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Jprcatljeii in £znox, Mass. 
 
 AT THE CELEBRATION OP THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS ORDINATION TO 
 THE VfORK OF THE GOSPEL MINISTRY IN SAID TOWN, 
 
 BY SAMUEL SHEPARD, D. D. 
 
 TOGETHER WITH THE ADDRESS OF THE REV. MR. TODD. 
 
 LENOX: 
 
 J. G. STANLEY, 
 1845. 
 
ALL THINGS EARTHLY, CHANGING AND TRANSITORY. 
 
 S E E M O N 
 
 prcacljCL) in fcnoi:, Mass. 
 
 APRIL 30, 1845, 
 
 AT THE CELEBRATION OF THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS ORDINATION TO 
 THE WORK OF THE GOSrEL MINISTRY IN SAID TOWN, 
 
 BY SAMUEL SHEPARD, D. D. 
 
 TOGETHER WITH THE ADDEESS OF THE EEV. ME. TODD. 
 
 LENOX: 
 
 J. G. STANLEY. 
 1845. 
 

 'Of 
 
 PcisLisnF.D at the request of the Congregational Society, as communicated b)' 
 
 their Committee, 
 
 Gkorge J. Tdckeh, Esq. 
 
 Thomas Twinixg, Esq. 
 
 AViLLiAM A. PuELPiS, Esq. 
 
 PKINTED Br 6.'>N. *5 Jc It* 1%60>J Ia& Ek tO. 
 
 S3 Wasliiiigton Street. 
 
The public religious exercises, accompanying tlic delivery of the following Sermon, 
 commenced with singing ' Denmark,' by the choir. 
 
 The invocation, reading of portions of Scripture, and a Hymn, composed by Mrs. 
 SiGOUENEY, and set to music by Mr. AVilson, — by Rev. T. S. Clarke, of Stockbridge. 
 
 Praise to the Giver of our joys, — 
 Who 'mid life's changeful day, 
 While dearest treasures fail or fade, 
 And firmest props decay, 
 Doth gird our much-lov'd pastor's hand. 
 That heavenward points the way. 
 
 Praise to the Author of our trust, 
 
 Who, when affliction's darts 
 
 Make midnight iu our bowers of love, 
 
 And fondest hope departs, 
 
 Slitl spares the voice rever'd, that speaks 
 
 Heaven's comfort to our hearts. 
 
 We thank thee, Father! who hast breath'd 
 
 Thy Spirit iu his breast, 
 
 And with a crown of righteousness 
 
 His aged temples blest, — 
 
 Gram that his flock with him may share 
 
 Thine everrasting rest. 
 
 Eev. T. S. Clarke oflercd the first prayer. ""- ' ' 
 
 A second Hymn, composed by JNLs. Sigourney, and set to music by Mr. Wilson, 
 was then sung. 
 
 Yc, o'er whose blooming brows 
 Life's freshest dews descend, — 
 Give honor to the hoary head, 
 The Patriarch, and the Friend. 
 
 He many a wandering lamb 
 Hath to green pastures brought, 
 And duly watches for your souls. 
 With deep and prayerl'ul thought. 
 
 Learn from his lips the lore 
 That makes the simple wise ; 
 And gather from his saintly life 
 Example for the skies. 
 
 Oh, bright and youthful band, 
 The children of our love. 
 Give honor to the hoary head, 
 And praise to God above. 
 
There was a pansc in the delivery of the Sermon, wliilst a Hymn, the first line of 
 which is 'Ilaik! the song of Jul.iiee!' was sung. 
 
 At the close of the Sermon, Kev. Mr. Todd, of Pittsficld, delivered an aiipropriate 
 address to the congrre-ration. lie tlien offered the condudin-: prayer, and read a tiiird 
 Hymn, composed by Mrs. Sigourney, which, together with the Christian Doxology, 
 was sung by the choir — tune, ' Old Hundred' — in which the whole assembly united. 
 
 Where are the fathers ? they who chose 
 
 'Mid lliese fair vales their happy lot, — 
 Here, where their native strcainlut flows ? 
 
 We call them, but they answer not. 
 
 "Where are the fathers? Tell us where? 
 
 At wintrj- fireside .sparkling clear, — 
 At hall, and board, and house of prayer, 
 
 AVe seek them, but they are not here. 
 
 Where are the fathers ? Gone to rest ! 
 
 Yon hallowed church-yard, sadly fair, 
 The swelling mounds on earth's green breast, 
 
 The silent tomb-stones leach us where. 
 
 MTiere are the fathers ? Risen to God ! 
 
 If here they labored for the skies, 
 Slill may we keep the path they trod, 
 
 And join in Heaven earth's broken ties. 
 
 Benediction by Rev. Sir. Clarke. 
 
SERMON. 
 
 *THE FASHIOX OF THIS WORLD PASSETH AWAT.' — 1 CorilltluanS, 7: 31. 
 
 Every thing in the universe is subject to change, except God 
 himself. Perfect immutability can be ascribed only to him. ' I 
 am the Lord,' saith he, ' I change not.' ' With him there is no 
 variableness, neither shadow of turning.' ' One day is with him 
 as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.' ' He is 
 the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.' All things respecting 
 Creation, Providence, and Redemption, were eternally in his 
 view. All, all existed in his own infinite mind. It is, therefore, 
 only in condescension to our finite capacities and conceptions 
 that the term fore-knowledge is used in relation to God ; for, in 
 strict propriety of speech, there is no fore-knowledge nor after- 
 knowledge with God. All things are forever present to his 
 mind, and with him it is one eternal noiu. This accords with 
 the language of the poet: 
 
 ' O Thou Eternal One ! whose presence bright 
 All space doth occupy — all motion guide; 
 Thou from primeval nothingness didst call 
 First, chaos ; then existence — Eord, on thee 
 Eternity had its foundation.' 
 
 All things, however, pertaining to the world and time, are 
 changing, and tending to dissolution. Nothing in relation to 
 them is permanent — nothing necessarily immutable. They are, 
 
from their own nature, necessarily subject to change and decay ; 
 and, that they do not pass at once into their native nothingness, 
 is owing to the upholding power of their immutable author. 
 This is emphatically true in regard to all things merely of a 
 worldly nature ; but that vnseen state, to which we all hasten, 
 will be eternal. The circumstances attending it will, by a divine 
 constitution, be kept from that change and decay, to which the 
 things of tiie present life and world are subject. The fashion of 
 that loorld will not pass away. Our state will there be unaltera- 
 bly fixed. He that is fillhy, will then be filthy still ; and he that 
 is holy, will be holy still. Not so the things pertaining to this 
 mortal state. They are not only mutable in their nature, and 
 subject to change, but are actually, and constantly, and necessa- 
 rily changing. They pass away, and must soon come to an end. 
 
 The general proposition which the text obviously contains 
 may be illustrated by the following particulars: 
 
 Tlie kingdoms of this world pass aicay. 
 
