoption of her public stand- 
 ards. 
 
 To pursue a different course, could 
 not be for peace or edification. They 
 owe it to themselves — to the truth — and 
 to their living Head to be loyal. But 
 they do not judge nor denounce those 
 
53 
 
 who differ from them — they leave all to 
 stand or fall to their own master. They 
 accord to all cheerfully that which they 
 ask for themselves, liberty of conscience. 
 They feel a strong preference for their 
 own peculiar system — they have em- 
 braced it from a conviction of its excel- 
 lence, and of its conformity to the Word 
 of God — but they do not regard the 
 adoption of it as essential to salvation. 
 Neither have they any desire to obtrude 
 it or to impose it upon others as the con- 
 dition of salvation. We might say 
 much of the salutary influence of this 
 system on individual character, and on 
 the morals of the community in those 
 countries where it has been received 
 and appreciated — but we forbear. What 
 we have said of it has not been in a spirit 
 of boasting, but from a sense of duty to 
 God and man — to testify to its divine 
 5^^ 
 
54 
 
 origin, and to the kind interposition of 
 Providence for its preservation. 
 
 We are aware that the adherence of 
 numbers to a system is not in itself evi- 
 dence of its truth or excellence. The mere 
 fact that a society holding certain sen- 
 timents is numerous, is no evidence in 
 itself that they have the truth, or that 
 they are approved of God. The wicked 
 have hitherto outnumbered the right- 
 eous in our world — ^false religions have 
 had more votaries than the true — im- 
 postors have numbered more followers 
 than the divinely commissioned Teachers 
 of God. But when a system is open to 
 examination and investigation — attend- 
 ing which there is no concealment — 
 when it has stood the test of strong op- 
 position and of violent persecutions — 
 when it has other evidence of a divine 
 origin, and can record palpable tokens 
 
55 
 
 of the divine approbation — then its 
 having been embraced by many intelli- 
 gent minds in different parts of the globe 
 during successive centuries — and its be- 
 ing still embraced by numbers who 
 can all testify to its salutary influence, 
 entitles it to our confidence. 
 
 We think we have in the nature of this 
 system, and in the character of its doc- 
 trines,evidence that it came from God, and 
 that, in the history of its preservation, we 
 have evidence of divine interposition. 
 It is not a system formed to please men, 
 to flatter their pride, nor is it lax and 
 indulgent, conniving at sin ; but it is in- 
 tended to save men from their sins, and, 
 therefore, does it lay the axe at the root 
 of them all — self must be denied and re- 
 nounced — pride must be mortified and 
 humbled. Those who embrace it are 
 required to become fools for Christ, to 
 consent to be esteemed so by others, and 
 
66 
 
 to acknowledge that they know nothing 
 as they ought to know until they learn 
 of him that they. have no righteous- 
 ness, and can never establish any of 
 their own — that they are not sufficient 
 of themselves so much as to think any- 
 thing of themselves — that they must be 
 saved by grace and remain forever un- 
 profitable servants. Would the human 
 mind ever have invented such a system 
 of doctrine and of religion, in which 
 there is no self-pleasing and from which 
 all boasting of man is taken away, and 
 all glorying of the flesh is effectually 
 and forever excluded ? or would the 
 carnal mind in its unchanged state ever 
 embrace it ? We can account from 
 natural causes for the preservation of 
 those systems which teach that men can 
 obtain salvation by their own works — 
 that, to be a member of the visible 
 Church, and to give alms will entitle to 
 
57 
 
 a place in heaven. Men will cheerful- 
 ly submit to the greatest privations, and 
 make any sacrifices if, by so doing, they 
 can quiet conscience and, as they ima- 
 gine, make out a title to eternal life. 
 This is the secret of the success of false 
 Teachers. They allow their followers to 
 act from a principle of self-pleasing — to 
 be seen of men to gain the reputation 
 of eminent piety and the respect which 
 appertains to it. They teach that pen- 
 ance is the price of absolution — that 
 working is the procuring cause of future 
 blessedness — thus pride is not mortified, 
 but cherished, and the sinner feels him- 
 self a debtor to no one but himself. 
 Such is not the doctrine of Christ ; ac- 
 cording to his teaching there is no pro- 
 mise of saintship, nor of Elysian fields 
 in the future world, as the reward of 
 meritorious personal acts performed 
 here, or of mortifications and sacrifices 
 
58 
 
 self-imposed. All hope of obtaining justi- 
 fication by the works of the law is cut 
 off. The sinner must condemn himself 
 and give God the glory — he must become 
 a debtor to his rich and sovereign grace 
 — he must live by faith and not by sight, 
 and, therefore, must be operated upon 
 by an influence more powerful than can 
 be exerted by human motives to make 
 the sacrifice. Hence, we believe that 
 the Presbyterian Church has been pre- 
 served by the influence of the Spirit of 
 God on the hearts of men, making them 
 willing in the day of his power to deny 
 themselves as it regards pride, self-con- 
 fidence and self-righteousness, and to 
 take up their cross and to follow Christ. 
 It is thus he has graciously continued 
 a succession of Ministers and Elders in 
 her, and added to her members. He has, 
 at times, so manifested his presence and 
 his saving power in the conversion of 
 
59 
 
 multitudes, that disinterested and com- 
 petent witnesses were constrained to 
 testify to the reality and greatness of 
 the work, saying, It is the Lord. But 
 for such times of refreshing, the Presby- 
 terian, and every branch of the true 
 Church of Christ, would long ere this 
 have become extinct. 
 
 There are seasons of revival in which 
 numbers are brought under deep and 
 pungent convictions of sin — are led cor- 
 dially to embrace the peculiar doctrines 
 of grace, and to rest upon Christ alone 
 for salvation ; and when the subjects of 
 this gracious influence exhibit in their 
 lives an entire change of character — 
 a change of spirit, of nature and habits. 
 The Spirit of God comes not in the mighty 
 wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the 
 fire, but in the still small voice of the 
 Gospel. He descends like the dew and 
 like the rain, to secure the preservation 
 
60 
 
 of the Church in this world, which, un- 
 der all the circumstances of the case, is 
 a greater miracle than any of those re- 
 corded in the Bihle. 
 
 In the next place, I wish to show 
 you that we have just cause of gratitude 
 to God for his preservation of and gra- 
 cious dealings with this Church, of which 
 we are the members and few remaining 
 representatives, but must reserve this 
 part of our subject to be considered this 
 afternoon, when I propose, by leave of 
 Providence, to give a brief history of the 
 First Presbyterian Church in this city. 
 
 In the meanwhile, let us learn to appre- 
 ciate our privileges and to improve them. 
 We have an open Bible and liberty of 
 conscience. We may all have access to 
 God, through Jesus Christ without let or 
 hindrance. 
 
 Let us, through grace, exhibit in our 
 lives the legitimate fruits of the Gospel. 
 
61 
 
 Let us hold it fast, and transmit it pure 
 and unadulterated, giving glory to God 
 in the highest, that he has been pleased 
 to make known the terms of peace on 
 earth and his good will to men. 
 
DISCOURSE II. 
 
DISCOURSE II. 
 
 TsxT.— Psalm cxxiv. 1-8,—** If it had not been the Lord who 
 was on our side, now may Israel say ; If it had not been the 
 Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us: Then 
 they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled 
 against us." 
 
 It hath pleased God to establish a 
 Church in our world, and to pledge his 
 truth and faithfulness, as well as his 
 omnipotence, for her preservation. She 
 is built upon a rock, and that rock is 
 Christ. When Peter professed his 
 faith in Him as the Son of the liv- 
 ing God, Jesus said, " Upon this rock" — 
 ^. 6., upon myself, who am elsewhere 
 in the Scriptures expressly called the 
 rock — upon this essential and eternal 
 truth, that I am the Christ, the Son of 
 6* 
 
66 
 
 the living God — upon this, as upon a 
 rock — " will I build my Church, and the 
 gates of hell shall not prevail against 
 her." Intimating that the attempt to de- 
 stroy her would be made — that she must 
 expect the assaults of hell — but that 
 they would be in vain. Hence the Church 
 is also said to be built upon the Apostles 
 and Prophets, " Jesus Christ himself be- 
 ing the chief corner-stone." On another 
 occasion our Lord made known to his 
 disciples the reason why the enemies of 
 the Church should be unsuccessful. He 
 revealed the means of her preservation, 
 and the secret of her safety in the pro- 
 mise, " Lo ! I am with you always, 
 even unto the end of the world." 
 
 Hitherto this promise has been ful- 
 filled ; she has been assaulted — she has 
 been hated, opposed, and persecuted — 
 but she has lived through all the tribu- 
 lations and dangers which her enemies 
 
67 
 
 have occasioned her, and through all 
 the storms and revolutions of time. 
 
