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 I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. I 
 
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 A SERMON 
 
 IN MESIORV OF THE DEATH OF 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 
 
 THE LATE 
 
 PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 
 
 BY THC 
 
 REV. JOSHUA L. WILSON, D. D. 
 
 Deuveked, May 14, 1841. 
 
 BEING THE DAY RECOMMENDED BY THE PRESIDENT TO BE SPENT IN 
 PASTING, PRAYER AND OTHER RELIGIOUS EXERCISES. 
 
 /Ki^' 
 
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 <>! CO 
 
 Cincinnati : 
 
 PRINTED AT THE REPUBLICAN OFFICE, 
 
 BY E. GRAHAM. 
 
 1841. 
 
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 Of ^A'^?v\'' 
 
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Prepared, delivered and published at the request of the 
 Session of the First Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati, Ohio; 
 and respectfully inscribed to the bereaved Family and 
 Friends of General Harkison. 
 
55553S32S5SiSEE?a^!i::23ffi: 
 
 r-r-^rsrm^t!.- . W WA 
 
 SERMON. 
 
 "There is a time to mourn."— Eccl. iii. 4. 
 
 To those who know that "the whole creation groaneth and 
 travaileth in pain," it may be a matter of sonic surprise to 
 find it gravely recorded that " there is a time to mourn. " — 
 Might they not ask, "when can time be found for mirth, in 
 this world of sin and deathT' Yet they are told with equal 
 gravity, "there is a time to rejoice." God hath graciously 
 preserved man as a prisoner of hope and sent his only begot- 
 ten Son "to proclaim liberty to the captives, the opening of 
 the prison doors to them that are bound — to proclaim llse 
 acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of 
 our God." The proclamation of liberty makes a time of 
 joy — but the day of vengeance makes a time of grief. "^ 
 
 The truth of our text is applicable to individuals, to fam- 
 ilies, to nations. Its application to nations, particularly to 
 our own nation, we are this day called to consider. No na- 
 tion, under heaven, since Israel was led from the house of 
 bondage, has ever been more favored of God than these Unit- 
 ed States. The delivery of the thirteen confederated Colo- 
 nies, from the usurpation of Great Britain, was almost as 
 jniraculous as the Exodus of the twelve tribes from Egypt. 
 Many seasons, of great rejoicing, have been aflbrded to us 
 under the star-spangled banner, adorned with this significant 
 motto, "E Pluribus Unum." Among the peculiar favors con- 
 ferred on us, as a nation, is that of the remarkable preserva- 
 tion of the lives and usefulness of the leading patriots of 
 
jr-jiwr-jg-i-g-mr ^-^ iJA,-i-.l«iimMfi. 
 
 American fieedoni. Tlie members of the old Cono-ress, wlio 
 signed the Declaration of Independence, who appealed to the 
 whole world for the goodness of their cause, and looked to 
 the God of armies for success, were long spared to the nation 
 as guides, shining as stars of the first magnitude in our po- 
 litical firmament, and uniting together by their golden orbits, 
 the several States of this great Confederacy. Some of this 
 patriotic band were advanced to the highest office in the gift 
 of the people, and after wielding the sceptre of the Repub- 
 lic, under the dominion of law, returning to the tranquility 
 of domestic repose, "slept with their fathers in a good old 
 age." 
 
 But it has happened to us as to other nations. The bright 
 day of prosperity is closed in by the night of adversity. — 
 For more than half a century — one distinguished man suc- 
 ceeded another, without a moment's vacation of the Chair of 
 State. Bat now the funeral knell has called us to the house 
 of mourning. Our beloved President Harrison is dead.— - 
 And dead, too, when his steady hand seemed fixed on the 
 sceptre of national reform. This sad sound of death — this 
 voice from Washington — is heard from the centre to the cir- 
 cumference of our vast domain. It speaks to all the language 
 of our text — "There is a tdie to mourx." In the history 
 of nations there are many practical examples of the duty to 
 which we are now called. I shall mention a few, in which 
 we shall find that a nation is called to mourn. 
 
