i£ii>hJL2£Uidk^ K^' ■'V. M .^' * a i ^ • rM- ^^ - ^ov^ A^^-^ .-v^ ^ ' » 1 ^v^ 1: "^.^ ^ •^^•- Vo^' ^*>«^:' "- .*•' .V ij\t %\\\txitu iiiu. A SERMON PREACHED IN CHEIST CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA, Friday, January 4, 1861, ON OCCASION OF THE NATIONAL FAST, KECOMMENDED BY THE PKESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, BECAUSE OF THE DANGERS WHICH THREATEN THE UNION. BY BENJAMIN pOER, D.D., ^ ^.RECTOR OF SAID CHURCH . llf^ PUBLISHED BY REQUEST OF THE VEflTRY. PHILADELPHIA: COLLINS, PRINTER, 705 JAYNE STREET. Hi^ 1861. .5" •3T Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1S61, by BENJAMIN DORK, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of tlic United States in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. i^ 4 / ^ SERMON. PSALM LXXX. 8—15. " TuOtJ HAST BKOUGHT A VINE OUT OF EgYPT ; THOU HAST CAST OUT THE HEATHEN, AND PLANTED IT. TjIOU PKEPAREDST ROOM BEFORE IT, AND DIDST CAUSE IT TO TAKE DEEP ROOT, AND IT FILLED THE LAND. ThE HILLS WERE COVERED WITH THE SHADOW OF IT, AND THE BOUGHS THEREOF WERE LIKE THE GOODLY CEDARS. She sent out her BOUGHS UNTO THE SEA, AND HER BRANCHES UNTO THE RIVER. Why HAST THOU THEN BROKEN DOWN HER HEDGES, SO THAT ALL THEY WHICH PASS BY THE WAY DO PLUCK HER? ThE BOAR OUT OF THE WOOD DOTH WASTE IT, AND THE WILD BEAST OF THE FIELD DOTH DEVOUR IT. KeTURN, WE BESEECH THEE, GOD OF HOSTS ; LOOK DOWN FROM HEAVEN, AND BEHOLD, AND VISIT THIS VINE; AnD THE VINEYARD WHICH THY RIGHT HAND HATH PLANTED, AND THE BRANCH THAT THOU MADEST STRONG FOR THYSELF." Before I proceed to the main subject of my dis- course, I desire, as a fitting introduction to it, to call your attention to an historical event, which will doubtless be interesting to all of you, and which is singularly appropriate to the present time, and place, and occasion. Eighty-five years ago there assembled in this church a body of distinguished men, pure, patriotic, high- minded; men of mighty intellects, and inflexible integrity ; the honor and boast of their country ; and whom any nation might be proud to call their own. There were patriots and statesmen from the North and from the South. Washington would have been here, but that he had been elected, one month before, General and Commander-in-chief of the American forces, and had gone to join the army at Cambridge. The Adamses of Massachusetts, and the Eutledges of South Carolina were here ; John Hancock, whose name stands first on the declaration of Independence, was here; Jefi'erson and Franklin were here; Patrick Henry, and John Jay, and Richard Henry Lee, with many others of like mind and spirit, were also here. These illustrious worthies composed the Continental Congress, which was convened in this city to consider and determine what was needful to be done for the preservation of their homes, their lives, their liberties, and for the safety and welfare of their common coun- try, in that hour of greatest peril. It was the year preceding the declaration of independence. And what brought them to this house of prayer '? The same high and holy purpose, my friends, as that which brings us together this morning. They were Christians, and knew that nothing which they might counsel, or atteinpt, could prosper without God's blessing. They therefore " recommended a general fast throughout the united English colonies of Ame- rica ;" and requested all the inhabitants to assemble in their respective places of worship, to confess their individual and national sins, to deprecate God's judg- ments, and earnestly implore His forgiveness of the past, and His grace and help for the future. The solemn fast day came July twentieth, seventeen hundred and seventy-five, and these Christian patriots, by a resolution in Congress, came in a body from their place of meeting to this venerable house — venerable, even then, for its age. What a sublime scene was here! The greatest and best men of the land — those to whom, under God, we are indebted for all the blessings, civil, social, and religious, which we so abundantly enjoy — bowing down before the King of kings and Lord of lords ; and beseeching Him, for Christ's sake, to have mercy upon them, and to make speed to deliver them ! The Eev. Mr. Duche, the senior assistant minister of Christ Church, who, two months after, became its rector, officiated on the occasion, by special request of the Congress. His text was a portion of the Psalm just read to you : " Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine." And that, brethren, is my text to-day. The Psalm was composed in a time of great national distress; probably in the reign of Hezekiah, when the Assyrian armies had taken and destroyed most of the strong-holds of Judea, carried many of its inhabi- tants into captivity, made the land desolate, and threatened the destruction of the Holy City itself Whatever the calamity was, it must have been very grievous, to draw forth from the Psalmist such sorrow- ful lamentations, such earnest entreaty for deliverance. " Hear, O thou Shepherd of Israel ; stir up thy strength, and come and help us. Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt ; thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. Thou madest room for it ; and when it had taken root, it filled the land. The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedar-trees. She stretched out her branches unto the sea, and her boughs unto the river. Why hast thou then broken down her hedge, that all they that go by pluck off her grapes ? The wild boar out of the wood doth root it up, and the wild beasts of the field devour it. Turn thee a^ain, thou God of hosts, look down from heaven, behold and visit this vine, and the place of the vineyard that thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest so strong for thyself" The Psalmist, you perceive, first recounts God's mercies to his own people; tells of his marvellous loving-kindness, in times past, to Israel his chosen. He represents their unexampled prosperity by that most beautiful, appropriate, and very common figure in Scripture — a healthy, vigorous, and fruitful vine, warmed by the sun, and nourished by the dews and rains of heaven. Never, indeed, Avas there a nation so blessed of heaven as they. Never was there a land so desirable as theirs. Hear how graphically their great lawgiver, Moses, describes it : " The Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills ; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey ; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it." There God planted his own vine, which He brought out of Egypt, and made Judea emphatically « the glory of all lands." But now, alas ! the scene is changed ; the land lan- guishes and mourns ; " the place of his vineyard is burnt with fire, and cut down." Why? Because God, even their own God, had hid his face from Israel on account of their transgressions. Yet he condescends to plead with them, before he gives them over to the spoiler. He tells them what he had done in the way of blessings, and what He will do in the way of judgments, if they do not spee- dily repent. " My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruit- ful hill ; and he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a wine- press therein; and he looked that it should bring 8 forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in if? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes ] And now, go to ; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard ; I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up ; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down. And I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns ; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant; and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression ; for right- eousness, but behold a cry." Sacred history informs us how all these predictions, promises, and threatenings, were verified, as regards the Jews. God graciously planted his people, as a choice vine, in the promised land, and He largely multiplied and prospered them there. For a time they were grateful for his mercies and obedient to his laws. " But within a while they forgat his works, and would not abide his counsel. They thought scorn of that pleasant land, and gave no credence to his word. Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against 9 his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inhe- ritance. And he gave them over into the hand of the heathen ; and they that hated them were lords over them. Their enemies oppressed them, and had them in subjection." Thus it happened, again and again, with this rebel- lious and stiff-necked people. The more God pros- pered and blessed them, the more ungrateful and disobedient were they; but "when He slew them, then they sought him; and returned and inquired early after God. And they remembered that God was their strength, and that the high God was their Ee- deemer." " Many a time did he deliver them ; but they rebelled against him with their own inventions, and were brought down in their wickedness. Never- theless, when he saw their adversity, he heard their complaint. He thought upon his covenant, and pitied them, according to the multitude of his mercies." Thus they went on, from age to age, sinning and repenting, yet becoming in each period of their apos- tasy more hardened in wickedness, until, at last, they filled up the measure of their iniquities by crucifying the Lord of glory ; and then they were given over to irremediable ruin. The vine was rooted up, which God's own hand had planted ; the wall was broken down by the hand that builded it ; the land was made utterly desolate; Judea was trodden down of the 10 Gentiles; the Holy City and Temple were destroyed; and Jerusalem became a heap of stones. And this, because she would not know, in the day of her visita- tion, the things which belonged unto her peace. They were, therefore, hidden from her eyes. Thus, in the prosperity and the downfall of Israel, we have an illustration of that momentous truth, " Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach," and we may add, the ruin, " of any people." And now, let us ask — Is there