 The Church is one, and has ever been 
 the same in her doctrines and laws ; she 
 has ever been emphatically the light of 
 the world and the salt of the earth, ex- 
 clusively furnishing the knowledge of 
 the one only living and true God, and 
 of Jesus Christ the only Saviour, and 
 exerting a conservative and sanctifying 
 influence. We speak now of the true 
 Church which holds forth the word of 
 life, which performs her appropriate 
 functions, and accomplishes the great 
 end of her organization. Which proclaims 
 by her Ministry a full and free salvation 
 through a crucified Redeemer — keeping 
 pure and accessible to all the fountain 
 which has been opened for sin and for 
 uncleanness — and imparting to all the 
 knowledge of its efficacy. Which exe- 
 cutes the great commission of her ascend- 
 
6g 
 
 ed Lord — " to preach the Gospel to every 
 creature;" and by letting her light shine 
 before men — by carrying the bread and 
 the water of life to the destitute, " makes 
 glad the wilderness and the solitary 
 place, and causes the desert to rejoice 
 and blossom as the rose." It becomes us 
 on the present occasion to recall to our 
 minds the great, gracious and paramount 
 design of our Lord in establishing his 
 Church, and the glorious work which is 
 to be accomplished through her agency, 
 viz., the manifestation of his perfections, 
 the display of his glory in the salvation 
 of sinners. Each separate branch of the 
 Church should be as a light shining in a 
 dark place — as a fountain sending forth 
 living and healing waters — as a tree of 
 life, whose leaves are for the healing of 
 the nations. May we not say in truth, 
 and without boasting, and ought we not 
 to say with thankfulness that such has 
 
69 
 
 been the character, in some degree, at 
 least, and such has been the agency to 
 some extent, of this Church, whose new 
 place of worship we have been permit- 
 ted this day to open here. We think it 
 will appear also from a brief history of 
 the origin, trials and persecutions, of 
 the kind preservation, and salutary in- 
 fluence of this Church, that we may ap- 
 ply to her the language of the text. 
 
 In January, 1707 — one hundred and 
 thirty-nine years ago — the first move- 
 ment was made which led to the organ- 
 ization of a Presbyterian Church in this 
 city. The inhabitants, at that time, con- 
 sisted principally of Dutch Calvinists, 
 who worshiped after the forms of the 
 Church of Holland ; of French Refugees, 
 who worshiped after the Geneva model; 
 and of Episcopalians, who worshiped ac- 
 cording to the forms of the Church of 
 England, Besides these, there were a 
 
70 
 
 few Presbyterians, who came together 
 on the Sabbath, and worshiped God in 
 a private house. They had no pubhc 
 place of worship, and were without a 
 Minister to lead in their devotions, to 
 preach the Gospel, or to administer the 
 sacraments to them. They were thus 
 early taught, what it was to be strangers, 
 and to be as sheep without a Shepherd, 
 that they might ever after sympathize 
 with those who should be found in the 
 same situation. In the month and year 
 already named, two Presbyterian min- 
 isters, Francis McKemmie and John 
 Hampton — from the eastern shore of 
 Maryland — on their way to Boston, vis- 
 ited New York. As was most natural, 
 under the circumstances of the case, the 
 little flock, who were of the same faith 
 with them, desired to hear them preach. 
 That they might enjoy this privilege, 
 they made application to the consistory 
 
n 
 
 of the Dutch Church for the use of their 
 place of worship, which was cheerfully 
 granted. But there was another per- 
 sonage to be consulted. The people, in 
 those days, had a master, and one who 
 was not backward to let them know 
 that he was their master. It was ne- 
 cessary to obtain permission from the 
 Governor of the Province, who, at that 
 time, was Lord Cornbury. He refused 
 to grant the permission. Having been 
 forbidden to preach in the Dutch Church, 
 Mr. McKemmie preached in a private 
 house in Pearl street, and also baptized 
 a child. For performing these ministe- 
 rial acts without a license from his Lord- 
 ship, both he and his companion were 
 arrested, brought before the Governor, 
 and by his order cast into prison. They 
 were kept in confinement nearly two 
 months, when they were brought before 
 the Chief Justice by a writ of habeas 
 
72 
 
 corpus. Mr. Hampton, not having preach- 
 ed in the city, was discharged, and Mr. 
 McKemmie admitted to bail. In June 
 following, he returned from Virginia to 
 New York, to answer his prosecution 
 before the civil court, and although, 
 after a hearing of the case, he was ac- 
 quitted by the jury, yet he was obliged 
 to pay the costs of suit, amounting to a 
 considerable sum, £83, 75., 6d. He after- 
 wards published an account of the trial, 
 in a pamphlet form, a sketch of which 
 may also be found in Smith's History of 
 New York. Thus, in their first move- 
 ment towards the attainment of their 
 object, in their first attempt to obtain 
 the administration of the Word and or- 
 dinances of God, the Presbyterians in 
 this city met with opposition and perse- 
 cution. This taught them what they 
 were to expect, reminded them that in 
 the world they must have tribulation. 
 
73 
 
 and prepared them for the series of dis- 
 couragements which followed. This 
 treatment, however, did not change 
 their sentiments, nor did it disperse 
 the little flock ; but only retarded the 
 consummation of their devout and earn- 
 est desires. In consequence of it, they 
 were kept in a weak and unorganized 
 state for ten years. We hear of no one 
 of their own denomination attempting to 
 preach to them during all that period. 
 Still they w^ere not permitted to aban- 
 don their enterprise. God had an im- 
 portant work for them to do in this city. 
 They must not, therefore, cover their 
 light, deny their principles, and do vio- 
 lence to their conscience, by quietly and 
 passively uniting with other Christian 
 denominations. 
 
 Much as we deprecate the division 
 of feeble communities into various reli- 
 gious sects, on account of slight differ- 
 7 
 
74 
 
 ences of opinion, by reason of which 
 they deprive themselves of the regular 
 ministrations of the Gospel, an evil 
 which is deeply felt and extensively 
 deplored in most of the villages and 
 country towns throughout our land, and 
 while we would inculcate the union of 
 all who agree in the fundamental truths 
 of revelation, and hold the same Head, 
 we could never justify an abandonment 
 of vital principles and of essential truths, 
 nor a compromise with error. Besides, 
 if we would enlist men of different na- 
 tions, feelings, sentiments and habits, 
 which are not sinful, in the service of 
 God, we must respect even their reli- 
 gious prejudices, much more their honest 
 preferences; and Christian union does 
 not consist in outward uniformity, but 
 in sustaining the same relation to Jesus 
 Christ, and in possessing his spirit. It 
 has, no doubt, been promoted in the pres- 
 
75 
 
 ent state of society, by allowing differ- 
 ent creeds, and names, and forms of 
 worship to exist unmolested. There 
 have been, and still are, many active 
 and useful members of the Church, in 
 their respective religious societies, who 
 are engaged in their different depart- 
 ments, in the performance of an import- 
 ant work to the cause of Christ, who 
 contribute their full proportion of means 
 and influence towards the advancement 
 of the Redeemer's kingdom in the world, 
 but who, speaking after the manner of 
 men, would do nothing, if Israel were 
 not divided into different tribes, and 
 moving under separate banners. Hence, 
 it is a mistake to suppose that the dis- 
 persion or extinction of any one or 
 more of the different religious denomi- 
 nations, or the closing of their churches, 
 would be a gain to that amount to the 
 remaining denominations. We have 
 
76 
 
 reason to fear that many would not act 
 at all, if they were not permitted to 
 choose their own communion, and if 
 they could not be indulged in their pecu- 
 liar preferences. It is in this as in alms- 
 giving; if there were but one object of 
 charity, all would not contribute to it, nor 
 would it be better supported when pre- 
 sented alone, than it is, when j)resented 
 in company with others, which commend 
 themselves respectively to the minds and 
 sympathy of different individuals. 
 
 We may, in this connection, notice 
 another mistake, arising from want of 
 consideration on the subject of build- 
 ing and supporting separate Churches. 
 We hear persons lament the expendi- 
 ture of large sums of money in the 
 erection of costly buildings for places of 
 worship, when there are so many desti- 
 tute of the means of grace, taking for 
 granted that the sums thus expended 
 
77 
 
 are taken from the fund which would be 
 appropriated to supply the destitute ; in 
 other words, that it is robbing the poor 
 to gratify the rich. But this is a great 
 mistake : if these sums were not thus 
 expended, they would not be applied to 
 the destitute — they would either be 
 withheld, or expended on objects less 
 deserving. Besides, in some cases, the 
 restrictions of the charter, under which 
 funds are held, prohibit the application 
 of them to any other use. Surely the 
 house in which w^e worship God should 
 bear some proportion, as to its price and 
 appearance, to the houses we inhabit. 
 Shall we dwell in ceiled houses and in 
 palaces, and by our neglect of the house 
 of God, seem to say that any structure, 
 the humblest and plainest, is good enough 
 for the Lord ! Rather let us bring him 
 a costly offering, if we can do so with- 
 out robbery or injustice, and let us do it 
 
78 
 
 with the same motive which actuated 
 " the woman who broke the alabaster 
 box of very precious ointment wherewith 
 she anointed her Lord/' and then, though 
 we may be censured by men as she 
 was, yet, like her, we shall be com- 
 mended by our master, and have our 
 offering accepted. 
 