 Cast we an eye over the pages of history, and we soon 
 discover a striking trait of the fashion of this world, and 
 the transitory nature of its greatest glory. The great things 
 of kingdoms, political revolutions, and rising states and 
 nations, are considered by vast multitudes as the glory of 
 the world, and that which eclipses all other glory. These, of 
 course, attract the principal attention of historians, and mul- 
 titudes read concerning them with avidity ; but how true 
 it is, that their glory, whatever it was, is a glory departed! 
 Where now are the I\Ioabites, the Canaanites, the Assyrians, 
 and ancient Egyptians? They can be found only on the page 
 of history. Where now are Babylon, and Nineveh, and Tyre? 
 They were cities once, the wonder of the world and the marts of 
 nations I But they are now levelled in the dust, and inhabited 
 by beasts of prey. Where now are the four great monarchies 
 of the world — the Assyrian, the Persian, the Grecian, and the 
 Roman ? They, according to predictions recorded in God's 
 word, have all, excepting the last, passed away. The image 
 seen by Nebuchadnezzar was of gold, of silver, of brass, and of 
 iron and clay. Nothing remains of it but the toes, which are 
 
of iron and clay. These, in prophecy, represent the kingdoms 
 and states of Europe. In them the seeds of corruption, of 
 intrigue, of irreligion, and of licentious principles and practices, 
 are extensively sown, and are rapidly springing up. And what 
 their end will be we know not, only as we are informed by the 
 sure word of prophecy. In that we are assured that in their 
 pride and vain-glory they must pass away; for this image, as 
 seen in a dream, and interpreted by Daniel, was smitten upon 
 his feet by the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, and 
 scattered like the dust, the chaff of the summer threshing floor. 
 
 The enjoyments of the world pass away. 
 
 Upon every mere earthly enjoyment change and uncertainty 
 are written in the most legible characters. Riches are uncertain 
 as to their attainment, and uncertain in regard to their continu- 
 ance. It is often the case, that men who arrive at what they 
 imagine and call (though very improperly) an independent 
 fortune, are but a step from poverty ! Many striking evidences 
 of this truth have recently come to our knowledge. Riches are, 
 in the word of God, called emphatically, 'uncertain riches.' 
 Hence the direction, ' Charge them that are rich in this world, 
 that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches.' 
 Honors and pleasures also, yea, every gratification arising from 
 the world and its connections, are equally changeful and transi- 
 tory. The enjoyment of them depends, among many other 
 things, upon the blessing of health. But that is, in itself, 
 extremely precarious, and is one of those things which pass 
 away. 
 
 The times, and seasons, and different periods of human life, 
 pass aivay. 
 
 How rapidly, and yet, in many respects, imperceptibly, does 
 the stream of years roll on, bearing with it the frail bark of life ! 
 In the silent flight of time man is almost imperceptibly borne 
 along, through the different stages and periods of life, to an 
 unwasting eternity! As the seasons of the year, — spring, sum- 
 mer, autumn, and winter, — so the different seasons of human 
 life, — childhood, youth, manhood, and age, — in quick succes- 
 sion protrude each other, till each has passed away. 
 
8 
 
 The inhabitants of the world pass away. 
 
 Constantly arc they going oft' the stage of life, and are seen 
 no more. Uj^on some, in every period, every stale, and every 
 circumstance in life, Death lays his heavy hand. Every day 
 and every hour witnesses the departure of many from this world 
 of sin and sorrow. The number of inhabitants upon the earth 
 is, as I suppose, usually estimated at about nine hundred and 
 fifty millions. According to this computation, ' there die yearly, 
 thirty-five millions one hundred and eighty-five thousand one 
 liundred and eighty-five — every week, six hundred and seventy- 
 six thousand six hundred and thirty-eight — in each day, ninety- 
 six thousand six hundred and sixty-two — every hour, four 
 thousand and twenty-seven — and sixty-seven every minutell' 
 AVhat a stream of souls, therefore, is continually borne along 
 'with the tide of lime, to the ocean of eternity!' Some by 
 famine, some by pestilence, and some by the sword of their fel- 
 low men, pass away. The inhabitants of tiie earth are, as one 
 observes, * like the leaves of the trees. They come forth in the 
 spring, and clothe the woods in robes of green. In autumn, 
 they wither and fall. The wintry winds then scatter them on 
 the earth. Another race comes in their season, and clothes the 
 forest again.' Thus the fashion of this world passeth away. 
 More than this — 
 
 The world is itself passing aicay. 
 
 It has once been broken up and changed by a deluge of 
 waters. It is still composed of gross and perishable materials. 
 These all tend to dissolution. It labors under the malediction of 
 heaven. ' It tolls,' as saith the poet, ' the death-bell of its own 
 decease ; and, by the voice of all its elements, preaches the gen- 
 eral doom.' According to divine testimony, it is 'reserved unto 
 fire, and the perdition of ungodly men.' ' Lift up your eyes 
 to the heavens,' saith the prophet, ' and look upon the earth 
 beneath ; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the 
 earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein 
 shall die in like manner.' ' The day of the Lord,' saith the 
 apostle Peter, 'will come as a thief in the night; in the which 
 the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements 
 
9 
 
 shall melt with fervent heat; the earth, also, and the works that 
 are therein, shall be burnt up.' 
 
 That the proposition in the text may be further illustrated, it 
 may here be proper to advert to some of the events and changes 
 which have occurred in this church and town, more especially 
 in the course of the last fifty years. 
 
 The first inhabitant of this town was Mr. Jonathan Hinsdale, 
 from Hartford, (Conn.) in 1750. In 1767 the town was incor- 
 porated ; and in 1769, the Congregational Church was organized 
 by Rev. Samuel Hopkins, of Great Barrington ; and has now 
 the same confession of faith, and form of covenant, which were 
 then adopted. The male members received into the Church, at 
 the time of its organization, were nifie in number ; and by the 
 names of Collins, Tracey, Stanley, Hinsdale, Steel, Bacon, 
 Andrews, Landers, and Richards. For several years after the 
 first settlement of the town, the number of inhabitants increased 
 very slowly. One cause of this was fear of Indian depredations. 
 In 1755, the inhabitants of the town were driven from their 
 homes by the approach of savages, who were instigated to hos- 
 tilities by the French, in Canada. It was not, therefore, till 1770, 
 that the first Minister of the Gospel, Rev. Samuel Munson, was 
 settled in the town. Mr. Munson was from New Haven, (Conn.) 
 He was a graduate of Yale College in 1763, and was a man of 
 good abilities, of ardent piety, sound in the faith, and zealous in 
 promoting the cause of the Redeemer. He lived, however, ' in 
 troublous times.' The revolutionary war occasioned very bitter 
 animosities among the people ; and, subsequently, what is called 
 the ' Shays' insurrection' was productive of much evil in the town. 
 Such was the state of the Church, that, for seven years, the 
 sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not administered to its 
 members. The number of inhabitants in Lenox, according to 
 the census of the United States in 1800, was 1041. In 1820, it 
 was about 1315, and, since that time, it has never varied much 
 from that number. From the time of Mr. Munson's settlement, 
 in 1770, to that of. his dismission, in 1792, was twenty-two years. 
 During that time the Church was not greatly increased in num- 
 bers, and contained but a very few more members at the close of 
 2 
 
10 
 
 his ministry than at the beginning. In October, 1794, your 
 present Pastor came, by Invitation, to preach to this people as a 
 candidate for settlement in the work of the gospel ministry. 
 Having received a unanimous call to become the Pastor of this 
 Church and the minister of this people, he was, in compliance 
 with their request, ordained according to the order of Christ's 
 House, April 30th, 1795. The Ordaining Council consisted of 
 the following Ministers, with delegates from their respective 
 Churches, namely : Rev. Dr. West, Stockbridge ; Rev. Ephraim 
 Judson, Sheffield ; Rev. Dr. Strong, Chatham, Conn. ; Rev. 
 Thomas Allen, Piltsfield ; Rev. Daniel Collins, Lanesborough ; 
 Rev. David Perry, Richmond ; Rev. Alvan Hyde, Lee ; and 
 Rev. Oliver Ayer, West Stockbridge. 
 
