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NEW LIGHT IN OLD PATHS.

THE

SUBSTANCE OP A SERMON

PREACHED AT THE

DEDICATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH,

IN ONARGA, ILL.,

NOVEMBER 13, 1859.

BY REV. HENRY M. BACON,
Pastor of ths Old School Presbyterian Church,
coyinotoh, ixd.

ALSO, A SKETCH OP THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH, FROM ITS ORGANIZATIOK
TO THE PRESENT TIMB.

CHICAGO:
PRESS AND TRIBUNE PRINT 51 CLARK ST.
/ 1860.

The following plea for " the old paths " is respectfully sub
mitted to all who contend earnestly for the faith once deliv
ered to the Saints. The Church and Congregation to whom
it was preached, requested the author to prepare it for pub
lication. Yielding to their wishes he has endeavored, amid ,
the manifold interruptions of pastoral duty, largely increased
by unusual religious interest in a widely scattered congre
gation, to re-produce the thoughts presented on the occasion
for which this discourse was prepared. It may seem pre
sumptuous to request the publication of a sermon, preached
at the dedication of a house of worship, in so small a place ;
and it may seem equally presumptuous for one " unknown
to fame " to come before the whole Church with a vindica
tion of our rites and polity. In behalf of those to wbose
request he has yielded, it should be understood that the
Church at Onarga, though young and small, is by no means
insignificant. It is the pioneer Church of our order, in a
wide and fertile section of country rapidly filling up. Their
diligence, their self-denial, and their success, would seem to
justify them in proclaiming the principles upon which
we rest, the precedents we follow. We rejoice to know
that this Church is but a type of many others in all parts
of the land. Eor this reason it is hoped that the pastors
of such Churches, and the Churches themselves will find
this discourse ,nota altogether without profit. Should it
seem to any that its tone is too laudatory towards our
Church, and too prompt, or even defiant toward those who
seek to supplant her, we would remind them that our Church
is the object, (not so much in the place where this ser-

mon was preached, but in this region of country generally,)
of unsparing, and we regret to add, unscrupulous abuse. In
defending her, the author could not seem to be indifferent.
He must repel aspersion with somewhat of honest indigna
tion. He confesses that he plead the cause of this dear old
Church with the earnestness, and indeed with the fondness
of an affectionate child. For himself, the author would
humbly adopt this salutation of the mighty but child-like
Coleridge : " Fellow Christian, the wish to be admired as a
fine writer held a very subordinate place in my thoughts in
the composition of this " sermon.
H. If. B.

DEDICATION SERMON.

"Thus saitll the Lord. Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths,
where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls." —
Jer. 6: 16.
Ours is called the age of progress. No limit may be set to
man's inquiries. In every direction, above him, amid the
countless host of heaven ; beneath him, through, the ages
equally countless, that are notched upon the upheaved and
distorted strata, man pursues his restless, resistless course ; un-
appalled by any consequences, which may follow ; unawed
by any dictum of revelation, he may seem to contradict. The
same reckless spirit is manifested in the treatment of our rela
tions to our Creator, and each other. Every notion, every
opinion, every belief is summoned to the bar of human reason,
and required to produce the title, by which it holds its place
in the regard of men. No prescription of antiquity, no in
vestiture with religious reverence, can save a doctrine from
being buffeted by rude hands, or at the very best, from being
scrutinized by keen eyes. No matter through what ages it
may have borne rule, or by what multitudes of men it may have
been, or is now implicitly believed and devoutly cherished,
the time may be near at hand, when it, too, shall be over
borne and trampled under foot in this resistless march of in
tellect. Indeed, there are some whose chief, if not their only
reason for the rejection of certain opinions is, that these have
come down to us from former times, or are held by the ma
jority of those about them. Their idea of progress is not the
acquisition of new truth, but the rejection of old. As if one
must dig out his eyes because a telescope has been invented,
or refuse to look at the flower that blossoms at his feet, because
the nebula in Orion has been resolved. These people are rich
because they have thrown away the old gems, worn and pol
ished by the current of time, and have supplied themselves
with paste diamonds of the latest style. And even among
those who would despise, as all thinking men must, this pue-