 We may lament, on some accounts, to 
 see separate action for the promotion of 
 kindred benevolent objects, and separate 
 ecclesiastical organizations to effect one 
 and the same great end, yet who does 
 not know, that in the existing state of 
 the world, they are necessary, and have 
 been overruled by Infinite Wisdom, to 
 accomplish a vastly larger amount of 
 good than would ever have been ac- 
 complished without them ? Can any of 
 us now regret the separate organization 
 of the Presbyterian Church in this city ? 
 Would it have been better for the city, 
 
79 
 
 for the country, and for the world, if 
 those individuals who first sought it had 
 yielded their preferences, and united 
 themselves in Christian fellowship with 
 the existing religious denominations ? 
 He who saw the end from the beginning 
 thought not so; we who know some- 
 thing of the results of that organization, 
 of the amount of salutary and saving in- 
 fluence which has been exerted by it, in 
 the formation of Christian character and 
 in the bringing of multitudes of immor- 
 tal souls into the kingdom of God, can- 
 not think so. We regard with the deep- 
 est interest and with the liveliest emo- 
 tions of gratitude, that little germ of 
 Presbyterianism, that little vine which 
 was then planted, that little rill which 
 then took its rise. 
 
 That germ has become a sturdy tree, 
 that vine has been preserved and water- 
 ed, and has shot forth its branches, bear- 
 
80 
 
 ing many clusters ; we are permitted to 
 sit under its branches and to partake 
 of its fruit- — that little rill has, by the 
 blessing of God, become a fertilizing 
 river, and is still widening and deepen- 
 ing its channels as it flows. 
 
 In 1717, John Nicholl, Patrick 
 McKnight, Gilbert Livingston and Tho- 
 mas Smith, with a few others, formed 
 the design of erecting themselves into a 
 congregation, and of establishing the 
 public worship of God among them, ac- 
 cording to the doctrines and usages of 
 the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. 
 In pursuance of this design, they called 
 the Rev. James Anderson, who was a 
 native of Scotland, educated and or- 
 dained there, but at the time was a mem- 
 ber of the Presbytery of Philadelphia. 
 This sufficiently contradicts the assertion 
 which has been published to the world, 
 that this was originally a Congregational 
 
81 
 
 Church. If more is necessary, to prove 
 the character of the Church, we have it 
 in the Records of the Session, and of the 
 Trustees, and in the several pubHc doc- 
 uments relating to this congregation. 
 There is a pamphlet still extant, under 
 the title of the " Case of the Scotch 
 Presbyterians of New York," contain- 
 ing the petitions of the Church, presented 
 at different times, for an act of incorpo- 
 ration, in which they style themselves 
 " The Presbyterian Congregation," and 
 afterwards more fully " The Presbyteri- 
 an Church of the City of New York, ac- 
 cording to the Westminster Confession 
 of Faith, Catechism and Directory, agree- 
 able to the Established Church of Scot- 
 land :" also containing the names of the 
 Ministers, of the Elders, of the Deacons, 
 and of the Trustees of the Church at 
 the time, showing a perfect Presbyterian 
 organization. It is true, that there was. 
 
82 
 
 at one time, a division in the congrega- 
 tion, on the subject of Church order, 
 resulting in a temporary secession of a 
 small minority. Some of those who 
 were in favor of New England usages, 
 separated from the Church, and obtained 
 the services of an independent minister 
 of the Gospel, the Rev. Mr. Edwards, 
 as a supply for one winter. But after- 
 wards finding themselves too feeble in 
 numbers and resources, to continue as 
 an independent Church, they were dis- 
 banded, most of them returning to the 
 Church which they had left, and which 
 continued unchanged. Mr. Anderson 
 and his people met at first for the public 
 worship of God in the City Hall — then 
 standing at the corner of Nassau and 
 Wall streets — the use of which was 
 granted them by the corporation of the 
 city. The next year, 1718, they pur- 
 chased a lot of ground in Wall Street, 
 
83 
 
 and in 1719, erected their first building 
 for a place of worship. To defray the 
 expense thus incurred, they adopted the 
 expedient which has been so generally 
 practiced ever since, of sending abroad 
 for aid. A Delegation was sent into the 
 Colony of Connecticut, who obtained 
 permission from the Governor to make 
 collections ; and Dr. Nicholl w ent to 
 Scotland, where he received a consider- 
 able sum, by order of the General As- 
 sembly of that Church. 
 
 In 1720 they made their first application 
 for a charter. Their petition was pre- 
 sented to Mr. Schuyler, President of the 
 Board, who appeared friendly to their ob- 
 ject, and the Council reported in favor of 
 granting their request. But they were 
 defeated by the officious interference and 
 opposition of the Vestry of the Episcopal 
 Church. A member of the Vestry of 
 Trinity Church appeared before the 
 
84 
 
 Council, to oppose the granting of a 
 charter. 
 
 Shortly after this, a new Governor 
 having arrived, they renev^ed their ap- 
 plication, which was again denied, 
 through the influence of the same hos- 
 tile party. Instead of mentioning in de- 
 tail, and according to their dates, the 
 repeated subsequent applications which 
 were made at different times for this 
 boon, so reasonable in itself, which 
 might have been so easily and so safely 
 granted, and which was of so much im- 
 portance to the parties seeking it ; and 
 without animadverting on the pains that 
 were taken and the artifice practiced to 
 defeat the several applications, or on the 
 immanly, ungenerous and unchristian 
 spirit of those who diligently, persever- 
 ingly and obstinately resisted them; we 
 may remark here, once for all, that the 
 Vestry of Trinity Church had influence 
 
85 
 
 enough at court— which they never ne- 
 glected to exert — to prevent the Presby- 
 terian Church in this city, for more than 
 half a century, from obtaining a charter 
 of incorporation. We mention this as 
 matter of history, and we trust without 
 any unkind feelings, either towards the 
 living or the dead. During the whole 
 of that period the Presbyterians were 
 subject to great inconvenience and in- 
 jury, and in danger of having their prop- 
 erty wrested from them. There were 
 legacies left them which they could not 
 receive, and the avails of which were 
 diverted to other pui-poses than those for 
 which they were intended. Meanwhile 
 they were obliged to pay their full pro- 
 portion of the expense of supporting the 
 established religion. In this emergency, 
 having no prospect of obtaining a char- 
 ter, by which they might enjoy, as an 
 incorporated body, a right to their 
 8 
 
86 
 
 church and cemetery; deeming them 
 unsafe in private hands, especially con- 
 sidering the insidious treatment they had 
 received from those who were hostile to 
 them, and taking warning by what had oc- 
 curred at Jamaica, on Long Island, where 
 the property of the Presbyterians had 
 been actually taken from them by the 
 Episcopalians ; and being also alarmed 
 by the attempts which had been made 
 to wrest from the hands of an individual 
 the amount of a legacy which he held 
 in trust for the Presbyterian Church, 
 they determined to vest the fee of their 
 church and ground in the General As- 
 sembly of the Church of Scotland, to 
 secure them against any similar attempt 
 to alienate them from the pious uses for 
 which they were intended. The trust 
 was accepted and held temporarily by 
 the Moderator of the General Assembly 
 of the Church of Scotland, the Mod- 
 
87 
 
 erator of the Presbytery of Edinburgh, 
 the Professor of Divinity therein, and 
 the Procurator and Agent of the Church 
 of Scotland. After the Revolution, these 
 gentlemen reconveyed the property, set- 
 ting forth the purposes for which it was 
 to be used, to the Trustees of the 
 Church. 
 
 In illustration of how much may be 
 done towards sustaining a Church, by a 
 single individual, to whom Grod gives a 
 heart and mind for his service — and also 
 in justice to the memory of the dead — 
 it may be mentioned, that the whole 
 management of the temporal affairs of 
 this Church, during the most troublous 
 and trying times of her history, was en- 
 trusted, almost entirely, to Dr. Nicholl. 
 
 All testified to his singular attention, 
 diligence, assiduity, fidelity and perse- 
 verance in promoting the interests of the 
 Presbyterian Church in this city, and to 
 
88 
 
 his success in sustaining them during 
 his life. He has left behind him this 
 honorable testimony, That he was as 
 eminent for his piety as a Christian, as 
 he was for his skill as a physician, and 
 that the Presbyterian interest in this 
 city is more indebted to him than to any 
 individual who ever belonged to it. 
 