 I. When bereaved of a good and great man. 
 
 II. When conscious of sins, which deserve additional re- 
 buke. — 
 
 I. A nation is called to mourn when bereaved of a good 
 and great man. 
 
 When Moses the servant of Jehovah was called to die, he 
 had been long engaged in public life. His services had been 
 various and of the highest interest to the Israelites. His body 
 and mind were both firm and vigorous, and as far as human 
 sagacity could penetrate, he might have led Israel to the con- 
 
quest 01'. Canaan. Yet comrary lo his wish, contrary io the 
 desire of the nalioH/he.-s suddenly airestecl, by the command 
 of God, and called to die— and that toe, at the very tiine when 
 Israel was aboutto pass ov6r Jordan. For, "the Lord spake 
 unto Moses— get thee up into Mount Nebo, and die in the 
 Mount whcher thou goest up, and be gathered unto %^ peo- 
 ple." How soleriin, how unwelcome the summons! No 
 sigh, no prayer could change the mandate! 
 
 ^'And Moses weiH up from the plains of Moab unto the 
 Mountain of Nebo, t<j the top of Pisgah, " and the Lord 
 sliewed him all parts of the Land, and said— "This is the land 
 which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, 
 saying I will give it unto thy seed^ I have eau&ed thee to see 
 it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither."— "So 
 Moses the servant of the Lord died— his eye was not dim nor 
 his natural force abated. And the children of Israel wept for 
 Moses, in the plains of Moab, thirty days.'' Moses had 
 acted as a scourge to Pharaoh, a leader, law-giver, and judge 
 to Israel— and just when apparently entering upon the mo^'st 
 delightful and elevated services of public life, in the Land of 
 of Promise, he is subjected to the stroke of death. But 
 Joshua the son of Nun, was left, "fall of the spirit of wis. 
 dom, and the children of Israel hearkened unto him." While 
 the Israelites wept for IMoses, thirty days, how many recollec- 
 tions weuld crowd upon their attention! They would think 
 of his public services, of his meekness, his frequent interpo- 
 sitions to avert divine vengeance, to mitigate sufferings, to 
 remove evils. And how would their hearts relent and "their 
 eyes swim with tears, when they remembered their own in- 
 gratitude to God, their murmurings against Moses— the base 
 charges, the unfounded calumnies they had uttered against 
 him— the stones they had lifted up to cast at him— the good 
 counsel they had slighted, and the wickedness they had 
 practised. All this, and more would be so many bitter in- 
 gredients in their cup of sorrow. Yet some good to them 
 resulted from this great calamity. It is recorded to their 
 
■ . i >iu « UJtnu-m'.u»iL»-i 
 
 credit, that wlieii the days of weeping and mourning for Mo- 
 ses were ended — tliat "the chikh-en of Israel hearkened to 
 Josiuia the son of Nun, and did as the Lord commanded 
 Moses." Happy that people who have wise and faithful 
 rulers, still left when their Moses is called to Pisfrali's top to 
 view the promised land, and die! Take another illustration 
 from Jewish history. 
 
 The Prophet Zechariah has compared true repentance for 
 sin, to a nation's sorrow over a fallen chief. "In tliat day 
 shall there be a great mourning as the mourning of Hadadrim- 
 mon in the valley of Megiddon; and the land shall mourn." 
 The allusion is made to the national grief at the death of 
 King Josiah. This amiable Monarch came into public life 
 while young — v/as active and faithful in the reform of the 
 abuses of former administrations — and so managed the inter- 
 ests of both Church and State, us to be greatly beloved by 
 the people. 
 
 But in the midst of his usefulness, he was slain in battle 
 by Pharaoh — Neco, King of Egypt, in the valley of Megiddo. 
 "His servants, tlierefore, took him to Jerusalem, and he was 
 buried in one of the sepulchres of his fathers. And all 
 Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah — And Jeremiah 
 lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing 
 women spake of Josiah in their lamentations — and made 
 them an ordinance in Israel: and behold they are written in 
 the Lamentations." And this is a part of what was written, 
 "Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of heaven: they 
 pursued us upon the mountains; they laid wait for us in the 
 wilderness; tlie breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the 
 Lord was taken in their pits, of whom wc said under his 
 shadow shall we live among the heathen." 
 