anything in those portions of Scripture which we have been considering, that does not meet our own case ] Are they not fully as profitable for us, for instruction and warning, as for the Jews '? Take the description in my text of their prosperity, represented by the figure of a vine planted in a kindly soil, growing and spreading, till it covered the whole land of Palestine with its shadow ; extend- ing its branches to the Mediterranean Sea on the one side, and to the great river Euphrates on the other. How applicable this to the growth and prosperity of our own country. Or take the more minute descrip- tion in Isaiah, of the care and kindness which God bestowed on his favored vineyard, for its culture, pro- tection, and fruitfulness ; do we not see the same striking parallel here also '? Look back over all the past in our history, our rapid increase, our multiplied blessings, our numerous 11 deliverances, and our ungrateful returns for all God's mercies ; and tell me if the Psalmist does not describe these as truly and clearly, as if he intended the de- scription for us alone'? Consider how great things God hath done for us, year by year, continually; and then say, if He might not ask of us, as He asked of his ancient people, "What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in iti" Surely, surely, He did no more for them than he has done for us. In his wise providence He brought our fore- fathers to this western world, " when they were yet few of them, and they strangers in the land." " He cast out the heathen also before them, and caused their land to be divided among them for an herit- age." He protected and prospered them, and caused the wilderness around them to "rejoice and blossom as the rose." He planted his vineyard here with the choicest vine ; he hedged it in, and built a wall around it for protection ; and when enemies threat- ened to destroy, He was nigh to save. It grew and spread, like the vine of Judea, until it filled the land. The hills were covered with the shadow of it; it stretched out its branches from the sea to the river, and from the river to the great sea westward; from the Atlantic to the mighty Mississippi ; and tliencc onward to the shores of the Pacific. 12 This, brethren, is the type of our beloved land; this the brief record of its past history. Never, in the annals of the world, was there an instance of a nation rising so rapidly to perfect maturity and strength. And for all this, we were indebted, under God, to the piety and wisdom of our forefathers ; to such men as assembled here in this house of prayer, in July, seventeen hundred and seventy-five ; to such men as signed the Declaration of Independence in this city, in July, seventeen hundred and seventy-six ; to such men as signed the " Articles of Confedera- tion and Perpetual Union," so they were called, in July, seventeen hundred and seventy-eight ; to such men as framed and signed the Constitution of these United States, in seventeen hundred and eighty-seven. I say, we are indebted to them, under God, for to Him they looked for guidance and assistance, and He was their guide and helper. The immortal Washington, in his first address to Congress after his election to the Presidency, made this characteristic declaration: "No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the afi'airs of men, more than the people of these United States. Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency." 13 For years we have been rejoicing in peace and plenty ; feeling perfectly at ease and secure in our pos- sessions; when, suddenly, a dark cloud overshadows the land and fills every bosom with dismay. The glorious structure which our forefathers reared, and which they and their children thought as enduring as the everlasting hills, is threatened with immediate destruction, by the whirlwind and the storm. But I need not dwell on the calamities which have come upon us, or the greater calamities which we have cause to fear. You know them all ; little else is thought of, or talked of, now-a-days, when friend meets friend. My duty is, at this time, and from this sacred place, to say to you in the words of the pro- phet: "Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it." Your duty is, earnestly to inquire, Why hath all this evil overtaken us 1 and, How shall we be delivered ? Who will come forth to help us ^ I suppose that all of you, my brethren, will admit that our present calamity is the consequence of sin; for if there were no sin there could be no suffering. You acknowledge, too, that it is a manifestation of the divine displeasure, on account of our individual and national transgressions. Your presence here to- day is a proof that you so regard it. No intelligent Christian could look upon it in any other light. W^e have come up to this house of prayer, by the advice of 14 our chief magistrate, and with a conviction that it is our solemn duty, to humble ourselves in the presence of our great Creator, to bewail our manifold trans- gressions, to seek his renewing grace, to beseech Him that He will not deal with us after