 In a sermon preached on the occasion 
 of his death, by the pastor of the Church 
 at the time, it is said, " These walls will 
 be a lasting monument of his zeal for 
 the house and public worship of God, 
 in the erecting of which he spent a con- 
 siderable part of his estate, and under- 
 took a hazardous voyage to Europe for 
 the establishment and security of this 
 infant society. Upon these and other 
 accounts too numerous to be mentioned, 
 while a Presbyterian Church subsists in 
 the city of New York, the name of NichoU 
 will ever be remembered with honor, as 
 
89 
 
 one of its principal founders and its 
 greatest benefactors." The secret of 
 his usefulness and success was to be found, 
 under God, in the interest which he felt 
 in the Church. He set his heart upon 
 the work of promoting her prosperity, 
 and did not allow his mind to be diverted 
 from it by any personal considerations, 
 nor by the petty and pitiful jealousies 
 which might be felt or expressed re- 
 specting him. He appreciated Church 
 privileges for himself, and comprehended 
 their importance to others. He did not, 
 however, wait for others to take the 
 lead in perpetuating them — nor refuse 
 to act because others would not co-ope- 
 rate with him. He did not say, " I can 
 do without a Church if they can do with- 
 out it ;" but acting under a sense of his 
 individual and personal responsibility, 
 he adopted the resolution of Joshua — to 
 the effect that whatever others might 
 8^ 
 
90 
 
 do, as for him and his house they would 
 serve the Lord — yea, he redeemed the 
 time and did with his might what his 
 hands found to do for God. 
 
 In 1726, Mr. Anderson accepted a call 
 from a Church in Pennsylvania, leaving 
 the Church in this city vacant. 
 
 In 1727, they called and received as 
 their Pastor, the Rev. Ebenezer Pem- 
 berton. 
 
 It was during his ministry that the 
 celebrated and highly-honored servant 
 of God, the Rev. George Whitefield, 
 visited this country. Mr. Pemberton 
 was the only Clergyman in this city who 
 opened his Church doors to him, and in- 
 vited him into his pulpit, for which he 
 was abundantly recompensed of God. 
 
 The preaching of Mr. Whitefield in 
 Wall street, proved a great blessing to 
 the Church; a number of highly respect- 
 able individuals and families were 
 
91 
 
 brought into the congregation through 
 his instrumentality, and both the Pastor 
 and the Church were greatly and per- 
 manently revived. In consequence of 
 the great increase of the Church at that 
 time, it became necessary to enlarge 
 their place of worship, which was done in 
 1748. On that occasion, a committee was 
 sent to Boston to procure a stone with a 
 Latin inscription, commemorative of the 
 event, the translation of which is as 
 follows, " Under favor of God — this edi- 
 fice — sacred to the perpetual celebration 
 of Divine worship — first erected in 1719 
 — again thoroughly repaired and built 
 larger and more beautiful in 1748. The 
 Presbyterians of New York founding — 
 for their own and their children's use — 
 have given, presented and dedicated— 
 and more illustriously adorned by reli- 
 gion, concord, love and the purity of faith, 
 worship and discipline. May it by favor 
 
92 
 
 of Christ endure to many generations.'* 
 This stone has been preserved. 
 
 The following inscription was placed 
 in the wall over the magistrate's pew, 
 also in Latin. " Under the auspices of 
 George II., King of Great Britain, Pa- 
 tron of the Church, and Defender of 
 the Faith." 
 
 From this we may learn something of 
 the state of things at that time, of the 
 interest which was felt in the cause of 
 religion, and of the pains which were 
 taken in building the house of God. 
 
 But the increase of the Church was 
 not the only blessing which was sent 
 them in return for their hospitable and 
 courteous reception of Mr. Whitefield. 
 His preaching in a neighboring city was 
 under God, the means of the conversion 
 of one, who subsequently became their 
 Pastor, and served them as such with 
 great fidelity and success for more than 
 
93 
 
 half a century — one who exerted a more 
 extensive influence for good — received 
 more honor as a laborer in the Word and 
 doctrine of Christ, and who is recollect- 
 ed by those who knew him with more 
 affection than any who has ever served 
 them in the ministry. His biographer 
 informs us, that on one occasion, when 
 Mr. Whitefield was preaching in Phila- 
 delphia in the open air, as he frequently 
 did, young Rodgers, then a lad of about 
 twelve years of age, was among his hear- 
 ers, when the following incident,which is 
 familiar to many of you, occurred. To 
 show his respect for his favorite Preach- 
 er, he approached near him and held a 
 lantern for his accommodation. He soon 
 became so absorbed in the subject of the 
 discourse — was so deeply impressed and 
 so agitated, that he was scarcely able to 
 stand. Under this excitement, he un- 
 consciously allowed the lantern to fall, 
 
94 
 
 by which it was broken and the hght 
 extinguished. The circumstance, of 
 course, attracted the notice of those who 
 were near, and of the speaker at the time. 
 
 The impressions he then received 
 were confirmed and deepened, and re- 
 sulted, as he beheved, in his conver- 
 sion. 
 
 During the fifth visit of Mr. White- 
 field to America, which occurred some 
 years after, he had occasion to visit the 
 place where Mr. Rodgers (who in the 
 meantime had been prepared for, and 
 admitted into the ministry) was settled 
 as a Pastor. When riding with him one 
 day, in the course of conversation, Mr. 
 Rodgers asked him whether he recol- 
 lected the incident in the case of the lit- 
 tle boy who became so much affected 
 under his preaching as to let his lantern 
 fall? Mr. Whitefield replied that he 
 did, and had often thought he would 
 
give almost anything to know who he 
 was, and what had become of him. Mr. 
 Rodgers repUed, I am that Uttle boy. 
 The emotions of Mr. Whitefield can bet- 
 ter be conceived than described, when 
 he affectionately embraced him, and 
 with tears of joy remarked that Mr. 
 Rodgers was the fourteenth person then 
 in the ministry whom he had discovered 
 in the course of that visit to America, 
 of whose hopeful conversion he had been 
 the instrument. 
 
 The congregation continuing to in- 
 crease, in 1750 they called Mr. Alexan- 
 der Cummings — a Licentiate of the Pres- 
 bytery of Newcastle — to be a colleague 
 with Mr. Pemberton. He accepted 
 their call, was ordained, and entered on 
 the duties of his office. 
 
 Shortly after this, serious and painful 
 difficulties occurred in the congregation, 
 which resulted in the resignation of both 
 
96 
 
 Ministers. The causes of these were 
 various. Doubtless they might in part 
 be traced to the hasty admissions into 
 the Church of some who were not root- 
 ed and grounded in the truth, and who 
 felt no attachment to the Presbyterian 
 Church, as such. The Ministers at that 
 time had allowed a departure from the 
 order of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. 
 Pemberton had been educated in New 
 England, and could not be expected to 
 sympathize with those of his congregation 
 who came from Scotland and Ireland. 
 He allowed the office of Ruling Elder to 
 go into disuse, and required their duties 
 to be performed by the Deacons and 
 Trustees. Mr. Cummings accepted a 
 call from a Congregational Church, from 
 which we may infer that he, too, pre- 
 ferred that form of Church government. 
 They also attempted to introduce 
 Watt's version of the Psalms, with his 
 
9T 
 
 Hymns, which occasioned a warm and 
 protracted contest. Besides, they im- 
 mediately experienced the evils of hav- 
 ing more than one Minister over the same 
 Pastoral charge — each having their ad- 
 herents and followers. Evils which they 
 continued to feel during their subsequent 
 history, in a greater or less degree, until 
 the collegiate system w^as discontinued. 
 The congregation remained vacant 
 for a considerable time, in consequence 
 of their divided state. The subject of 
 their difficulties was referred to the syn- 
 od — a committee of that body visited 
 them, and endeavored to restore peace 
 and harmony. In the meantime, they 
 made four different attempts to obtain a 
 Minister, and were disappointed. The 
 fifth person whom they called was the 
 Rev. David Bostwick, of Jamaica, L. I. 
 After much opposition on the part of his 
 people, and consequent delay, he accept- 
 9 
 
98 
 
 ed their call, and became their Pastor in 
 1756. In the early part of his ministry, 
 which was popular, acceptable, and high- 
 ly successful, a portion of the dissatisfied 
 members of the Church seceded and 
 formed the First Associate Reformed 
 Church, in Cedar street — now the Scotch 
 Presbyterian Church in Grand street. 
 After that separation the remaining 
 Church was left in peace and quietness 
 in their own communion. 
 
 In 1762, they purchased a parsonage 
 house for Mr. Bostwick — and also called 
 the Rev. Joseph Treat, of the Presbytery 
 of New Brunswick, to be his colleague. 
 The next year, in 1763, Mr. Bostwick 
 was remoA^ed from them by death, after 
 a few days' illness — having been much 
 beloved and highly esteemed by all who 
 knew him. 
 