 In the New Testament we have an example of mourning, 
 not by a nation, but by the Church of God, over a fallen 
 leader. It is recorded, on the sacred page, for our instruc- 
 tion, that "devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made 
 great lamentation over him." These devout christians imi- 
 
tated ihe conduct of Patnarclis and Fropliets, The}- follow- 
 * ed the example of the man after God's own heart; who when 
 a great man had fallen in Israel, "said to all the people, rend 
 your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth and mourn before 
 Abner. And David himself followed the bier. And the 
 King lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner," 
 
 Examples are not wanting in civil history to illustrate this 
 subject. But without detaining you, may I not ask, where 
 has there been a people, ancient or modern, civilized or 
 savage, infidel or Christian, but have had their seasons of 
 mourning for their illustrious dead? And now our time of 
 sorrow has come. For more than thirty years v/e have en- 
 joyed unusual prosperity. The moralist. Time, lias emptied 
 his glass in the chambers of five distinguished Presidents. — 
 They served their generations, and came to their graves, 
 without becoming a nation's lamentation. Not so with our 
 late Chief Magistrate. Just seated in the Presidential Chair, 
 just placing his hand upon the helm of state, and adjusting 
 the sheet anchor of our nation's hope, he is snatched from his 
 station, and cast down to fill a niche in the mansions of the 
 dead! But he has not left us in total darkness. The works 
 began are brilliant, and if God bless, must be successful. 
 
 His Inaugural Address, his Christian example, his able 
 Cabinet, and "the spirit of wisdom" displayed by his suc- 
 cessor, cheer us in our deepest sorrow, and afford a gloriou- 
 prospect of successful administration. In his inaugural ad- 
 dress, William Henry Harrison shone forth — not like the 
 glimmering light of a remote star penetrating the darkness of 
 our orb — not like the reflected beams of the pale moon, shed 
 down cold and cheerless, upon a benighted world — but like 
 the luminary of day, walking in brightness, and pouring 
 down his genial light and warmth as the glorious centre 
 of our own system. That document forms a monument of 
 glory more lasting than the pillars of Herrides, Simple, 
 classical, clear, and cogent, it has carried conviction into the 
 ranks of political opponents. The deep and intimate ac- 
 
s 
 
 qnaintance with the true import ol the federal Constitution, 
 with the nature of our domestic and forcigu relations, and 
 the real wants and interests of the people, txjgether with the 
 public and unequivocal avowal of profouml respect for the 
 Christian religion, render the Inaugural &f the 4th of March 
 1811, one of the most important State papers ever filed iu 
 the archives of the Union. And it confirms an opinion long 
 since expressed* — that " General Harrisok, was a citizen 
 and a soldier, a scholar and a -gentleman, a farmer and a 
 statesman — a patriot and the poor man's friend — wortliy to 
 receive, and competent to fill the highest office in the gift of 
 this free people." 
 
 That General Harrison was pious in former years cannot 
 be affirmed; but that his mind had undergone of late a very 
 important change on the subject of personal religion, was 
 believed by many. This belief Avas founded upon his man- 
 ifest regard for good men — his i-espect and love for the Scrip- 
 tures of truth — his serious attendance upon an Evangelical 
 Ministry — his respect for the sanctity of the Sabbath, and 
 other facts known in his private history. Of the reality of 
 his personal religion, God alone is judge; while at the same 
 time, in this matter we are not called "to sorrow as they who 
 have no hope." 
 