our sins, nor reward us according to our iniquities ; but that, after the multitude of his mercies, He would look upon us and visit us with his salvation. It is "when God's judgments are in the earth," that "the inhabitants of the world will," if ever, "learn righteousness." May his fatherly chastisements, now, teach us this salutary lesson, "by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just." And then, brethren, we shall present to the eyes of men and angels the most sublime spectacle upon earth; that of a whole people bowing themselves before the mercy seat of the Most High, in humble ackno\vledg- ment of their sinfulness, in earnest supplications for pardon, and with sincere and solemn resolutions of making Him their only trust, and their portion for- ever. Such instances have been, and they are re- corded for our instruction. What moral grandeur was there in the voluntary humiliation of proud Nineveh, that " exceeding great city of three days' journey," when aroused by the warning voice : " Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" "The people of Nineveh," it is said, 15 "believed God." They knew his power, that what He said He was able to perform; they knew his jus- tice, that He would by no means acquit the guilty ; but they believed also that He was gracious, merci- ful, and long suffering; and they threw themselves upon his mercy. They "proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them." Their king, the mightiest monarch of the world, set the example for his subjects. He " arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes." And he commanded his people, not only to " cry mightily unto God," but to "turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that was in their hands." For, said he, "who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger that we perish not]" Their repentance was accepted; their iniquity was pardoned. " God saw their works that they turned from their evil way; and God re- pented of the evil that he had said that he would do unto them ; and he did it not." Our blessed Lord himself points to the men of Nineveh as a notable example of faith in God's word, and obedience to his will. "They repented at the preaching of Jonas." God grant that their example be not lost upon us. May they never " rise up in judgment with this generation, and condemn it." We 16 have sinned more grievously than they, because we have a clearer knowledge of God, and are better instructed in our duty to Him, than they could have been. Was ever a people so blessed of heaven as we, with opportunities and privileges designed to make us a wise and virtuous nation'? And how have we abused our blessings ! What frightful records of crime, in every part of our land, are daily spread out before us! Each newspaper that we take into our hands, has its long black catalogue of riots and brawls, thefts, robberies, murders, burglaries, assassi- nations, by night and by day. Then comes the re- cord of unblushing bribery and corruption; detected, but not punished. Of monstrous frauds, bringing distress on thousands, and taking the very bread from the mouths of the widow and the fatherless; yet perpetrated with impunity. The time was, and that within the memory of most of us, when, to hear of any one of these crimes, would have made our ears tingle ; but now they are so common, as not to excite even our surprise. And can we think that God, who sees them all, will not visit us for these things'? " Shall not his soul be avenged on such a nation as tins'?" Then, again, look where you will, the evidence is before you of the rapid spread of infidelity, in the neglect of God's word, and sabbath, and sanctuary; 17 His name profaned ; His holy day openly and shame- lessly violated. And what shall we say of those sins which, though not so gross, are nevertheless dis- pleasing to God, and cannot go unpunished; the pride and selfishness, the greediness of gain, the pas- sion for vain show, Avhich are everywhere apparent, and are evidences of a heart entirely devoted to the world? What luxury of living, what extravagance in houses, and furniture, and dress, daily meet our eyes ! But they who indulge in these vanities, will per- haps ask: Have we not a right to do what we will with our ownl Certainly you have. But what is your own? Your money"? No; for God giveth you power to get wealth. Your talents'? No; for He alone maketh you to differ from others. Your persons 1 No ; for " it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves." You have nothing of your own ; none of us can have. Whatever we possess, is lent us of God, to be used, not for mere selfish pur- poses, but to promote his honor and glory. And when he sees a people unfaithful to their trust, he is sure to punish. If they repent, He may spare them; if not, He will destroy them. This has been his manner of dealing with nations heretofore. " A fruit- ful land maketh He desolate, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein." So He punished Nineveh, 18 when she apostatized the second time ; so He punished Babylon, and