 In 1765, they called the Rev. John 
 Rodgers, to whom they had before ap- 
 
99 
 
 a very different spirit towards the Pres- 
 plied in 1754, but ayIio then declined 
 their invitation. Mr. Rodgers accepted 
 their second call, entered on the duties of 
 his office in July, and was installed as Pas- 
 tor in September, of that year. Again 
 the Church was revived, prospered, and 
 greatly increased. It became necessary 
 to procure a second place of worship. A 
 lot was accordingly obtained at the cor- 
 ner of Nassau and Beekman streets, on 
 a perpetual lease, from the Corporation 
 of the City, upon which a new building 
 was erected. This second place of wor- 
 ship was opened and dedicated to the 
 worship of God in January, 1768. 
 
 The members of the Presbyterian 
 Church in this city, and throughout the 
 colonies, were, with few exceptions, at- 
 tached to the American cause in the 
 Revolutionary struggle for the liberties 
 and Independence of the country. In 
 consequence of this, most of the mem- 
 
100 
 
 bers of the First Church went with their 
 Ministers into exile at the commence- 
 ment of the war. We need not add that 
 there was no advancement in reHgion— 
 no increase nor extension of the Church 
 during the war. Just as was the cause of 
 it, all was havoc, desolation and ruin dur- 
 ing its continuance — the necessary con- 
 comitants of war under any circumstances. 
 
 On their return to the city, after an 
 absence of some seven years, they found 
 that the church edifice in Wall street 
 had been used by the British as bar- 
 racks for their soldiers, and the one in 
 Beekman street as a hospital. Both were 
 left in such an injured and ruinous state 
 as to be utterly unfit for occupancy as 
 places of worship. The Parsonage house 
 belonging to the church had also been 
 burnt. 
 
 The Episcopalians (whose churches 
 had not been injured at all) manifested 
 
101 
 
 byterians after the Revolution, from that 
 which had characterized their treatment 
 of them before that event. They had 
 been supported by the State, alHed with 
 the government, and in favor at court. 
 They had been in the ascendency — 
 but they were now a small minority — 
 and it was a question with them, no 
 doubt, whether they were to be tolera- 
 ted. They had become, in their turn, 
 as they have been ever since in this 
 country, the Dissenters. They general- 
 ly, with a few honorable exceptions, dis- 
 sented from the patriots of the Revolu- 
 tion — ^from the policy and movements of 
 the successful and predominant portion 
 of our citizens, who, under God, achieved 
 our Independence — from the principles 
 of our free government, and of all our 
 popular institutions. If the Presbyteri- 
 ans had felt disposed to follow their ex- 
 ample, and had desired a national reli- 
 9# 
 
102 
 
 gion, established by law, they might 
 have obtained it. But they were op- 
 posed to such an arrangement from prin- 
 ciple ; and it w^as owing to their influ- 
 ence — especially to the influence of those 
 evangelical Ministers of the Gospel who 
 were opposed to Prelacy — that the Con- 
 stitution of the United States on that 
 subject was framed as it is — favoring no 
 one religious denomination, but protect- 
 ing all. Their petitions, drawn up with 
 great ability — their papers, containing 
 their firm, powerful and decided remon- 
 strance against a union of the Church 
 with the State — are still extant ; from 
 which it appears that they entertained 
 as enlightened, enlarged, liberal and 
 disinterested views on this subject, as 
 any that have been expressed since, and 
 which were creditable alike to their 
 heads and their hearts. 
 
 The Vestry of Trinity Church now 
 
103 
 
 unsolicited offered the Presbyterians the 
 use of St. Paul's and of St. George's 
 churches, until one of their own church- 
 es might be repaired, which offer was 
 accepted. They also, at a subsequent 
 period and unsolicited, gave the Presby- 
 terians a lot of ground in Robinson 
 street, for the use of their senior Minis- 
 ter. Such a spirit was in accordance 
 with the spirit of the Gospel, and should 
 ever characterize those who profess to 
 love and worship the same Saviour. 
 " Bear ye one another's burdens, and so 
 fulfill the law of Christ." Different 
 names, or the observance of different 
 forms and ceremonies, should not be per- 
 mitted to separate — much less to alien- 
 ate — those who hold one faith and one 
 baptism — who have access by one Spirit 
 — who worship one Lord as the God 
 and Father of all, and cherish one and 
 the same hope of their calling. 
 
104 
 
 The Brick Church was first repaired 
 and reopened in June, 1784. The church 
 in Wall street was repaired and reopened 
 the following year. Mr. Treat not hav- 
 ing returned to the city after the war, 
 the united congregations called, in the 
 ensuing spring, the Rev. James Wilson 
 as a colleague with Dr. Rodgers. Mr. 
 Wilson's health failing, he was obliged 
 to resign his charge in 1788. They 
 were then for a few months supplied by 
 two candidates, viz., the Rev. James 
 Muir, from Scotland, and the Rev. Jed- 
 ediah Morse, author of the American 
 Geography. As the congregations be- 
 came nearly equally divided between 
 the two, they were unable to unite in a 
 call for either of them. In the follow- 
 ing year they called the Rev. John Mc- 
 Knight, who, having accepted their invi- 
 tation, was installed as co-pastor with 
 Dr. Rodgers, over the united congrega- 
 tions. 
 
105 
 
 About this time the Trustees purchased 
 a lot in Nassau street, joining the lot 
 upon which the church in Wall street 
 was built, and erected a building there- 
 on to be used as a charity school, to be 
 under the care of the Session and Trus- 
 tees of the Church. The funds required 
 for this object, consisted in part of lega- 
 cies which had been left for it, and in 
 part of sums raised by voluntary sub- 
 scriptions. The school went into ope- 
 ration in 1789, and was principally sup- 
 ported by an annual collection in each 
 of the Churches. It continued in con- 
 nection with the Church until an ar- 
 rangement was made with the Public 
 School Society, by which it was placed 
 under their care. I mention this to re- 
 mind you that parochial schools are not a 
 modern institution. They ought to be — 
 as it was intended that they should be 
 — an appendage to every Church. In 
 
106 
 
 1792, the Rev. Samuel Miller was called 
 and installed as one of the pastors of the 
 two Churches. In 1798, a third Presby- 
 terian Church was opened in Rutgers 
 street. The ground upon which it was 
 erected having been presented for that 
 purpose by the late Henry Rutgers, a 
 member of the Reformed Dutch Church. 
 The Rev. Dr. Milledoler was called and 
 settled as the first Pastor of that Church, 
 with the understanding that his labors 
 were to be confined to that charge. In 
 1807, a colony from the Church in Wall 
 street and from the Brick Church, with 
 others who were unable to obtain pews 
 in either of those places of worship, pur- 
 chased ground and built the Cedar street 
 Church. Dr. Rodgers was permitted 
 to lay the corner stone, and to preach 
 the opening sermon, in each of those 
 Churches. 
 
 In 1809, the Churches were separated, 
 
107 
 
 and became independent of each other : 
 each having their own Pastors, except 
 that Dr. Rodgers continued his pastoral 
 relation to the First and to the Brick 
 Churches. 
 
 In that and the following year, the 
 Church in Wall street was rebuilt. The 
 congregation met for public worship from 
 the 9th of December, 1809, to the 11th 
 of August, 1811, in the French Church 
 in Pine street. During the same period 
 another Presbyterian church was built in 
 Spring street, in part, of the materials of 
 the old Church in Wall street. We 
 may here remark that considering the 
 time, the resources and circumstances 
 of the congregation, the house of wor- 
 ship which was erected in Wall street 
 at that time, was relatively quite as 
 costly as the one we have this day en- 
 tered ; and also, that it was built by the 
 contributions of the people, and not with 
 
108 
 
 funds raised by the sale of other proper- 
 ty. The pew-owners — as has been done 
 by others in similar cases — relinquished 
 their rights, and repurchased their pews 
 at high prices, to pay the debt incurred 
 by the erection of the new building. 
 They did not embarrass their Trustees 
 and their Building Committee with 
 threats of desertion and abandonment ; 
 saying, if you incur the least debt, we 
 will leave you to pay it as you can. 
 Such a spirit would never have built up 
 the Presbyterian Church, nor will it build 
 up any Church — it is that holding back 
 and pulling down spirit which would crip- 
 ple every noble, generous and benevolent 
 enterprise. They viewed their Trus- 
 tees as their agents, to prepare a place 
 of worship for them and their children. 
 They felt themselves their debtors, and 
 equally interested in the success of the 
 Church. They said, we must have the 
 
109 
 
 Church, and we are willing to pay for 
 it — and they did so. 
 
 The separation of the Churches having 
 been effected by mutual consent, Dr. 
 McKnight, with the permission of Pres- 
 bytery, resigned his pastoral charge. 
 
 Dr. Rodgers departed this life in May, 
 1811, leaving Dr. Miller sole Pastor. For 
 the facts of this brief history I have been 
 indebted to the records of the Church, 
 and to a MS. narrative contained in 
 them, and also to the history of this 
 Church, which has been more fully pub- 
 lished — together with some account of 
 each of the Pastors— by Dr. Miller, in 
 his life of Dr. Rodgers — a book which 
 ought to be in every Presbyterian 
 family. 
 