 Before General Harrison made any pretensions to person- 
 al piety, he was amiable and worthy of confidence. His 
 military and political life have been marked with wisdom, 
 patriotism, probity, prowess, kindness and success. As a 
 citizen, he was plain, afl'able, condescending, benevolent and 
 hospitable. His house was a home and a sanctuary for the 
 Ministers of the Gospel of Christ.t 
 
 *Aboiit eight months before the Presidential election, in reply to a gen- 
 tleman, residing in East Tennessee, who had asked the opinion of the au- 
 thor of this sermon, respecting General Haeiiison's qualifications to fill 
 the office of President, for which he was then a Candidate. 
 
 tin the last twenty-five years, he has complained to me of three men 
 who professed to be ministers of the gospel— a Blclhodisf, a Presbyterian, 
 
It is for the death of this man — pre-eminent in private and 
 pnblic worth — we mourn. Let us in deep humility bow to 
 the will ot God. Nature in the bitterness of unbelief would 
 say, "curse God and die" — but Grace in the exercise of sub- 
 mission and hope exclaims, "The Lord gave, and the Lord 
 hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord." 
 
 IL A nation is called to mourn when conscious of nation- 
 al sins, which deserve national punishment. 
 
 The existence of nations is only recognised in this present 
 world. After death there is a judgment at which every man 
 must give an account of himself to God. And at the great 
 day, when the dead, small and great, shall stand before God — 
 they shall not stand as nations, but in two divisions, the 
 righteous and wicked. 
 
 It is in this woild that nations sin and are punished. — 
 God's wrath is levealed from heaven here against a sinful 
 people. True, he suffers long and is kind — but vengeance 
 will not sleep forever. Look at the waters of Noah, the fires 
 of Sodom, the captivity of the ten tribes, the destruction of 
 Jerusalem, and the dispersion of the Jews for eighteen cen- 
 turies. Behold the overthrow of the greatest monarchies and 
 
 and a New School Abolitionist. Of one, for imprudence in going through 
 all the forms of public worship, and preaching a long and loud sermon when 
 none were in attendance but the General and his servant. Of another, for 
 avarice, in loaning money at ten per cent., when six was the lawful inter- 
 est! And of the third, for folly, in preaching a whole sermon on the sin ot 
 slave-holding, when not a single slave-holder was present— and when the 
 state of the neighborhood, owing to recent calamities, called for a very dif- 
 ferent discourse. But no man, perhaps, ever manifested a greater respect, 
 than he did, for clergymen who used their sacred office for the good of souls 
 and the glory of the Redeemer— who made the pulpit the place to exhibit 
 the good sense of good men. He said to me once, after hearing two ser- 
 mons on the Sabbath, "you preach too much to your people. They cannot 
 retain and digest all they hear. Had I heard but one of your sermons to- 
 day, I should have retained it and been profited, but after hearing both, by 
 attempting to retain all, I have lost all." Yet when the General became 
 more serious and spiritually minded, he could hear two sermons on the 
 Sabbath with pleasure and advantage. 
 
 3 
 
10 
 
 the ruins of splendid and miglity cities, "Where is Nineveh 
 and Babylon, and Old Tyre? V/here is the throne of Alex- 
 ander, the seat of the Caesars, and the vast dominions of 
 Napoleon? Where are the dynasties of Ancient Egypt, the 
 dokedoms of Edom and the mighty republics of Greece? — 
 And where will be our Republic if we continue to sin against 
 God? — If we continue to sin — for it cannot be disguised that 
 we have already sinned — that we have already suffered. But 
 if this be the rebuke, what will be the vengeance? If God 
 spared not the gold, the silver, the brass and the iron of 
 mio-hty kingdoms — if he spared not Israel and Judah — "take 
 heed lest he also spare not thee." God's dealings with a 
 favored but sinful nation arc set forth in a Jewish melody. 
 
 "My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very pleasant 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 made a wine-press therein, and he looked 
 that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild 
 grapes. And now judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my 
 vineyard. What next shall I do? 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 
 briars and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they 
 rain no rain upon it — For I looked for judgment, and behold 
 oppression/or righteousness, and behold a cry." 
 