Egypt, and Tyre; so He punished his own favored people, the Jews, As He had fore- warned them by his prophet, " their land was utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled;" and has remained so to this day. And so, brethren, he now threatens us. But, thanks to his mercy, judgment is yet delayed, and there is an opportunity for escape. Let us seek him by humble confession, by earnest prayer, by newness of life, and he will be found of us. By confession; for "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all un- righteousness." By prayer; for he is a God who heareth prayer, and never turns away from those who supplicate his aid. And, if He is on our side, it matters not who are against us. Prayer is the safety of nations, as of individuals. "The prayer of the righteous man" — that is, the penitent and the humble — " availeth much." Prayer has stopped the mouths of lions; quenched the vio- lence of fire ; turned to flight the armies of aliens. A praying people is invincible. If a nation bends the knee in prayer for divine guidance and protection, " no weapon formed against her can prosper." The prayer of Abraham would have saved Sodom, if only ten righteous men had been found in her. They were not found, and therefore Sodom was destroyed ; 19 but, even then, righteous Lot escaped. The prayer of a single individual has saved cities, overthrown armies, and brought the counsel of princes to naught. Prayer — I speak it reverently — is all but omnipotent ; because it prevails with God to lift up his almighty arm. Daniel, a captive in Babylon, in his chamber, with his window open towards Jerusalem, kneeling upon his knees three times a day, was wiser than all the Chaldean sages, and more powerful than Nebuchad- nezzar on his throne ; for the all-wise, all-powerful Jehovah was his wisdom and strength. The father of our country, retiring from the camp at Valley Forge, to a secluded grove, that he might commune with our heavenly Father in private prayer, and obtain from him strength and guidance, in that trying hour, was mightier than the armies of his enemies. One who sided with the British, knowing the reason why the Commander-in-chief so frequently visited that grove, exclaimed, " Our cause is lost ; George Washington is asking the help of the Al- mighty !" Hezekiah, alone in the temple, on his knees, with the boastful, blasphemous letter of Sennacherib spread out before the mercy-seat, was stronger than the armies of the Assyrians, for the Lord God of hosts 20 was on his side. " That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib, king of Assyria," is God's an- swer to him, " I have heard. He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord. For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake." The promise is immediately fulfilled, and Jerusalem is saved by a mighty deliverance. " That same night the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred and fourscore and five thousand ; and when they arose early in the morning, behold they were all dead corpses." Prayer is as eff'ectual now as it was then. " The hand of the Lord is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither is his ear heavy, that it cannot hear." The day is dark, indeed, but not darker than many days of the Revolution ; not so dark as that day when our forefathers of the Continental Congress — good men, and wise and true — met here for prayer. I be- lieve there are many such in our day, at the North, and at the South ; men as much attached to the Union and to the Constitution, as they who framed them ; and divine Providence, in his own good time, will make them known. Let us fix our eyes and our 21 hearts on Him, who is an ever-present help in time of tronble. The clouds above us are thick and lowering: but one breath of his mouth can disperse them all. The sun of our nation's glory is obscured; but one ray of light from his throne can dispel the darkness, and make our night as clear as the noonday. " The waves of the sea are mighty, and rage horribly ; but yet the Lord, who dwelleth on high, is mightier." " He stilleth the raging of the sea, and the madness of the people." And when He says, " Peace, be still;" there is instantly " a great calm." Now is the time, brethren, to prove our faith in him; to humble ourselves, and cry mightily unto him, and say — " Spare thy people, O God, and give not thy heritage to reproach." " Turn thee again, thou God of hosts, look down from heaven, behold and visit this vine, and the place of the vineyard that thy right hand hath planted. And so will we not go back from thee ; O let us live, and we shall call upon thy name." " Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, show the light of thy countenance, and we shall be whole." If we thus seek him, in all sincerity of heart, he will be found of us. His promise, which is yea and amen, sure and stedfast, is pledged for our deliverance. Hear what he has declared, and put upon record in his own Book, for our encouragement: "At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and con- 22 cerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and pull down, and to destroy it; if that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them." This is the grand charter of our rights and privileges, by which we, as Christians, sons of God and heirs with Christ, must abide. Let us, by God's grace, do our part, and his pro- mise shall be certainly fulfilled. He will pour upon us blessings more abundant than we can ask or think. The precious vine, which his own right hand hath planted, which now droops and withers, and seems ready to die, will then revive and flourish, and become more vigorous than ever ; spreading over the valleys, covering the hill-tops, climbing up the mountain sides, and stretching out its branches northward and south- ward, and from the Atlantic to the Peaceful Sea. And as untold millions, living in separate commu- nities, from the sunny south to the frozen north, yet knit together by ties of kindred and love, repose under the shadow of this one vine, without any to molest or make them afraid, this will be the feeling of all hearts, this the confession of every tongue — " Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for bre- thren to dwell together in unity !" 23 Brethren, beloved — " May the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ ; to whom be glory for- ever and ever. Amen." (Heb. xiii. 20, 21.) APPENDIX. NAMES OF DELEGATES TO THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, nt5. NEW HAMPSHIRE. John Sullivan, John Langdon. MASSACHUSETTS-BAY. John Hancock, Thomas Gushing, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine. John Alsop, John Jay, Simon Boerum, William Floyd, Henry Wisner, Philip Schuyler, Robert R. Livingston, Jr., George Clinton, Lewis Morris, Francis Lewis. RHODE ISLAND. Stephen Hopkins. CONNECTICUT. Eliphalet Dyer, Roger Sherman, Silas Deane, Titus Hosmer, Jonathan Sturgess. NEW YORK. Philip Livingston, James Duane, NEW JERSEY. James Kinsey, Stephen Crane, William Livingston, John De Hart, Richard Smith. PENNSYLVANIA. Edward Biddle, John Dickinson, Thomas Mifliiii, Charles Humphreys, John Morton, 26 George Ross, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Willing;, James Wilson. DELAWARE. Caesar Rodney, Thomas McKean. MARYLAND. Matthew Tilghman, Thomas Johnson, Jr., Robert Goldsborough, William Paca, Samuel Chase, John Hall, Thomas Stone. VIRGINIA. Peyton Randolph, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Edmund Pendleton, Benjamin Harrison, Richard Bland. NORTH CAROLINA. William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, Richard Caswell. SOUTH CAROLINA. Henry Middleton, Thomas Lynch, Christopher Gadsden, John Rutledge, Edward Rutledge. GEORGIA was not represented in this Congress until September 13, 1775. Her delegates then were Archibald Bullock, John Houston, Rev. Dr. Zubly, Noble Wimberly Jones, Lyman Hall. The Congress met in Philadelphia, May 10, 17*75; and on the first day of the session elected the Hon. Peyton Randolph, Presi- dent; and Mr. Charles Thomson, Secretary. On the 19th of May, "Mr. Randolph being under the necessity of returning home," the chair was vacant; and, "on motion, the Honorable John Hancock was unanimously chosen President." June 15, 1775, Washington was "unanimously elected General and Commander-in-chief of the American forces ;" and, a few weeks after, joined the army at Cambridge. "June 21, 1775, Mr. Thomas Jeiferson appeared as a delegate for the colony of Virginia," in the place of Mr. Randolph. 27 PROCEEDINGS IN CONGRESS RELATIVE TO THE FAST. "Wednesday, June 1, 111b. Ou motion, Resolved, That Thurs- day, the 20th of July next, be observed throughout the twelve United Colonies, as a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer; and that Mr. Hooper, Mr. J. Adams, and Mr. Paine, be a committee to bring in a resolve for that purpose." "Monday, June 12, 1115. The committee, appointed to prepare a resolution for a fast, brought in their report; which, being read, was agreed to as follows : — " As the great Governor of the world, by his supreme and uni- versal providence, not only conducts the course of nature with un- erring wisdom and rectitude, but frequently influences the minds of men to serve the wise and gracious purposes of his providential government ; and it being at all times our indispensable duty de- voutly to acknowledge his superintending providence, especially in times of impending danger and public calamity, to reverence and adore his immutable justice, as well as to implore his merciful inter- position for our deliverance; — "This Congress, therefore, considering the present critical, alarm- ing, and calamitous state of these colonies, do earnestly recommend that Thursday, the 20th day of July next, be observed by the in- habitants of all the English Colonies on this continent, as a day of public humiliation, fasting, and prayer; that we may, with united hearts and voices, unfeignedly confess and deplore our many sins, and offer up our joint supplications to the all-wise, omnipotent, and merciful Disposer of all events ; humbly beseeching him to forgive our iniquities, to