 In 1813, the Church was left vacant 
 by the removal of Dr. Miller to Prince- 
 ton, where, as is known to most of 
 you, he is still living, usefully employed 
 10 
 
no 
 
 as one of the Professors in our Theolo- 
 gical Seminary — highly respected and 
 much beloved throughout the bounds of 
 our own Church not only, but by the 
 Christian community at large. 
 
 In 1815, the Rev. Philip Melancthon 
 Whelpley received and accepted a call 
 to become the Pastor of this Church. 
 He continued in that office until his re- 
 moval by death in July, 1824. The pul- 
 pit v^as again left vacant, until January, 
 1826, w^hen he who now addresses you 
 was installed Pastor. 
 
 In 1834, the building which had been 
 erected in 1810, was partially destroyed 
 by fire. It was, however, immediately 
 rebuilt, and reopened for worship on 
 the same ground in 1835. The congre- 
 gation in the meanwhile occupied the 
 church then belonging to the Reformed 
 Presbyterians in Chambers street. 
 
 In May, 1844, the commodious and 
 
Ill 
 
 beautiful house of worship in Wall street 
 was vacated by this congregation, and 
 has been removed to Jersey city, where 
 it is used for the purpose for which it 
 was built, and where it may be visited 
 by those who love to have awakened 
 and to cherish the associations and re- 
 collections of former days. 
 
 Having been obliged by circumstances, 
 over which we as a religious society 
 had no control, to abandon our former 
 much beloved place of worship — having 
 sought Divine direction — praying in sin- 
 cerity in the language of Moses — saying 
 " Lord, if thy presence go not with us, 
 carry us not up hence" — and having 
 been advised by the Presbytery to which 
 we belong to remove to this part of the 
 city — we felt called upon in the Provi- 
 dence of God to sacrifice personal feel- 
 ings and considerations, for the promo- 
 tion of the general good of the Church. 
 
112 
 
 We laid the corner stone of this building 
 in September, 1844. To-day we have 
 been permitted to open it as a house of 
 prayer. We enter it — not to commence 
 a new enterprise, but, with the blessing 
 of God, more eifectually to carry for- 
 ward that holy enterprise which was 
 commenced more than a century ago — • 
 we have come here, not for the first 
 time to plant a vine ; but as it were, to 
 transplant and to cause it to take deeper 
 root — a vine which has long since been 
 planted, and which has at different times 
 been watered with the dews of heaven, 
 and with the early and latter rains. We 
 have come with the hope and the pur- 
 pose, more fully and extensively to ac- 
 complish the pious and benevolent de- 
 signs of the original founders of this 
 Church, to afford accommodations for 
 public worship, and for the giving of re- 
 ligious instruction to a greater number 
 
113 
 
 of those for whose benefit these privi- 
 leges were intended, than were enjoy- 
 ing them in the lower part of the city. 
 
 We feel called upon, on the present 
 occasion, to record the loving-kindness 
 and faithfulness of our God, who has for 
 so long a period, and through so many 
 changes and trials preserved a people 
 called by his name — distinguished for 
 their warm and sincere attachment to 
 his truth and devotedness to his ser- 
 vice — to whom he has sent a succession 
 of pious, able, and faithful Ministers, 
 who have preached the same Gospel of 
 his grace, and administered the same 
 sacraments in their purity, and after the 
 same simple form of their original insti- 
 tution ; among whom he has raised up a 
 succession of godly and intelligent Elders 
 to take the spiritual oversight of the 
 flock, and for whom he has continued a 
 Board of Trustees of high character and 
 10* 
 
114 
 
 respectability to take an interest in, and 
 to manage with wisdom their temporal 
 affairs ? Who can estimate the degree 
 and extent of that salutary influence 
 which has been exerted immediately and 
 remotely on the temporal and eternal in- 
 terests of men through the preaching of 
 the Gospel — the administration of the 
 sacraments, and in answer to the prayers 
 which have been offered by this single 
 Church ? The amount of influence 
 which has been exerted in the formation 
 of Christian character, and in the promo- 
 tion of the comfort and happiness of in- 
 dividuals, of families and of the commu- 
 nity — of the knowledge which has been 
 imparted — of the Christian sympathy 
 which has been awakened — of the true 
 charity which has been exercised — as 
 well as the measures of grace which 
 have been communicated through this 
 medium for the sanctification and pre- 
 
115 
 
 paration of immortal souls for heaven, 
 can be disclosed in eternity only. 
 
 We desire to feel our responsibility 
 as the successors of so many generations 
 of those who have gone before us — hold- 
 ing forth the Word of life, and holding 
 fast the form of sound words set forth 
 in our public standards, and derived 
 from the oracles of God. We are called 
 upon in a peculiar manner to walk 
 worthy of our high vocation— we must 
 see to it that we hold the same truths 
 and transmit them uncorrupted as they 
 have come to us. The history of this 
 Church must not be blotted in that pe- 
 riod of it in which we constitute her 
 members — there must be no break in 
 the chain at the link which we are ex- 
 pected to supply — there must be no 
 abandonment of any of those doctrines, 
 the faith of which has, according to the 
 testimony of so many witnesses, been 
 
116 
 
 efficacious to sanctify, to support, to 
 comfort and to save. Let us continue 
 in the old ways and walk in the old 
 paths, for we know they are safe and 
 lead to everlasting life. 
 
 If, at any time, we should feel tempt- 
 ed to forsake the Church of our Fathers, 
 or to relax our efforts to sustain her, let 
 us remember their noble example of at- 
 tachment and of devotion to her. What 
 was it that induced them to band to- 
 gether as a Christian Church, and to 
 persevere in their struggles to maintain 
 their separate and distinct existence as 
 such, under all the trying circumstances 
 of their situation ? Why did they make 
 so many sacrifices, and submit to so 
 many vexations, and to so much injury 
 and obloquy on account of it ? Why 
 did they tax themselves for its support, 
 when they were obliged to contribute 
 to the support of another form of wor- 
 
117 
 
 ship at the same time ? When they 
 found the enterprise encompassed with 
 so many difficulties, why did they not 
 abandon it ? It was principle ; it was 
 their love of the truth and of the admin- 
 istration of the ordinances of God, as 
 they believed them to have been insti- 
 tuted by the Lord Jesus Christ ; it was 
 for the sake of a good conscience, both 
 toward God and toward man. 
 
 Wherefore, when tempted to embrace 
 a different system, let us ask ourselves, 
 is the religion which it teaches purer 
 and holier than that of our Fathers ? Are 
 the forms of its worship more Scriptural 
 or more spiritual than theirs ? Is it a 
 system of truth more efficacious to pre- 
 pare us for death and for heaven, than 
 that which we have been taught by our 
 Fathers ? Is it one which will cause us 
 to hate sin more — to love and practice 
 holiness more perfectly ? which will 
 
118 
 
 more effectually change our spirits, im- 
 prove our hearts, and reform our lives ? 
 which will make us more truly humble — 
 more sincerely and devoutly pious ? 
 which will constrain us more powerfully 
 to renounce the world, the flesh, and the 
 devil, and will enable us to serve God 
 with more simplicity, fidelity and godly 
 sincerity ? which will cause us to love 
 his truth, his ordinances, and his king- 
 dom more, and to abound more in all 
 good works, to the honor and glory of 
 His name ? 
 
 If so, let us embrace it anywhere, and 
 under any name. But if not, why 
 should we renounce our faith, repudiate 
 the validity of the ministrations of the 
 Church which God has honored ? within 
 the pale of which we were born, 
 within whose precincts we were sol- 
 emnly dedicated to God, and taught to 
 worship Him only ? Rather let us abide 
 
119 
 
 in the precious and endearing Church 
 relations into which God, in his Provi- 
 dence, has brought us, cherishing a sense 
 of our present and constant dependence 
 on Him ; and supphcating the continu- 
 ance of his favor. We declare this day, 
 publicly before God and the world, that 
 we hold the same faith which has been 
 professed and proclaimed in this Church 
 from its commencement. We desire to 
 reiterate our sincere, devout and fervent 
 supplications, that this house may ever 
 be used exclusively for the pure and 
 holy worship of the One only living 
 and true God; that the peculiar doc- 
 trines of divine revelation, as received 
 by the Presbyterian Church, may con- 
 tinue to be believed, faithfully preached 
 and inculcated here ; and that the dis- 
 pensation of them may be attended with 
 the demonstration of the Spirit, and with 
 divine and saving power. That we, with 
 
120 
 
 our children and their successive gene- 
 rations, may here assemble from time to 
 time in honor of Jehovah, to receive 
 the bread and water of life, so abun- 
 dantly provided by the great Head of 
 the Church; that multitudes may here 
 be brought to the knowledge and ac- 
 knowledgment of the truth, according 
 to godliness, be preserved in the unity 
 of the Spirit, and in the bonds of peace, 
 walking in faith, and hope, and joy, 
 through their union with Him who is 
 the resurrection and the life; whose de- 
 light and privilege it shall be, to be act- 
 ively and successfully engaged in the 
 work of winning souls, until all the ran- 
 somed of the Lord shall be gathered 
 into his fold, and time shall be no more. 
 