 Mr. Perry offered the introductory prayer. Dr. Strong 
 preached the sermon, from 1st of Corinthians, 4th chapter, 1st 
 and 2d verses : ' Let a man so account of us, as of the Ministers 
 of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it 
 is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.' Dr. West 
 offered the ordaining prayer ; ]Mr. Judson gave the charge to the 
 Pastor; Dr. Hyde presented the right hand of fellowship; and 
 Mr. Allen offered the concluding prayer. The first and only 
 meeting-house that had ever been built in the town, was still occu- 
 pied for religious worship by the Congregational Society, when I 
 began my labors here, and eleven years afterwards; or, until 
 this house was dedicated to the worship of God, which was 
 January 1st, 1806. But the old house was so limited in its di- 
 mensions, and in such a slate of decay, that it was thought inex- 
 pedient to have the ordination service performed in it. A stage 
 was therefore erected on the south side of it, for the accommo- 
 dation of the Council. Seats w^ere also amply provided for the 
 convenience of the great concourse who were present on that 
 occasion. 
 
 The whole number of Congrei^^ational Ministers in the 
 County, at the time of my ordination, was fifteen; and the num- 
 ber settled since that time, in different parts of the County, and 
 at different times, is eighty-one. 
 
 I could not learn, from any of the first settlers, that there had 
 
11 
 
 been any particular season of religious revival in this town until 
 June, 1799. It appears that the greatest number ever added to 
 this Church, in the course of one year, was eleven. Tliat^ if I 
 am rightly informed, was in the year 1783. Such was the effect 
 of the unhappy divisions which occurred in the Church, of the 
 numerous interruptions, also, to public religious instruction, and 
 the stated administration of divine ordinances, that, for many 
 years, the message to the Church in Sardis might, with peculiar 
 propriety, have been addressed to this Church. ' I know thy 
 works; that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.' At 
 the time of my ordination, the state of the Church was such as 
 to call for the fervent prayers of all who had a heart to pray. 
 The number of its members was not much greater, perhaps, than 
 it had been for twenty years before, and almost all of them were 
 sinking under the weight of years. No one in early life was a 
 member of the Church. No one in youth had been received 
 into it in the course of sixteen years. To see those who were 
 young, all as one, wasting away their best moments in stupidity ; 
 to view them as dying and accountable creatures ; and yet 
 living, apparently, without a hope, — ' without a wish beyond the 
 grave;' and to see only a few grey-headed people compose 
 almost the whole number of communicants at the sacramental 
 table, could not fail to give feelings, not easily to be described, to one 
 just entering upon the work of the gospel ministry. Well might 
 this Church, as did God's ancient covenant people, when they 
 sat in captivity by the waters of Babylon, hang their harps upon 
 the willows ; for it seemed, indeed, that when the few who were 
 rapidly passing down the vale of time, should be borne to the 
 grave, and delivered from the evil to come, the name of Jesus, 
 in the holy ordinance of the Supper, would, among us, be 
 scarcely had in remembrance. But the Lord hath said, ' I will 
 have mercy on whom I will have mercy,' and glory be to His 
 name ! With Him is the residence of the spirit ; and He can shed 
 down his influences, when and where, and on whom it may 
 seem good in His sight. In the year 1799, he was pleased to 
 make it a day of his power, and to manifest the glory of his 
 grace amongst this people ; and to cause in the midst of us a 
 
12 
 
 shaking among the dry bones. A revival of religion became 
 general in the town at that time ; and, in October of that year, 
 twenty-four persons \vere received into the Church. That was 
 with us a memorable day. Only a small part of the congre- 
 gation had ever before seen a young person publicly engage in 
 the Christian warfare. From the same youthful circle, from the 
 same family, some were * taken,' while others w^ere ' left.' While 
 some parents were so happy as to see their children following 
 them in the Christian profession, others, who were still conscious 
 of being heirs of tliat kingdom which is destined to destruction, 
 saw their offspring fleeing for refuge to the wounds of a bleeding 
 Savior. Husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers 
 and sisters, were separated by that line of distinction which is 
 formed by a religious profession. In this the sovereignty of 
 God was obvious. ' The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice.' 
 Having taken upon themselves the bonds of the Christian 
 covenant, and attended to a particular address to the Church and 
 to them, dictated by the interesting occasion, they, who then 
 publicly united with the visible Church of Christ, sang a hymn, 
 which concluded thus : 
 
 ' Saints; by the jiower of Goil arc kept, 
 Till full salvation come : 
 We walk by faith, as strangers here, 
 Till Clirist shall call lis home.' 
 
 The language to the spectators, in the scene then passing 
 before them, was, ' We are journeying unto the place of which the 
 Lord said, I will give it you ; come thou with us, and we will do 
 thee good; for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel.' A 
 solemn silence was apparent during the whole service. Not an 
 air of levity was for a moment seen on any countenance. The 
 infidel and abandoned man stood appalled ; and to the friends of 
 Zion, the season afforded a prelibation of heavenly joys. The 
 old and the young, who were present, seemed ready to adopt the 
 language of Jacob, when, at Bethel, he aw^oke from a dream : 
 ' How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house 
 of God, and this is the gate of Heaven.' About sixty persons, 
 as the fruits of that revival, were added to the Church. In 1807 
 
13 
 
 there was a partial revival of religion in the north-east part of the 
 town, and a small number of persons were at that time hopefully- 
 brought into the kingdom of Christ. In 1808, God, in his 
 infinite mercy, was pleased to pour out his spirit upon the Church 
 and people, and to awaken, convince, and renew the hearts of 
 many, who had before lived in impenitency and unbelief. The 
 number of persons received into the Church, soon after that re- 
 vival, was fifty-six. In 1815, the means of grace were accom- 
 panied with saving efficacy, and one hundred and sixty-one 
 persons were added to the Church. In 1820, a revival of religion 
 commenced in the Sabbath School, which was for a little season, 
 powerful ; and sixteen hopeful converts were the fruits of it. In 
 the year 1821, there was a general revival of religion in tlie 
 town, and seventy-six persons were added to the Church. In 
 1826 and '7, this Church and people were again blessed with a 
 shower of divine grace, and the number soon after received into 
 the Church was one hundred and twenty-three. In 1830, a 
 more than common attention to the subject of religion prevailed, 
 and the number received into the Church at one time in that year 
 was nineteen. In 1836, forty were added to the Church, as the 
 fruits of a revival of religion that year ; and in 1843, the means of 
 grace were again attended with divine power, and the anxious 
 inquiry was heard, ' What shall we do to be saved ? ' A goodly 
 number were hopefully brought into a saving union to Christ, 
 and sixty-seven persons were admitted to the fellowship and 
 communion of the Church. Thus God, in his mercy and grace, 
 has favored this Church with ten different seasons of the special 
 manifestations of his divine influence accompanying the means 
 of grace which they have enjoyed. 
 