 If I may be allowed to mention some of the national sins 
 of these United States— 1 must name the offences of Sabbath 
 breaking, oppression, pride, self-confidence and political con- 
 test, for the power of party. Alas! we are a nation of Sab- 
 bath breakers. The Sabbath was made for man: made to 
 be kept holy as a day of sacred rest. By the example of 
 him who is Lord of the Sabbath, it is lawful, on that day, to 
 do works of necessity and mercy. Further than this no man, 
 no famdy, no nation has a right to go, in Avorldly employ- 
 
11. 
 
 ments. But have we stopped here'? Is not the day desecra- 
 ted by the sanction and order of the General Government, so 
 that even the sovereignty of the States cannot interfere, to 
 preserve their own citizens from its profanation. The busi- 
 ness part of community, both in and out of the Church, fol- 
 low the example of the General Government, and invest their 
 funds in Sabbath breaking corporations, and transport t'.icir 
 goods continually in lines of conveyance that perpetually 
 trample upon holy time. "Six days thou shalt labor and do 
 all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord 
 thy God, in it thou shalt do no servile labor." 
 
 This law was given to man before the fall. It was devout- 
 ly obeyed by Patriarchs and Prophets — sanctioned by Christ 
 and the Apostles, and kept by holy men in all ages. This 
 law was written in the Decalogue by the linger of God, and 
 promulgated at Sinai in the midst of fire. None can disre- 
 gard this law with impunity. The violation of no precept 
 has been ever followed with more certain and signal marks of 
 divine displeasure. God plucked up his own covenant peo- 
 ple for profaning his Sabbaths, and none have ever yet prac- 
 tised in this sin and prospered. 
 
 France once decreed the destruction of the Lord's day, but 
 France was drenched in blood, and trodden down by despots. 
 God now commands all men every where to repent, and ex- 
 cept we repent, we shall perish. 
 
 Alas! We are too a nation of oppressors. The wrongs of 
 Africa testify against us. I admit, that as a Republic we did 
 not plant American slavery in our soil. Unliappily this work 
 of sin and shame was done by foreign power, when we were 
 dependent colonies. But we have given sanction to its dura- 
 tion, and augmented its growth. By our federal compact the 
 slave-trade from Africa was continued on till 1808. And the 
 domestic slave-trade is continued on to the present hour. — 
 We call the slave-trade between the continents piracy, but the 
 slade-trade between the States is denominated lawful traffic! 
 We talk of abolishing the African slave-trade by colonies and 
 
12 
 
 sliips of war — but ihc slave-trade goes on with all ila liorrcrs 
 and can never be abolished as long as there is a slave market 
 kept open. J^et us pull out the beam before we try to extract 
 the mote. Abolish the slave-markets, and the trade is at an 
 end. We proclaim liberty, by wholesale, with the trumpet 
 of our national jubilee, but the oppressed goes not free. And 
 while our Federal Compact remains v.-hat it is, there is no 
 remedy. When a nation is called, in the Providence of God, 
 to mourn and repent, she is called upon to reform. Will this 
 nation now be humble under the mighty hand of God and 
 reform, or will she brave his vengeance? The same power 
 that made our Federal Constitution what it is, can make it 
 better. It is not, like the laws of tlie Medes and Persians, 
 unchangeable. Tiie majority in our government must rule, 
 or we plunge into anarchy or despotism. The majority said 
 the evil should conliiuie, and it continued. The minority 
 bowed to their will. Now, let the majority say, it shall 
 end. Let them say so in a constitutional way, and end it 
 must. The minority must submit. As long as the majority 
 says, slavery shall 1)e, a lawful and binding relation must 
 exist between n^saster and servant, wilii whicli no man has 
 a right to meddle, only to propose in a peaceable manner 
 constitutional remedies. But let the majority say slavery 
 shall not be, and this relation is instantly dissolved — the 
 slave is free — the master's authority comes to an end. 
 
 That Patriot who shall place himself as a shield between 
 this nation and the righteous judgments of God, by the pro- 
 curing of an amendment to the Constitution to abolish slave- 
 ry, will deserve and receive the thanks of good men in this 
 nation, and among every wise and virtuous community, under 
 heaven. How would my heart rejoice to see such a man as 
 the Hon. Henry Clay, or Hon. Daniel Webster, or some 
 other able Statesman, take the lead in this good work, r.nd 
 with his mighty hand push on such a reformation to its full 
 accoaiplishment! 
 