 THE END. 
 
VALUABLE BOOKS 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 R. CARTER, 58 CANAL STREET, N. Y., 
 
 AND 
 
 56 MARKET STREET, PITTSBURG. 
 
 HORNE'S INTRODUCTION. 
 
 An Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures. By Thomas Hartwell Home, B.D. New Edition, corrected 
 and enlarged. Illustrated with numerous Maps and Fac-similes of 
 Biblical Manuscripts. 2 vols, imperial 8vo. Price only $3 50. 
 
 "Mr. Carter has issued an edition of Home's Introduction, whicii he offers at the 
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 N. Y. Evangelist. 
 
 D'AUBIGNE'S REFORMATION. 
 
 Authorized edition. 
 
 THE ISRAEL OF GOD. 
 
 A Series of Practical Sennons. By Stephen H. Tyng, D.D-, Rector ol 
 St. George's Church, New-York. 1 vol. 8vo. Price $1 00. 
 
 "The fair sheet on which they are printed, with its wide margin and handsome 
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 always clear, and the argument cogent." — Recorder. 
 
 ANCIENT HISTORY. 
 
 Containing the History of Egyptians, Assyrians, Cl)aldeans, Medes, Lydi- 
 ans, Carthagenians, Persians, Macedonians, the Selucidee in Syria, and 
 Parthians, from Rollin and other authentic sources, both ancient and 
 modern. Republished from the work of the London Religious Tract 
 Society. 4 vols. 12mo. Price only $2 00. 
 
 " This history is not a servile copy from any other, but has a delightful freshness 
 about it, the borrowed parts being re-written, and cast into a new form, on such 
 principles of selection and arrangement, as favour perspicuity, and a'Ssist the me- 
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 which keeps him interested. God is not excluded from the world which he created, 
 nor is his interposition in the affairs of men overlooked. For common use we think 
 it deserves to supersede all that have gone before it." — Portland Christ. Mirror. 
 1 
 
R. CARTER'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 THE FAMILY OF BETHANY. 
 
 Bv L. Bonnet. With an Introductory Essay, by Rev. Hugh White. 
 
 Fourth American, from the eighth London Edition. 
 
 " This book leads us, as with an angel's hand, through some of the most interesting 
 scenes in the life of the Saviour of the world. It is full of evangelical truth, of 
 glowing imagery, of living, breathing devotion. We recommend il lor its intellectual 
 as well as its moral and spiritual qualities." — Albany Argus. 
 
 THE RETROSPECT; 
 
 Or, Review of Providencial Mercies. With Anecdotes of Various Chai 
 acters. By Aliquis, formerly a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, and now 
 a Minister of the English Church. Third American from the eighteenth 
 London edition. 
 
 "The great jiopularit}' of this volume appears from the large number of editions 
 through which it has passed in Great Britain in a short number of years, having now 
 readied tlie I7th edition, and proofs of its usefulness have not been wanting. Wo 
 can assure our readt;rs that there are few works of the kind so deeply interesting, or 
 60 well adapted to religious edification. We cordially recommend iu" — Chris. Int 
 
 THE MARTYR LAMB; 
 
 Or, Christ the Representative of his People in all Ages. By F. W. 
 Krummacher, D. D., author of " Elijah the Tishbite/' &c. Fourtlt 
 Edition . 
 
 ELIJAH THE TISHBITE. 
 By F. W. Krummacher. 
 
 "Our author is characterized bj' a glowing and imaginative style, which seems to 
 be the expression of a heart warmed by piety, and susceptible of the tenderest emo 
 tions. lie displays a happy tact, in developing, in the most pleasing manner, the cir 
 cumslances of a scriptural incident or character, aud of deriving from it practical 
 lessons." — Preshylcrian. 
 
 MCCRIE ON ESTHER. 
 
 Lectures on the Book of Esther. By the Rev. Thomas McCrie, D.D., 
 author of " Life of John Knox," &c. 
 
 A TREATISE ON PRAYER; 
 
 Designed to assist in the devout discharge of that duty. By the Rev. 
 
 Edward Bickersteth. 
 
 MICHAEL KEMP, 
 
 The Happy Farmer's Lad. A Tale of Rustic Life, illustrative 'of the 
 Soriptunil Blessings and Temporal Advantages of Early Piety. By 
 Anne AVoodroolTe. Second Edition. 
 
 ♦'Thoroughly and intensely have we read this book, 'because,' as Talbot said of 
 Boswell's Life of Johnson, ' we couldn't help it." We were struck with the ingeuu 
 ous disposition and firm principles of fllichael, and we wished to see how they would 
 boar him tlitougli Trying scenes. So much for tlie interest which the story excites 
 the other merits of tiie book are not inferior." — Baptist Advocate. 
 
 COMFORT IN AFFLICTION. 
 
 A Series of jNleditatioiis. By the Rev. James Buchanan, one of the Min 
 istf^rs of ih" nigh Church, Edinburgh. From the nintVi Edinb. Edition 
 LIGHTS 8l SHADOWS OF SCOTTISH LIFE 
 By Professor Wilson. 18mo. 
 
 MEMOIR OF MARY LUNDIE DUNCAN 
 
 Second American Edition. ISmo. 
 
 PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS. 
 
 On the Second Advent. By the Rev. Hugh White, A.M. 18mo 
 
R 'CARTER'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 PERSUASIVES TO EARLY PIETY. 
 
 By the Rev. J. G. Pike. 
 
 DODDRIDGE'S RISE AND PROGRESS. 
 
 Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul. Illustrated in a Course of Se- 
 rious and Pi-actical Addresses, suited to persons of every character and 
 circumstance, with a Devout Meditation or Prayer subjoined to each 
 chapter. By Philip Doddridge, D.D. 
 
 THE COTTAGE FIRESIDE; ' 
 
 Or, the Parish Schoolmaster. By the Rev. Henry Duncan, D.D. 
 
 "This is a reprint of a Scotch work, by a clergyman of high standing, who does 
 not now for the first time appear as an author. The narrative is constructed with 
 great beauty, and is designed at once to illiibtrate and remedy some of the principal 
 evils connected witli domej^tic education. The work may very properly occupy the 
 attention both of parents and children ; and it will be read with pleasure by all who 
 can relish the simple and beautiful in thouglit and expression." — Argus. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN CONTEMPLATED, 
 
 In a Course of Lectures delivered in the Argyle Chapel, Bath. By Rev. 
 William Jay. New Edition. 
 
 "It has all the peculiar marks of Jay's mind ; perspicuity of arrangement, simpli- 
 city and occasional elegance of diction, deep-toned piety and copiousness of senti- 
 ment. In recommending such a book we are conscious of doing a service to the 
 cause 01 piety, by promoting the spiritual-mindedness, and consistent, symmetrical 
 onduct of every Christian who prayerfully peruses it." — Baptist Advocate. 
 
 WORKS OF REV. HENRY SCOUQAL. 
 
 Containing the Life of God in the Soul, &c. 
 
 DEW OF ISRAEL, 
 
 \nd the Lily of God ; or, a Glimpse of the Kingdom of Grace. By F. 
 W. Krummacher, D.D. Second American, from the second London 
 Edition. 
 
 CHRISTIAN FRAGMENTS; 
 
 Or, Remarks on the Nature, Precepts, and Comforts of Religion. By 
 John Burns, M.D., F.R.S., Regius Professor of Surgery in the Univer- 
 sity of Glasgow, &c. &c. 
 
 "The different pieces constitute so many distinct, tlioiigh sometimes brief, disquisi- 
 tions upon scriptural topics, and arc designed to promote the spiritual-mindedness of 
 the reader. They were written under the ))ressure of deep affliction, and in view o. 
 an approaching judgment. They display sound thought, evangelical sentiment, cor- 
 rect doctrine, and an elevated tone of Christian feeling." — Advocate. 
 
 CHRISTIAN FATHER AT HOME; 
 
 Or, a Manual of Parental Instruction. By W. C. Brownlee, D.D. 
 
 A GLIMPSE INTO 
 
 THE WORLD TO COME, 
 
 In a Waking Dream. By the late George B. Phillips. With Extracts, 
 illustrative of his Spiritual Progress ; and a Brief Memoir, by Mrs. 
 Duncan, author of " Memoir of Mrs. Mary Lundie Duncan," &c. 
 