 The character of these several revivals of religion was essen- 
 tially the same. It may, notwithstanding, be useful to describe 
 the appearance of the work in the first instance; because in that 
 there seemed to be less that was exceptionable than in almost 
 any that afterwards occurred. In that revival the immediate 
 hand of Omnipotence was most strikingly exhibited. It was 
 preceded by no providential occurrences that were uncommon. 
 No special judgments were felt at the time. No mere device 
 
14 
 
 or invention of man was attempted, in order ' to g-et vp a revival,* 
 as is somelimes expressed. Only a little time before, people of 
 every description appeared to be slumbering and sleeping as to 
 the subject of religion. Religious instruction was just the same 
 as it Iiad been ; and, so far from being afl'ected by mere sympathy, 
 it was often the case, persons who lived in the same neighbor- 
 hood and in the same family, were greatly distressed in mind, 
 without knowing the feelings of each other; and, as soon as any 
 were really awakened to the concerns of the soul, they seemed 
 at once to be engaged in ac([uiring religious knowledge. The 
 sacred Scriptures were diligently searched, as well as other re- 
 ligious books, especially those that had for their object the 
 illustration of the doctrines of grace. The Bible, as well as 
 books of the description I have mentioned, were read with 
 avidity. Some of those who had always before been regardless 
 of religious truth, and most shamefully ignorant of the doctrines 
 of the gospel, were able, in a little time, to speak of the depravity 
 of the human heart, the nature of sin, the beauties of holiness, 
 and the plan of redemption by Jesus Christ; and, indeed, of all 
 the doctrines, duties, and institutions of the Christian system, 
 with a propriety that was truly astonishing. 
 
 That revival began in the Church ; and I believe that, upon in- 
 quiry, it will be found to be true, that, in almost every instance 
 of religious revival, its first appearance is in the Church of 
 Christ. When God is about to bestow spiritual blessings upon 
 a people, it is his usual method first to awaken his professed 
 friends out of sleep. Before a single instance of conviction of 
 sin was known in this town, in the spring of 1799, a good pro- 
 portion of the members of the Church, in the course of a few 
 days, manifested deep concern for the cause of Christ amongst 
 us. A spirit of fervent prayer seemed to be given them ; and 
 as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth children. When, 
 therefore, the professed followers of Christ grieve the Holy 
 Spirit, — when they have evidently much leanness of soul, — when 
 they are cold in the discharge of incumbent duty, — they can have 
 but little reason to suppose that a shower of divine grace is near 
 them. 
 
15 
 
 A genuine revival of religion most strikingly evinces the 
 importance of all the means of grace which God hath instituted. 
 When once the attention of a people is really called up to the 
 concerns of the soul, how precious in their view, are seasons of 
 prayer ! How precious is God's holy Sabbath Day I How anx- 
 ious are they who are awakened to search the Scriptures I How 
 highly do they prize every opportunity to acquire religious 
 knowledge ! How great would be the distress of such, if they 
 were at once deprived of all opportunity to learn the character 
 of God, to acquire right views of their own moral state, and of 
 the gospel plan of salvation! God works by means in the 
 moral as well as in the natural world. They are not the end, 
 but are necessary to the end. 'Faith cometh by hearing, and 
 hearing by the word of God.' They, therefore, who would grow 
 in grace, and make progress in the divine life, must make the 
 Bible the man of their counsel, and diligently and prayerfully 
 attend on the means which are instituted for that end. 
 
 I here remark, once more, that in reference to the revival of 
 religion in this town in 1799, amongst those who were awakened 
 to attend to religious truth, a remarkable uniformity was apparent 
 in regard to the doctrines which were embraced. Those were 
 such as are usually termed Calvinistic. Such truths as the total 
 and awful depravity of the human heart — the necessity of regen- 
 eration, or a change of moral taste, as a preparation for the en- 
 joyment of the communional blessedness of heaven — the equity 
 of the divine law, in its penalty as well as precept — 
 God's sovereignty and electing love in the salvation of sinners, 
 as constituting the only possible ground of hope in the case of a 
 guilty offender — the necessity of gospel morality as an evidence 
 of justifying faith ; and all the doctrines of the Bible, essentially 
 connected with these, were readily received by all 'with one 
 consent.' 
 
 The whole number of persons received into this Church since 
 my ordination, is eight hundred and fifteen. One hundred and eight 
 of those were received by letters of recommendation from other 
 Churches. No male member of the Church, at the time I became 
 their Pastor, is now living. The last survivor was Mr. Uriah 
 
16 
 
 Judd, who died October, 1839, in the 94th year of his age. Two 
 females are yet living, who were members of the Church when I 
 became connected with it, viz : Mrs. Way, aged 915, and the 
 widow of the late Mr. Abner Bangs, aged 79. 
 
 The present number of members of this Church is two hun- 
 dred and ninety-one. Some of these have gone to reside in dif- 
 ferent and distant places, without having their particular relation 
 to this Church transferred to any other ; and, in some instances, 
 without my knowledge of their present location. Such a course 
 is very improper for professors of religion, and often proves to be 
 injurious to the cause of the Redeemer. In the course of my 
 ministry, I have baptised nine hundred and sixty-nine persons. 
 Six hundred and seventy-nine of those were in infancy. The 
 stated time for the administration of the sacrament of the 
 Lord's Supper, as adoi)ted by this Church when it was organized, 
 is the first Sabbath in each quarter of the year, and has never 
 been omitted but twice since my ordination ; and that was owing 
 to the sickness of the Pastor. My record of deaths within the 
 limits of the town was begun in the year 1803. In tliat year 
 the number of deaths was sixteen. Allowing the number through 
 the seven previous years to have been, upon an average, ten in a 
 year, which is probably a low estimate, and the whole number 
 of deaths, in the town, during my ministry, would be nine hun- 
 dred and fifty -three. The number brought from other places, and 
 buried here in the different grave yards, is 48. Of these, some 
 of all ages, and in all conditions of life, have fallen beneath the 
 stroke of death. Parents, just engaged in the busy scenes of life, 
 have been taken suddenly away from their rising families ; and 
 children have also been arrested by the king of terrors, on whom 
 fond parents had placed sanguine expectations, and that under 
 their fostering care and protection they would be prepared to act 
 an honorable and useful part on the stage of life. But, however 
 unexpected or unprepared, they are gone. Death will invade 
 us by the means appointed, and bounds are set to man's 
 life, beyond which he cannot pass. WeaU must go to the dead. 
 They will not return to us. 
 
17 
 
 ' They 're fix'd in an eternal state, 
 They 've done with all below ; 
 We, a little longer, wait, 
 But Jiow little, none can know.' 
 
 Surely it might be seasonable for us, who yet live, to pause 
 and inquire — what would now have been our state if we had 
 been taken away by death, instead of those whom we have fol- 
 lowed to the grave ? Their call to us, is, ' Be ye, also, ready.' 
 And if we rightly improve their death, it may be a greater bless- 
 ing to us, than if they had been spared longer on earth. 
 
 ' Smitten friends,' says the poet, ' are angels, sent on errands 
 full of love; for us they languish, and for us they die.' Oh! 
 let them not languish — let them not die in vain! This is their 
 call to us from the grave. This is the voice of God to us, in 
 His providence. This is His voice in His word. ' Our fathers — 
 where are they ? And the prophets — do they live forever ? We 
 are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as all our fathers were. 
 Our days on the earth are a shadow, and, there is none abiding.' 
 