rile progress, which prefers a new toy to an old treasure, there
is yet at times such heedless haste, as leads to the rejection
of that which is old because it is old. Surely, in this free,
thinking age, one may be allowed to suspect that when men
rush on in this spirit, there is likely to be very little actual
advancement. Still it is evident that there is a wide, if not a
deep ferment of society, in almost every land. Especially
among us, there is intense activity in every department of
life, and in many directions, real and rapid progress. The
type of our times is the adventurous youth scaling Alpine
precipices, whose Excelsior cry is flung down to us from hitherto
untrodden heights. >
The completion of this house of worship marks, not only an
era in your progress as a community, but seems also to furnish
a fitting occasion to inquire, what is the position , maintained
amid this strife of the social elements, by that Church for the
use of one of whose congregations this building has been
erected ? The very name by which men call us, — the Old
School Presbyterian Church, — a name which we are far from
disowning, will show you that no one need to look for us in
the van of that undiscerning progress, which turns to rend the
past, in return for the pearls which she transmits us. Indeed,
there are those who think that to us, better than to any other
Communion, may be applied that famous declaration, uttered
many years ago, by a divine of another denomination, that his
church was " like an iceberg in an ocean of fire." Even while
we seek to vindicate ourselves from this charge, we must still
confess that we cannot reject that which is old, because it is
old ; but that on the contrary, the traditions of our history, the
fundamental principles of our belief, the central, controlling
ideas of our theology, compel us to ask for the old paths, and
to walk therein, that we may find rest for our souls. To some
of these constraining influences I now invite your attention,
that you may see why it is, that amid the deluge of new
schools, and new measures, and new theologies, with which
the Church has been afflicted, we have still constantly pro
tested that " the old is better." Some of these things we hold
in common with all Evangelical churches ; some of them per-

haps more strongly and tenaciously than they are held by
others, and some of them may be said to be peculiar to us as
a Church, but all of them we reckon among the things which
are revealed, which belong to us and to our children. We
speak of them then as ours, not intending to exclude others
from the possession and enjoyment of these truths, but simply
to assert our reception of them, and their influence over us.
,First, then, I remark that the object of our worship is no
invention of modern times. The God whom we adore is that
very God with whom Enoch walked, before whom Abraham
fell on his face, with whom Jacob wrestled through the long
night at Penuel. " The fear of Isaac " still bears for us " this
glorious and fearful name — The Lord Our God." We seek
" the good will of him that dwelt in the bush." When we
read the Psalms of David, we say with him : " this God is our
God forever and ever : he will be our guide even unto death."
Furthermore, we find in these writings of Hebrew herdsmen,
and fishermen, and tent-makers, the most accurate description
of the character of our God ; the clearest, simplest, most accu
rate setting forth of his attributes. The discoveries of philos
ophers have added nothing to the statements of the Scriptures,
nor have they compelled us to alter or amend their phraseol
ogy.* The most that science has done, and we believe the
* A contrary doctrine might be inferred from the following unguarded state
ment in the writings of one eminent for his attainments in physical science,' as
well as for the uniformly devout and reverent spirit which pervades all his writ
ings. "Constant reference is made to material images, and to human feelings and
conduct, as if tbe people addressed were almost incapable of spiritual and ab
stract ideas. This, of course, gives a notion of God, infinitely beneath the glo
ries of his character ; but to uncultivated minds, it was the only representation
of his character that would give them any idea of it. Nay, even in this enlight
ened age, such descriptions are far more impressive than any other upon the mass
of mankind ; while those whose minds are more enlightened, find no difficulty in
inculcating the pure truth respecting, God, from these comparatively gross
descriptions." (Hitchcock's Religion and Geology, p. 35.) We hold, on the con
trary, that these descriptions are most impressive for all men, that they mislead
no one who will take them according to the analogy of faith ; that this enlight
ened age cannot improve upon them, and that alike for the cultivated and for
the mass, they are most simple, most accurate and complete. And to show how
depth in philosophy bringeth men back again to the old paths, take the following
passage from Mansel's Limits of Religious Thought — "In all that relates to the
feelings and duties, by which religion is practically to be regulated, we cannot
help observing how the Almighty, in communicating with his people, condescends
to place himself on what may, humanly speaking, be called a lower level