 Did time permit, I might add tlie wrongs done to the Abo- 
 
13 
 
 rigines of our country — I might dwell upon our national 
 pride, and sell-confidence and abuse of credit — but I must 
 call your attention to another sin, which I fear will prove our 
 ruin- I mean our political contests for the power of paity. 
 The good of the whole should be the aim of all. It is so 
 professedly; but with profession of patriotism in our mouths, 
 we have actually become a nation of political gladiators. We 
 must expect difference of opinion about men and measures, 
 and we must admit the freedom ot discussion — but the rancor 
 of party has become so violent, that our once happy land — 
 our once peaceful halls of legislation, — are stained with blood! 
 But the streams of blood which have gushed from the veins 
 of dying combatants, are nothing to be compared with the 
 destruction of character by false tongues. "A good name is 
 better than precious ointment," and many a noble spirit has 
 adopted the maxim, "death before dishonor." But who 
 can stand before envy? Who can politically live under the 
 scourge of the false tongue? For party purposes, the most 
 base and unfounded calumnies have been fabricated, spoken 
 and published against the best of men. And when these 
 have been disproved the hundreth time, the vile slanderer has 
 come afresh to the assault, as though he had never been refu- 
 ted nor confounded. I speak not of one political party, it is 
 a crying sin of our land, it is a wicked abuse of liberty, and 
 it must lead to utter ruin, except we repent. O, brethren, 
 let us this day humble ourselves before God, and mourn over 
 this sin and forsake it forever. Let us esteem character 
 dearer than life, and as we would that men should do to us, 
 do the same to them. 
 
 Before I conclude, I must mention another sin. We have 
 trusted too much in an arm of flesh. We are this day suffer- 
 ing sharp rebuke for placing too much confidence in man. I 
 speak of the majority, for whether right or wrong, they form 
 the nation. They depended too much upon the man of their 
 choice. They expected too much from him. He felt and 
 expressed his need of wisdom and strength from on liigh — 
 
14 
 
 but we were looking to the creature more than to the Creator, 
 And God has taken him away as a just judgment on us. It 
 is written, "curbed be man that trusteth in man and maketh 
 flesh his aim." Let us mourn before God over his sin also, 
 lest a worse evil come upon us— lest God should remove all 
 good men from among us, and leave us an easy prey to our 
 enemies. 
 
 Blessed be God, we are not yet left to despair. Our wor- 
 thy Chief Mjigistrate was permitted to ascend Nebo, and to 
 stand on the top of Pisgah. Hence he surveyed with expec- 
 tation the regions and measures of moral and political re- 
 form. Having seen them spread before him, like a vast land- 
 scape, he took his flight from that lofty summit, to the unseen 
 world. His noble successor is left to carry out his plans, or 
 adopt more salutary measures. And now let us go with our 
 leader in every movement of reform — let none of our host, 
 like Achan, defile himself with the wedge of gold and Baby- 
 lonish garment. Let us remember, that a nation may mourn 
 and repent for national sins, so as to arrest the judgments of 
 God; and yet citizens may remain impenitent in regard to 
 their own transgressions. Let us humble ourselves person- 
 ally, as well as nationally, before God. And while we adopt 
 external signs of national sorrow, let it be seen in our lives, 
 that our sorrow is not that of the world that worketh death, 
 but "a godly sorrow that worketh repentance unto salvation, 
 and needeth not to be repented of." May the Lord pour 
 upon us, this day, "the spirit of grace and of supplications," 
 that we may look upon Jesus — whom we have pierced, "and 
 mourn for him, as one mourneth for an only son, and be in 
 bitterness for him as one is in bitterness for a first born." — 
 And when every family shall mourn apart, and every citizen 
 bring forth fruits meet for repentance, then shall the desolat- 
 ing judgments of God be averted, and that righteousness 
 which exalteth a nation, shine forth with unfading lustre.