 I do not now know of but three men and their wives, living in 
 a family state, who were inhabitants of the town, and married be- 
 fore my ordination ; these are Mr. Titus Parker, Mr. Allen Met- 
 calf and Mr. Barnard Hinsdale, and their wives. Only one man 
 is, to my knowledge, now living, who took an active part in pro- 
 curing my settlement in this place, as a Minister of the Gospel ; 
 and that is Mr. Joshua Carpenter, now residing in Lee. And, 
 as a striking commentary upon the declaration — ' One genera- 
 tion passeth away, and another generation comelh, ' — I may 
 state, that among those who assembled at my house on the first 
 day of January, this year, to present their kind salutations and 
 their tokens of friendship and respect, there were the greatgrand- 
 children of some who were active members of the Congrega- 
 tional Church and Society at the commencement of my ministry. 
 Since the time of my ordination, the number of marriages solem- 
 nized by me is two hundred and seventy-three. During that 
 time, I have attended, by invitation, eighty-five ecclesiastical 
 councils, and have taken an active part in the business of 
 each. No such council, however, has been called by this 
 3 
 
18 
 
 Church, since my connection with it, to aid in settling diffi- 
 culties which have resulted from cases of discipline which, at 
 difierent limes, have occurred in the Church. But, not to dwell 
 now upon the number of sermons I have preached, (which I 
 suppose would average four in a week during my ministry,) or 
 the number of ordinations and ecclesiastical councils I have 
 attended — to say nothing of the sick visited, and funerals 
 attended — parochial visits made and received — passing com- 
 pany entertained — meetings of association attended — occa- 
 sional lectures preached — meetings for prayer attended — vis- 
 iting primary schools and higher institutions of learning — 
 omitting, also, to speak of domestic concerns and other avoca- 
 tions frequently and necessarily occurring, I would draw your 
 attention at once, to the facts of a local nature which I have pre- 
 sented for your consideration at this time, and incjuire if they do 
 not, in your minds, most strikingly illustrate the truth of the de- 
 claration — 'The fashion of this world passeth away?' Ah! 
 how few and fleeting are the days of man upon the earth ! 
 "What changes does a little time make in the circumstances of 
 individuals — of families — of neig[iborhoods — of different so- 
 cieties — of towns — of states and nations — in the Church of 
 Christ — and in the natural and moral state of the world I 
 
 [Here there was a pause in the delivery of the sermon, while 
 a Hymn, the first line of which is — 
 
 ' Hark I the song of Jubilee' — was sung by the choir.] 
 Just fifty years ago this day, and at this very hour of the day, 
 a scene was witnessed, upon this Iti//, of deep moral interest. A 
 youth, just entering u])on the stage of life, buoyant with health 
 and hope, and constrained, as he believed, by love to Christ and 
 to souls, was solemnly consecrated to the work of the gospel 
 ministry, and took upon himself those solemn ordination vows, 
 for the performance of which he must, eventually, answer at the 
 judgment bar. But who, I ask, ever looked forward to fifty 
 years, without viewing it as an almost interminable period? 
 Again I ask, who ever looked back to it, even through the mists 
 that envelope its changes and vicissitudes without exclaiming — 
 ' Surely, life is as a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and 
 
19 
 
 then vanishelh away!' "Who would recognize, in the time- 
 worn pilgrim who now stands before you, with the weight of 
 years heavy on his brow, his sun so near its setting, and his 
 shadow fast lengthening, the same man — the same being — 
 who, fifty years ago, was, by prayer and the laying on of the 
 hands of the Presbytery, stationed upon these heights of Zion, 
 as overseer of a flock then few and feeble? A portion of them 
 however, were men, strong in heart, and noble in purpose; — 
 men who did not shrink at great sacrifices, that they might 
 secure to themselves and their children, those great moral and 
 religious influences which they knew to be absolutely essential 
 to the temporal and spiritual interests of any people. Amidst 
 divisions and bitter animosities they struggled on manfully. 
 The Lord blessed their efforts, and they gradually attained to the 
 calm sunshine of peace and prosperity. How vividly the vis- 
 ion now rises before me of that old church, with its narrow win- 
 dows, and venerable sounding board, and the very places where 
 sat many fathers and mothers in Israeli There they fed upon 
 the bread of life, and so manifested the abiding power of the 
 precious truths of divine revelation in their daily life and ex- 
 ample, as to become goodly pillars and polished stones in the 
 Church of God. They Avere the parents, grand parents, and 
 great grand parents of some who are now before God, in His 
 house of worship, on this occasion. The same glorious rampart 
 of hills still stretches around us, (for in beauty hath the God of 
 Jacob made them,) — the same sky is over our heads — but 
 where now are those fathers and mothers in Israel! Ah I most 
 of them, and the succeeding generation too, have found a quiet 
 resting place in yonder narrow silent halls. There 
 
 ' Friends, kindred and neighbors are laid side by side; 
 But none have saluted, and none have replied.' 
 
 Oh ! what a flood of touching, tender remembrances rushes up- 
 on the mind, at such a review I ' The past revives — the distant 
 now is nigh -r-and shadowy forms come forth in memory's light.' 
 How many interesting family groups now rise before me, with as 
 much freshness as if it were but yesterday that I sat among them 
 — listened to their plans — entered into their joys and sorrows — 
 
20 
 
 and followed them through all their vicissitudes and changes, till 
 death closed the scene, and they all, one after another, were laid 
 side by side, in tliat^ our common home. How many a youth- 
 ful pair, who, full of hope, looked forward to life as one long 
 summer's day, have I united in matrimony, tiiat holy tie which 
 bound them to each other for weal or woe. Upon their infant 
 ofTspring, as they rose in succession around them, I have placed 
 the baptismal seal, and borne witness to their consecration vows 
 to train them up for God, and invoked his blessing, which 
 maketh rich and addelh no sorrow thereto. I have also seen 
 those who were thus dedicated to God, rise in their turn to man's 
 and woman's estate; and, amid a cheerful gathering of bright 
 faces and joyous hearts, have united them in those holy bands 
 which constilnted them heads of families. They, too, became 
 parents, and at this altar, upon tlie third generation have I placed 
 the seal of the covenant. From almost all the houses in the 
 town I have gone with the funeral train to the adjacent grave- 
 yard to perform the last melancholy oihce towards the remains 
 of deceased fellow mortals. Oh I How many a friend do I 
 recall, by whose bed-side I have been, as the shadows of death 
 were gathering thick around him ; and with stricken friends 
 have sought support and consolation for the departing spirit! 
 It was perhaps, a grey-haired sire, full of years and honors, — 
 one who had long lived with an eye fixed on heaven as his 
 home, and had nothing now left to do but to bestow his blessing 
 on his children and the Church of God, and then be gathered to 
 his fathers. The angel of the covenant had come, and, faithful to 
 his promise, stood j)repared to walk with him through death's 
 dark vale. And, blessed be God, we have in many instances 
 witnessed that mosl sublime scene — the Christian bidding adieu to 
 the world and lime, in humble hope of a glorious immortality — 
 a scene sublime indeed, when the departing soul, which seemed 
 to look within the vail, appeared to be so sustained by the pow- 
 er of faith and ilie joy of hope, as it drew near the shore of eter- 
 nity, as to render it a triumphant, yea, almost a joyful scene. 
 Amid the crowd of rushing reminiscences, those scenes come 
 thickening upon me. Often have I seen the father bending 
 beneath the weight of care and responsibility — the father, 
 