remove our present calamities, to avert those deso- lating judgments with which we are threatened, and to bless our rightful sovereign, King George the Third, and to inspire him with wisdom to discern and pursue the true interest of his subjects, that a speedy end may be put to the civil discord between Great Britain and the American Colonies, without further effusion of blood ; and that the British nation may be influenced to regard the things that belong to her peace, before they are hid from her eyes; that these 28 colonies may ever be under the care and protection of a kind Provi- dence, and be prospered in all their interests ; that the divine bless- ing may descend and rest upon all our civil rulers, and upon the representatives of the people in their several assemblies and con- ventions, that they may be directed to wise and effectual measures for preserving the union, and securing the just rights and privileges of the colonies; that virtue and true religion may revive and flourish throughout our land ; and that all America may soon behold a gracious interposition of heaven, for the redress of her many griev- ances, the restoration of her invaded rights, a reconciliation with the parent State, on terms constitutional and honorable to both; and that her civil and religious privileges may be secured to the latest posterity. "And it is recommended to Christians, of all denominations, to assemble for public worship, and to abstain from servile labor and recreation on said day, " Ordered, That a copy of the above be signed by the President and attested by tlie Secretary, and published in the newspapers, and in handbills." JOHN HANCOCK, President. CHARLES THOMSON, Secretary. Saturday, July 15, ITTS. "On motion, Resolved, That the Congress will, on Thursday next, attend divine service in a body, both morning and afternoon." " Ordered, That Mr. Lynch and Mr. Dickinson wait on Mr. Duche and Dr. Allison, and request Mr. Duche to preach before the Congress on Thursday next, in the morning, and Dr. Allison in the afternoon." "Wednesday, July 19, 1775. Agreed, That the Congress meet at this place to-morrow, and from this place go in a body to attend divine service." "Thursday, July 20, 1775, half after nine A. M., adjourned till one o'clock P. M." Thus it is seen that Congress went in a body, from the State House, their place of meeting, to Christ Church, to attend divine 29 service, and to hear the Rev. Mr. Duchc's sermon, on this first general fast-day morning. The two follovring years. May 17, 1176, and April 3, 1777, were recommended by Congress to be observed as days of humiliation, fasting, and prayer, throughout the land. Christ Church and St. Peter's were opened for divine service, on both these occasions. ACTION OF CHRIST CHURCH VESTRY, ON THE DAT OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. The following interesting minutes of vestry, made on the ever memorable Fourth of July, seventeen hundred and seventy-six, record a prompt act of patriotism on the part of the authorities of Christ Church : — " At a meeting of the Yestry at the Rector's, July 4, 1776. Pre- sent, Rev. Jacob Duche, Rector; Thomas Cuthbert, Church- warden ; Jacob Duche, Robert Whyte, Charles Stedman, Edmund Physick, James Riddle, Peter De Haven, James Reynolds, Gerardus Clarkson, Vestry-men. " Whereas, the honorable Continental Congress have resolved to declare the American colonies to be free and independent States ; in consequence of which it will be proper to omit those petitions in the liturgy wherein the king of Great Rritain is prayed for, as in- consistent with the said declaration. Therefore, resolved, that it appears to this vestry to be necessary, for the peace and well-being of the churches, to omit the said petitions ; and the Rector and assistant Ministers of the united churches are requested, in the name of the vestry and their constituents, to omit such petitions as are above mentioned." PRAYERS IN CONGRESS. As everything connected with the beginning of our revolutionary struggle is interesting, and as Christ Church is more identified with the events of those days, than any other cluirch in our conn- 30 try, no apology is necessary for placing on record here the follow- ing gleanings from the journals of the first Continental Congress, and from other sources. The Congress assembled at the Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, Monday, September 5, 1174. "Tuesday, September 6, 1774. Resolved, That the Rev. Mr. Duche be desired to open the Congress to-morrow morning with prayers, at the Carpenters' Hall, at nine o'clock." "Wednesday, September 7, 1774. Agreeable to the resolve of yesterday, the meeting was opened with prayers by the Reverend Mr. Duche." " Voted, That the thanks of the Congress be given to Mr. Duche, by Mr. Cushing and Mr. Ward, for performing divine service, and for the excellent prayer, which he composed and delivered on the occasion." It was concerning this first divine service iu Congress, that John Adams thus wrote to his wife : — "Philadelphia, September 16, 1774. "Having a