 "This is altogether an extraordinary production. The small portion of it which 
 gives it its title, is a strain of fervent pious imaginings, based however upon tlie ora- 
 cles of God. One cannot easily read it without gaining a more deep and solid im 
 pression of the other world.'' 
 7 
 
R. CARTER'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 INFANT PIETY. 
 
 A Book for Little Children. By Baptist W. Noel, M.A. 
 
 "In this volume one of the finest spirits in the established church of England givei 
 us a simple record of the pious lives and happy deaths of several little children on 
 both sides of the Atlantic. The work is well adapted to accomplish the benevolent 
 design of its author, by leading little children to remember their Creator." — Albany 
 Evening Journal. 
 
 A MEMOIR OF JOHN HUSS. 
 
 Translated from the German. 
 
 "To many who are familiar with the life of Martin Luther, that of John tiuss, who 
 preceded him, and prepared the German mind for his more extended labours, is com- 
 paratively little known. The true character of Romanism is displayed in the treat- 
 inent of each, but some of the darkest shades are seen in the case of Huss." — Baptist 
 Advocate. 
 
 HELEN OF THE GLEN. 
 
 A Tale of the Scottish Covenanters. By Robert Pollok, A.M. 
 
 THE PERSECUTED FAMILY. 
 
 By Pollok. 
 
 RALPH GEMMELL. 
 
 By Pollok. 
 
 JESSY ALLAN, 
 
 The Lame GirL By Grace Kennedy, author of " Anna Ross/' dtc. 
 
 "It is an affecting tale, and strikingly illustrates the power of religion, and it* full 
 adequacy to human wants in every emergency."— CAristiait Mirror. 
 
 SINNER'S FRIEND. 
 
 •From the eighty-seventh London Edition, completing upwards of half a 
 
 million. 
 Jt^p" This little Work has h€en translated into sixteen different languages. 
 "It is designed by its direct appeals, to arrest the attention of the most careless 
 reader, and to pour into his ear some word of truth before he can become fatigued 
 with reading." — Presbyterian. 
 
 "It is fitte<l to be an adniirnblc auxiliary to ministers iH the discharge of their 
 duty." — Albany Daily Advertiser. 
 
 DECAPOLIS; 
 
 Or, the Individual OV)]i<rations of Christians to save Souls from Death. An 
 Essay. By David Everard Ford. Fifth American, from the sixth 
 London Edition. 
 
 "This book is an exhortation to Chrii^tiaus, and Christian ministers, to exercise 
 prcater faitiifulness in saving- .■■nul.« from off rnal dentil. We have read it with much 
 pleasure, and we hope with som*- profit. The book is most beautifully pot up ) and 
 we could wish that it might nc rnad and pondered by every one who indulges a hopo 
 that he is a Christian." — N. \. Ecangclist. 
 
 SHORTER CATECHISM. 
 
 Anecdotes Illustrative of the Shorter Catechism. By John WhitecrosS. 
 New Edition. 
 
 "This will relieve the catechism of a difficulty wliicli many have f°It in respect to it 
 —that it is too abstract to be coniprrhfiurled by the mind of a child ; here every truth 
 is seen in its practical relations, at.d beconh's associated in the mind with »ome inter- 
 esting fact which is fitted at once to make it plain to the understanding, to lodge it in 
 the memory, and to impress it upon the heart." — Daily Advertiser. 
 
R. CARTER'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 MEMOIR OF JOHN D. LOCKWOOD. 
 
 Being Reminiscences of a Son by his Father. 
 
 "A gifted mind and cultivated powers, hallowed and controlled by a sweet and 
 trustful piety ; the simplicity of childliood mingled with the seriousness and discre- 
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 a death, though sudden, not unprepared for, without deep interest. We have read 
 it with unmingled pleasure and profit " — If. Y. Evangelist. 
 
 PERFECT PEACE. 
 
 Letters Memorial of John Warren Howell, Esq,, of Bath, M. R. C. S. 
 By the Rev. David Pitcairn. With an Introduction by the Rev. John 
 Stevenson, author of " Christ on the Cross," " The Lord our Shepherd 
 &c. 
 
 PROFESSION IS NOT PRINCIPLE; 
 
 Or the Name of Christian is not Christianity. By Grace Kennedy, authoi 
 of " Jessy Allan," " Anna Ross," &c. 
 
 GOSPEL PROMISES. . 
 
 Being a Short View of the Great and Precious Promises of the Gospel. 
 By the Rev. Joseph AUeine, author of " An Alarm to the Unconvert- 
 ed," &c. 
 
 LIFE IN EARNEST. 
 
 Six Lectures on Christian Activity and Ardour. By the Rev. Jame 
 Hamilton, author of " Harp on the Willows," &c. 
 
 MY GRANDMAMMA GILBERT. 
 
 By*01d Humphrey. 
 
 MY GRANDFATHER GREGORY. - 
 
 By Old Humphrey. 
 
 MEMOIR OF HANNAH SINCLAIR. 
 
 By the late Rev. Legh Richmond. From the nineteenth London Edition. 
 
 TRUE HAPPINESS; 
 
 Or, the Excellence and Power of Early Religion. By J. G. Pike, author 
 of " Persuasives to Early Piety," &c. Second Edition. 
 
 CHARLIE SEYMOUR; 
 
 Or, the Good Aunt and the Bad Aunt. By Miss Catharine Sinclair, au- 
 thor of " Modern Accomplishments," &c. Third Edition. 
 
 LIVE WHILE YOU LIVE. 
 
 By the Rev. Thomas Griffith, A.M., Minister of Ram's Episcopal Church, 
 Homerton. 
 
 CROOK IN THE LOT; 
 
 Or, a Display of the Sovereignty and Wisdom of God in the Afflictions of, 
 Men, and the Christian's Deportment under them. By the Rev. Thomas 
 Boston. 
 
 A TRIBUTE OF PARENTAL AFFECTION 
 
 To the Memory of my beloved and only Daughter, Hannah Jerram, with 
 a Short Account of the last Illness and Death of her elder Brother, 
 Charles Stranger Jerram. By the Rev. Charles Jerram, A.M.. 
 Vicar of Cobham, Surrey, From the fifth London Edition.' 
 9 
 
R.CARTER'S PUBLICATIONS; 
 
 THE LORD'S SUPPER. 
 
 Bickersteth's Treatise on the Lord's Supper. With an Introduction, 
 Notes, and an Essay. By G. T. Bedell, D.D. Fifth Edition. 
 
 COMMUNICANT'S COMPANION. 
 
 By the Rev. Matthew Henry. With an Introductory Essay, by the Rey. 
 John Brown of Edinburgh. 
 
 BAXTER'S CALL. 
 
 Now or Never, &,c. With an Introductory Essay, by Dr. Chalmers. 
 
 RELIGION AND ETERNAL LIFE; 
 
 Or, Irreligion ami Eternal Death. ByJ. G.Pike. 
 
 THE FARMER'S DAUGHTER. 
 
 A Tale. By Mrs. Cameron. 
 
 LIFE OF REV. JOHN NEWTON. 
 
 VVxitten by himself, and coiuinued to his Death. By the Rev. Rich. Cecil. 
 
 THE HARP ON THE WILLOWS. 
 
 Rememberins^ Zion, Farewell to F.gypt, The Church in the House, The 
 Dew of Hermon, and the Des-tinution of the .lews. By the Rev Jas. 
 Hamilton, of London. From the foriy-fifih "London Edition, 
 
 SABBATH MUSINGS. 
 
 By Caroline Fry. 
 
 HERVEY'S MEDITATIONS 
 
 AND CONTEMPLATIONS. 
 New Edition. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION 
 
 IN EUROPE. 
 Willi a Chronology. 
 
 MY SCHOOL-BOY DAYS. 
 
 SORRONA^ING, YET REJOICING. 
 
 Or a Narrative of Successive Bereavements in a Clei-gyman's Family. 
 
 DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 By J. G. Pike, author of " True Happiness." &c., &c. 
 
 A WORLD NA^ITHOUT SOULS. 
 
 ByJ. W. Cunningham, A.M., Vicar of Harrow. 
 
 THE NA/ORLD'S RELIGION. 
 
 As contrasted with genuine Christianity, by Lady Colquhoun. 
 
 ADVICE TO A YOUNG CHRISTIAN, 
 
 On the inportance of aiming at an elevated standard of piety. By a Village 
 Pastor, with an Introduction by Rev. Dr. Alexander, of Princeton, N. J 
 
 CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE. 
 
 By the Author of " Christian Retirement." 
 10 
 
R. CARTER'S PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 WORKS BY THE REV. JOHN A. CLAM, D.D, 
 
 Late Rector of St. Andreio's Church, Philadelphia. 
 
 His works are all characterized by good thoughts expressed in a graceful and ap« 
 propriate manner, by great seriousness and unction, and an earnest desire to promote 
 the spiritual interests of his fellow-men." — Daily Advertiser. 
 
 A NA^ALK ABOUT ZION. 
 
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