21 
 
 whose heart swelled with anxiety and hope, as he cast an eye 
 upon the little helpless group whose sole dependence for protec- 
 tion and support, was, under providence, upon him, stricken down, 
 as in a moment, and have gone with the agonized widow, and 
 grief-stricken little ones, to bury their all of earthly comfort out 
 of their sight. On many a fair youth I have cast my eyes with 
 pleasure, and with almost paternal pride; and, as I watched their 
 ripening virtues, have said to my own heart — ' He will in time 
 become a pillar, or, she will be a polished stone in our Zion.' 
 But the destroyer came, and the places that once knew them 
 shall know them no more forever. Amid the deep mystery and 
 darkness which envelope such dispensations, we could only say — 
 ' Father, Thy will be done.' Ah ! my hearers, none can know 
 what this life-long interest in a people is, but he who has felt it. 
 It is lodged deeply in his inmost soul. It becomes identified 
 with the deepest feelings of his heart, and I had almost said with 
 his very being; so much so, that he comes to regard them very 
 much as the children who were reared around his own hearth- 
 fetone. If there is now and then a wanderer, like the prodigal 
 son, from some household, he enters into the trials and distress- 
 es of the family as if their disgrace or prosperity were a part of 
 his own ; for surely the erring one belonged to his own flock. 
 Often, in the silent hours of night, does he send up to heaven the 
 fervent supplication that the wayward child may yet be restored 
 to virtue and to happiness. I, too, in this long course of years, 
 have known afllictions deep and bitter, and have received from 
 you the tenderest sympathy. Yes, disease has at times laid his 
 blighting hand upon me. Death has also invaded the sanctuary 
 of my heart and home. Many a time have we gone together ia 
 solemn procession to yonder places of the dead — I with you, and 
 you with me ; for the companion of my youth, who bore with 
 me the heal and burden of the day, has gone the way of all the 
 earth. The fair young scion, too, who sprang up by my side as 
 a sun-beam in my path-way, was with the summer flowers cut 
 ofl" to be here no more. Both have been laid in the dark and nar- 
 row house, and the tear of grief has fallen upon it, when no eye 
 saw but His who is omniscient. Most of us, indeed, have felt, 
 
22 
 
 in yonder small inclosure, ' how much the heart can hear.^ Yr?, 
 some of us know, by experience, ' the nerve whence agony is 
 born.' 
 
 In view of the ravages of disease and death, which we have 
 witnessed in the course of our pilgrimage on earth, is not the in- 
 quiry unspeakably important, ' What is the report which our years^ 
 gone with the years beyond the flood, have carried to heaven ; 
 and, what is the report which they ought to have carried there?' 
 Our lives have been preserved, while multitudes with whom we 
 have been conversant have fallen in death. We have enjoyed 
 numerous temporal favors at the hand of God. Have we receiv- 
 ed them with thanksgiving, and improved them to the divine 
 glory? We have been favored with the word of God — have 
 heard the voice of His providence in scenes of mortality which 
 have occurred in the midst of us. Have we wisely improved 
 them ? Or, have we yet the great work to do, not only of dy- 
 ing, but of preparing to die ? If so, it is still more difficult and 
 arduous to do, and far less likely than ever before, that we shall 
 in future be disposed to set ourselves in earnest about it. 
 
 Surely this truth carries solemn admonition to the aged. 
 
 Need they be reminded that the sands in tlieir glass of life are 
 almost out — and that there is but a step betwixt them and 
 death ? Since they began their earthly course they have wit- 
 nessed great changes in all the departments of human life. 
 They find themselves in the midst of a new generation. They 
 have seen new Ministers at the altar — new Judges on the bench 
 — and new Magistrates in the chair of state. They have seen 
 the wilderness turned into a fruitful field — and waste places 
 made fertile and teem with plenty. They have seen the facili- 
 ties of travelling and transaction of business wonderfully multipli- 
 ed by turnpikes and canals, by steamboats and railroads. They 
 have seen cities rise where only a little time since was an un- 
 broken forest. Since their remembrance the world has been 
 convulsed by wars and revolutions — thrones have been over- 
 turned — and the moral and religious aspect of the world great- 
 ly changed. They surely cannot mistake the import of the text. 
 But do they bring it home, and apply it in their own case ? Do 
 
23 
 
 they duly consider that their years pass away as swiftly as the 
 years of others, and that they may have at farthest but two or 
 three left? Do they consider that as far as the days of the years 
 of their pilgrimage are gone, so far they in a sense are dead ? 
 Let all such, therefore, be exhorted to set their houses in order, 
 that they may die ; yea, to stand with their lamps trimmed and 
 burning, waiting, in penitence and prayer, in faith and new 
 obedience, in patience and submission to the will of God, all 
 the days of their appointed time upon earth, till their change 
 come/ On the middle-aged the burden of civil and religious 
 society now rests. Let them feel the responsibility of their sta- 
 tions. Let them strive uniformly to maintain and hand down 
 to posterity, those institutions, in their purity, which their fathers 
 sought, by so great a sacrifice of blood and treasure, to secure to 
 themselves and their children. Amidst the busy scenes and 
 corroding cares of life, let none of them forget that one thing- is 
 needful, and that the present moment is the only one in which 
 they can say — 'It is not too late to repent and return to God.' 
 Another moment may prove their delay to be death. Of what 
 infinite value, therefore, is a moment of time to a sinner unrecon- 
 ciled to God ! On the present moment his eternity of joy or 
 sorrow may be suspended. Let the middle-aged, therefore, while 
 they diligently use the means which God approves, to procure 
 temporal blessings, make it their chief concern to obtain spiritual 
 blessings in Jesus Christ ; and so to live as that the world may 
 be benefited by their having had an existence in it. Yea, let them 
 strive so to discharge all incumbent duty towards God, and them- 
 selves and others, as to leave a savour of Christ's name behind 
 when they quit the stage. 
 
 And may the rising generation remember their Creator in the 
 days of their youth. Forget not, my young friends, that ' the 
 fashion of this world passeth away.' Of this you are reminded, 
 * by the decline and setting of the sun — by the gliding of the 
 moon along in her midnight course — by the motion of the 
 shadow upon the dial, and by the striking of a clock, hour after 
 hour.' These all admonish you of the silent flight of time. 
 They, however, who are at your period of life, are prone to feel 
 
24 
 
 themselves privileged from death. You naturally promise your- 
 selves many days to come of worldly enjoyment, and consider 
 serious reflections upon the subject of mortality to be ill-suited to 
 the bloom and gayety of your years. Trust not, however, :o 
 your youth and vigor. A very fair morning is ofttimes sudden- 
 ly overcast with clouds. Of this you are convinced from your 
 own experience and observation. You have seen some of your 
 equals in age, and many younger than yourselves, borne to the 
 grave. When you see such in the agonies of death, or the 
 corpse of one called away in early life, and borne to the grave, 
 you are solemnly admonished that your months and moments 
 are all determined of God, that the season of your probation 
 will soon be ended, and that you cannot boast of to-morrow. 
 Would you, therefore, be prepared for death ; or, '•ather, would 
 you be prepared to live with any truly comfortable prospects — 
 ' Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.' 
 