leisure moment, while the Congress is assembling, I gladly embrace it to write you a line. " When the Congress first met, Mr. Cushing made a motion that it should be opened with prayer. It was opposed by Mr. Jay, of New York, and Mr. Rutledge, of South Carolina, because we were so divided in religious sentiments ; some Episcopalians, some Quakers, some Anabaptists, some Presbyterians, and some Congre- gatioualists, that we could not join in the same act of worship. Mr. Samuel Adams arose and said, ' he was no bigot, and could hear a prayer from a gentleman of piety and virtue, who was at the same time a friend to his country. He was a stranger in Philadel- phia, but had heard that Mr. Duche (Dushay they pronounce it), deserved that character, and therefore he moved that Mr. Duche, an Episcopal clergyman, might be desired to read prayers to the Congress to-morrow morning.' The motion was seconded, and passed in the affirmative. " Mr. Randolph, our President, waited on Mr. Duche, and re- 31 ceived for answer, that if his health would permit, he certainly would. Accordingly, next morning he appeared with his clerk, and in his pontificals, and read several prayers in the established form, and then read the collect for the seventh day of September, which was the thirty-fifth Psalm. You must remember, this was the next morning after we heard the horrible rumor of the cannon- ade of Boston. I never saw a greater effect upon an audience. It seemed as if Heaven had ordained that Psalm to be read on that morning. "After this, Mr. Duche, unexpectedly to everybody, struck out into an extemporary prayer, which filled the bosom of every man present. I must confess, I never heard a better prayer, or one so well pronounced. Episcopalian as he is. Dr. Cooper himself never prayed with such fervor, such ardor, such earnestness and pathos, and in language so eloquent and sublime, for America, for the Congress, for the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and especially the town of Boston. It has had an excellent effect upon everybody here. I must beg you to read that Psalm. If there was any faith in the sortes Virgiliante, or sortes HomericiB, or especially the sortes Biblicte, it would be thought providential. " It will amuse your friends to read this letter and the thirty-fifth Psalm to them. Read it to your father and Mr. Wibird. I wonder what our Braintree churchmen would think of this. Mr. Duche is one of the most ingenious men, and best characters, and greatest orators in the Episcopal order upon this continent ; yet a zealous friend of liberty and his country. " I long to see my dear family. God bless, preserve, and prosper it. Adieu. JOHN ADAMS." For the above, see "Letters of John Adams addressed to his Wife," vol. i. Letter IX, p. 23. Mr. Duche was several times after this invited by Congress to officiate for them; and on July 9, 1776, there is this record on their Journals: "BesolceJ, That the Rev. Mr. Duche be appointed Chaplain to the Congress, and that he be desired to attend every morning at 9 o'clock." 32 He held this office until the seventeenth of October following, when he resigned, "in consequence of the state of his health, and his parochial duties." Whereupon, Congress " Resolved, That the President return the thanks of this house to the Rev. Mr. Duche, for the devout and acceptable manner in which he discharged his duty, during the time he officiated as chaplain to it ; and that one hundred and fifty dollars be presented to him, as an acknowledgment from the house of his services." Mr. Duche returned his grateful thanks to Congress, for the kind manner in which they expressed their approbation of his service ; but de- clined accepting any pecuniary compensation; and requested that the money voted to him, " be applied to the relief of the widows and children of such of the Pennsylvania officers as have fallen in battle, in the service of their country." The Rev. William White was next elected Chaplain to Congress, December 23, HTS; together with the Rev. P. Allison, a Presby- terian clergyman. At this time, Mr. Duche was rector of the united churches, Christ Church and St. Peter's ; and Mr. Coombe and Mr. White were the assistants. Mr. Duche went to England in 11 17 ; and Mr. Coombe followed him in 1118; and neither of them had any connection with a church in this country afterwards. Mr. White, being left in charge of both churches, was elected rector in 1118 ; and remained here through the whole of the Revolution; enjoying the personal friendship of Washington, and the confidence, respect and affection of all good men. His connection with Christ Church extended through the long period of sixty -four years ; nearly fifty years of which he was bishop of the diocese ; and forty years, senior bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States. He died on Sunday, July 11, 1836, in the eighty-ninth year of his age ; " his mind unclouded, tranquil and serene, in meek reliance upon his Saviour." ^l^au:<2%s^ m 12 1862 j 54 W 0' S • * * '-r^-v -^^0^ .>' "■!- ^-^.v ^^^ \% x» cS- ^\\ll j^ .. -^a A >/"