 We sometimes hear it said — * We know not where our graves 
 will be.' This, in a general sense, is true. In view of my period 
 of life, however, and its attendant circumstances, I shall proba- 
 bly die here, and be buried in the midst of those to a great pro- 
 portion of whom I have ministered in holy things. You will, 
 doubtless, many of you, behold the cofTm In which I shall be laid. 
 Y'^ou will mark the mortal paleness on this breathless clay. Y^ou 
 will see these eyes closed in death, and this tongue cease to 
 proclaim the glad tidings of salvation to perishing sinners. In 
 mournful procession you will probably follow the sable hearse 
 on which I shall be borne to the house appointed for all living. 
 You will sometimes stand by my grave and talk of me, and of 
 years never to return. It may be, as you cast an eye on the 
 grave in w^hich I am laid, a tender recollection of scenes un- 
 speakably interesting to us, as dying and accountable creatures, 
 will constrain you to drop a tear upon the cold clod under which 
 this worthless body will lie buried. Some of you may, perhaps, 
 stand at times by my grave, to read a silent lecture on mortality, 
 furnished by the plain monument erected there. On that will 
 be inscribed the year, the month, and the day of my departure, 
 for the information of strangers even. O ! that the solemn and 
 
25 
 
 awful day that shall finish my appointed time upon earth, and 
 put a final period to all my labors and designs, may be contin- 
 ually and usefully on my mind while I live ; and may you all 
 have grace so to number your days, as to apply your hearts unto 
 wisdom. Forget not that sooner or later you must all die and 
 pass into eternity ; and whilst friends, or strangers, or enemies 
 are engaged in yonder places of the dead, in reading the date of 
 your departure out of this world, you will be fixed under a de- 
 cisive and unchangeable sentence — rejoicing in the rewards of 
 time well redeemed and improved, or suffering the unspeakable 
 sorrows which must inevitably attend the abuse of it. 
 
 To the people of my pastoral cliarge permit me to say : I 
 have been young, and now am old. Your fathers did not de- 
 spise my youth on account of its weaknesses and imperfections, 
 nor have you, apparently, my old age, under the infirmities 
 attending it. I hope ever to retain a grateful sense of the kind- 
 ness and respect which you have manifested towards me, and 
 which have been continued from fathers to children and children's 
 children 1o this day. It may be that God will suffer me to 
 labor a little longer with you in the work of the ministry. If so, 
 it must be in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 
 On one thing, however, you may rely. I shall bring no neio 
 or ' strange things' to your ears. I have, already, in this dis- 
 course, given you a summary of the doctrines taught and re- 
 ceived in the early part of my ministry. They are such as were 
 inculcated and defended by Edwards, Brainard, Hopkins, Bel- 
 lamy and others, and are essential to that ' gospel of the grace 
 of God' which Paul testified. They are the glorious truths 
 which God blesses in the formation of Christian character and 
 Christian graces. And here I desire to record my unshaken 
 belief, as the testimony of fifty years' experience in the gospel 
 ministry, that they are the only doctrines which afford any 
 ground of hope for saints or sinners. Should I outlive my use- 
 fulness among you, I am, notwithstanding, encouraged, from 
 past experience, to rely much on your patience and forbearance ; 
 on your sympathy also, and compassion, when even all the 
 reward you can hope for, will consist in the satisfaction of having 
 4 
 
'^O 
 
 aided an old man down the steep of age and through the last 
 stages of his weary pilgrimage. The sun to me is fast sinking 
 beneath the western horizon, and as it disappears, and eternity 
 presses on my sight, may I be enabled, through divine grace, in 
 the language of the poet, to say : 
 
 ' Soon shall I pass the gloomy vale ; 
 Soon all my mortal powers must fail ; 
 Oh ! may my last cxjjiriDj; breath, 
 I lis lovmg kindness sing in deaths 
 
 ' Generation after generation,' says one, ' have felt as we now 
 feel, and their fellows were as active in life as ours now. They 
 passed away as a vapor, while nature wore the same aspect of 
 beauty as when her Creator commanded her to be. And so 
 likewise shall it be when we are gone. The heavens shall be 
 as bright over our graves, as they are now around our path. 
 The world will have the same attraction for offspring yet unborn, 
 that she had once for ourselves, and that she has now for our 
 children. Yet a litde while, and all this will have occurred. 
 The throbbing heart will be stilled, and we shall be at rest. Our 
 funeral will wind its way ; its sacred rites will be performed ; 
 the grave clods will be thrown in ; our friends will then return, 
 and we shall be left behind to darkness and to worms. It may be, 
 indeed, that for some short time we shall be spoken of; but the 
 things of life will soon creep in, and our names will soon be 
 forgotten. Days will continue and move on ;,and laughter and 
 song will be heard, perhaps, in the very chamber in which 
 we died. The eye, also, that mourned for us, will be dried 
 and glisten again with joy. Even our children may cease to 
 think of us, and forget to lisp our names. Then, truly, in the 
 toucliing language of the Psalmist, shall ' we become forgotten 
 and clean out of mind.' 
 
 Thus far, my hearers, we have been led to contemplate things 
 pertaining to this world, and the fashion of the world as passing 
 away. And truly many great events have passed in review, 
 and many more will be witnessed by the rising generation. But 
 there is one event to the righteous and the wicked. Though we 
 carry about with us the seeds of death, and must soon fall 
 
27 
 
 before the great leveller of all distinctions, yet we live for eternity, 
 and its retributions await us all. Soon must we pass the vale of 
 death, and enter upon another state of existence. Yes, soon 
 shall we all, Minister and people, appear in the presence of Him 
 who is ordained to be the Judge of quick and dead. Look we 
 along the line of our existence, through the vista of coming cen- 
 turies, and another scene — one of deep, solemn and overwhelm- 
 ing interest, will occur upon this very hill ; for we are assured 
 by Him ' who spake as never man spake,' that ' the hour cometh 
 in the which all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of 
 the Son of Man, and shall come forth ; they that have done good, 
 unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil, unto 
 the resurrection of damnation.' Yes, the day cometh when the 
 trump of God shall sound through Heaven, and earth and sea — 
 break up old marble — and reanimate the multiplied millions, 
 who, in this world of sin and sorrow, have fallen in death. Min- 
 ister and people must then rise, and together stand before the 
 Son of Man, to answer how we have taught, and how we have 
 heard. Then will the long history of Sabbaths — the privileges 
 of social prayer — opportunities to commemorate the dying love 
 of Jesus — lost opportunities of doing good — yea, all the 
 motives by which we have been actuated — be spread out before 
 us as with a sunbeam. In that day of awful disclosure, may 
 we find Jesus our friend, and may he hide us beneath the shadow 
 of his wings, and be to us as a covert from the storm of wrath 
 divine. How indescribably momentous the scene, when we 
 shall see Him on the throne, shall hear His voice, and know that 
 His sentence can never be reversed ! Watch, therefore, for ye 
 know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man 
 cometh. Yet a little while, and the commissioned angel shall 
 lift his hand to Heaven, and swear by Him that liveth forever 
 and ever, that there shall be time no longer. Yet a little while, 
 and the last trumpet shall sound. Then shall yonder sun sink 
 in eternal night — the moon be turned into blood — all the stars 
 of li^ht shall fade — the beauties of creation be blotted out — 
 these\eavens be rolled together as a scroll, and this earth, ' light- 
 ed up by ten thousand fires, shall be dissolved.' Therefore, let 
 
28 
 
 the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his 
 thoughts; and lot him turn unto the liOrd, and He will have 
 mercy on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. 
 Behold now is the accepted time. See that ye refuse not him 
 that speaketh. Let us feci the importance of standing in con- 
 stant readiness for the coming of our Lord. Delay may be 
 death. Can our time be of so little value, that we may any 
 longer throw it away in the eager pursuit of the things that 
 perish in the using ? Throw it away I Throw time away ! 
 
 ' Throw empires, and be blameless. Moments seize. 
 Heaven 's on the wing : a moment we may wish, 
 When Avorlds want wealth to bu).' 
 
ADDRESS. 
 
 [After the Sermon, the Rev. Mr. Todd, of Pittsfield, arose, and 
 made a few extemporary remarks, in substance as follows.] 
 
 I SHOULD do injustice to my own feelings, and no less to the 
 feelings of the nine or ten Ministers of Christ who are present, 
 and who have gathered around the venerable man who has just 
 sat down, and listened to the words which have fallen from his 
 lips, with emotions which do honor to their nature — did I not 
 express my sincere thanks for this privilege of mingling our con- 
 gratulations and our tears with this flock, on this novel and in- 
 teresting occasion. We shall number it among the choicest 
 seasons which occur during our pilgrimage. A rare thing 
 it is for a Pastor to minister to a flock in faithfulness for half 
 a century, and for a Church to sit so long under his ministra- 
 tions, with a profiting that is apparent to all, and with a rev- 
 erence that is ever increasing. By the statistics of the ordina- 
 tions in this County, which have been given in the Sermon, 
 you have hoard how Ministers and people have been given 
 to change. If the pastoral office does not pass away with the 
 fashion of this world, it is pretty certain that Pastors do. The 
 evil of exchanging Pastors is a very great one, and the fault is 
 partly the fault of the Pastor, and partly that of the people. 
 We have feared lest it has come about that the young Minister 
 feels that it is of little consequence whether he first settle in one 
 place or another, since he must servo a kind of ministerial 
 apprenticeship somewhere, and then remove to the right sphere; 
 and that the people begin to feel that if their Minister docs not 
 
30 
 
 receive a call to go away within five years, that it is of itself 
 evidence enough that he is not great enough for them I At any 
 rate, it is refreshing to see a Pastor putting on the golden crown 
 of fifty years since his ordination. 
 
 We are struck, on such an occasion as tliis, at the wisdom of 
 God, in giving Pastors to the Churches of Christ. Your Min- 
 ister has told you briefly what some of his labors have been, — 
 how that he has preached more than ten thousand sermons to 
 you — how that he has attended so many hundreds of funerals — 
 but he has not told you, and he could not do it, how many 
 sick beds he has visited, how many widows and orphans he has 
 met and sympathized with — how many schools he has visited, 
 how many days he has given to higher seminaries — how many 
 meetings for the awakened sinner he has attended, nor how 
 many hours he has lain on his pillow thinking over the respon- 
 sibilities of his situation, and what he could next do for the 
 spiritual good of his flock I You have recalled the past, and 
 seen your Minister in public; but what passes within his study 
 and his own heart — the sorrow and the trials, the hopes and the 
 fears, the joys and the sorrows, which come and go in the course 
 of fifty years — these he could not show you, and he did not 
 attempt it. Oh ! could you see all this, you would understand 
 that it is not age alone that has bowed the strong man, nor years 
 alone that have weighed him down. We admire and praise 
 that grace which has uplield and carried him along, amid the 
 spiritual frosts and fevers of fifty years ; we symj)athize most 
 deeply with the emotions of one who was ordained, probably, 
 before any of these Ministers present were born ; and we con- 
 gratulate this Church on the honor which all her sister Churches 
 will cheerfully bestow, because she has heeded the counsels, and 
 stood by her Pastor, so long and so faithfully. We gather new 
 confidence for the Church of God for the future. It shows that 
 there are nails yet in his temple, fastened in a sure place, and 
 which the Redeemer will not allow any one to draw out. It 
 makes us feel sure that lie who has thus fed and sheltered this 
 flock so long, will still be mindful of it, and will not stifler the 
 seed sown here so long and so faithfully, beside all waters, to 
 
31 
 
 decay, and come to nought. It may lie bmied in the dust for a 
 time, but 'in the end the vision shall speak, and not lie.' 
 
 Some seem unable to comprehend the strength of the attach- 
 ment which subsists between a faithful Minister of the Gospel 
 and the people of his charge. They seem to forget that this 
 relation is, of all others, the most spiritual, and the one that is 
 designed to extend into the ages of eternity. Here is little room 
 for the selfish feelings to have play, while all the purer and holier 
 feelings of the heart are brought into continual exercise. When 
 the family in distress and sorrow has its griefs shared by their 
 Pastor, — when the widow and the orphan sees his tears mingled 
 with theirs, — when the mother lies on her pillow praying for 
 her wandering, distant son, and knows that her Minister is 
 perhaps at that moment praying also for him, — these all know 
 and feel that here is no place for selfishness. It is the work of 
 
 the heart. 
 
 The associations also, which blend in the memory of the 
 labors of an aged Minister of Christ, are peculiar, also, from the 
 fact that they are connected with our loftiest and best emotions. 
 For half a century he has been letting the light of God's char- 
 acter into the mind of his flock. He has been gathermg the 
 rays of divine light, and concentrating them, and pourmg them 
 in upon his people. Whenever they have come in contact with 
 him, they have felt that they were coming in contact with their 
 most enlarged conceptions of truth, their noblest aspirations after 
 what is good, and the most earnest and far-reaching desires of 
 the soul. He takes off the eye from beholding vanity, - he raises 
 their thoughts above the little sorrows and vexaUons ot liie,-- 
 he helps them to look over their mutual frailties and faults, and 
 cheers them with the hope that they will one day meet in a state 
 of unalloyed blessedness. By the light of God's great truths, 
 he aids them to subdue themselves, he enlarges then: vision, he 
 expands their intellect, and shows them the divine character as in 
 a glass, till they are changed from glory to glory, ^o wonder 
 when such a man is taken away, the people 'weep most of all 
 that they shall see his face no more.' ^ 
 
 Most sincerely, Reverend Sir, do these younger Ministers of 
 
32 
 
 the Gospel sit down at your feet, to-day, with reverence and love. 
 We rejoice in that grace which has enabled you to be so faithful, 
 and in that Providence which has spared you so long to labor in 
 this beautiful vineyard. We rejoice in that mighty testimony 
 which you bear to-day, that, at the close of a ministry of fifty 
 years, you are more and more confirmed in those great and 
 glorious doctrines of the Cross, which were the cherished belief 
 of our Puritan fathers, and which have brought our New Eng- 
 land Churches up into the spring-tide of the latter day glory. 
 We rejoice in those outpourings of God's spirit, on an average 
 once in five years, which have kept this garden so fresh, its plants 
 so vigorous, and its flovv'crs so beautiful. Sir, tiiough you may 
 soon be called to leave a spot so endeared, you will not go fi'el- 
 ing that the fire on this altar, which you have so long nurtured, 
 is to go out, or its flame grow dim. The children shall be 
 instead of the fathers, it is true ; but your hand shall be felt here 
 long after it is cold in the grave, and your labors here shall per- 
 petuate themselves in the long years of the future. This flock 
 will have to let another generation pass away, ere your voice 
 ceases to sound here, or the memory of your form ceases to rise 
 up before the mirror of that memory. Your most beautiful mon- 
 ument shall be reared in their hearts. And, should your brethren 
 in the ministry outlive you, and be called to follow you to yonder 
 grave-yard, there is not one of us who will shed tears of 
 gratitude and sorrow who will not have his faith strengthened 
 by your example, arid pray that the mantle of our father may 
 fall on us I 
 
 Oh I who of us will ever witness another scene like this I 
 When another fifty years shafl return, that sun will be shining 
 as at this hour; and these hills will stand around as they now 
 do, and throw their shadows upon these beautiful valleys, and 
 others will fill these seats, — but we — where shall we be? All, 
 all will have passed away! Oh I that we may so live that we 
 may meet above in that pure world where age shall not bring 
 infirmities, where sin shall not reign, and where, amid joyful 
 gatherings, tears shall not fall because separations are so soon to 
 follow. 
 
LIBRARV OF CONGRESS 
 
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