8
most it can do, is to set in a clearer light the attributes as-
scribed to God in the Scriptures, and to illustrate the truth of
their declarations, thus showing that amid the profound dark
ness of Paganism, these simple men of the olden time had in
some way acquired a correct idea of the Divine Being. This
fact alone is sufficiently wonderful, and inexplicable on human
principles, to justify us in asking for their old paths. But it is
still more wonderful that, as to many lines of argument in
proof of the existence of God, and as to many of the most strik
ing illustrations of His character which the mind of man has in
vented, or the progress of science has revealed, naturalists and
metaphysicians have been anticipated by these ancient, and
than that on which the natural reason of man would be inclined to exhibit Him.
While His personality is never suffered to sink to a merely human representa
tion ; while it is clearly announced that His thoughts are not our thoughts, nor
His ways our ways, yet His Infinity is never for a moment so manifested as to
destroy or weaken the vivid reality of these human attributes, under which He
appeals to the human sympathies of His creature. The Lord spoke unto Moses
face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. He will listen to our supplica
tions : He will help those that cry unto Him : He reserveth wrath for his ene
mies: He is appeased by repentance: He showeth mercy to them that love Him.
As a King, He listens to the petitions of His subjects : as a Father, he pitieth
his own children. It is impossible to contemplate this marvellous union of the
human and divine, so perfectly adapted to the wants of the human servant of a
divine Master, without feeling that it is indeed the work of Him who formed the
spirit of man, and fitted him for the service of his Maker." (pp. 148, 149.)
Considering that our idea of God, and of the sources from which that idea is de
rived must give character to all our theology, the reader will excuse the length
of this note, and also the citation of the following passage from the declarations
of one, who is reckoned by many " a master in Israel." " Their (the Apostles')
natures were so undeveloped, that it was scarcely possible for them to under
stand more than the lowest forms of spiritual things. Any spiritual truth, before
it could come within the range of their understanding, had to be clothed in ma
terial forms, or in such thought as was the lowest representation of the spiritual."
(A Familiar Lecture, by Henry Ward Beecher, reported in the Independent, Nov.
10th, 1859.) If, now, their natures were so undeveloped, how can we take their
statements as final and decisive, not as needing the explanations and improve
ments of " this enlightened age," but as intended to check and guide our erratic
movements. It may be said that this description of the Apostles was meant to
apply only to their condition previous to their baptism with the Holy Spirit. In
this sense it was doubtless true of them to some extent, as it is of all, the eyes
of whose understanding have not been opened. But then this should have been
distinctly stated, and surely one who knows so well how to use language, could
say plainly what he meant. As this declaration stands in the report from which
it is taken, it is an insidious, but deadly assault upon the foundations of our
faith. It is by such apparently harmless declarations, accompanied by much
that is clearly and positively true and good, that error is most widely and most surely
disseminated. We who adhere to " the old theology," may be over-scrupulous
and too easily alarmed, but "obsta principiis" is our motto, and we feel to resist
and protest against the first and slightest deviation from " the old path." We
stand in the way and ask for these, and are suspicious, we confess, of everything
which seems even to lead away from them.

9
judged by the standard of " this enlightened age," illiterate
writers. Has " stareyed science " demonstrated the existence
of God so clearly, that it is held not a poet's rhapsody, but
sober truth, that " an undevout astronomer is mad ?" Did not
David, a greater poet, sing ages ago : " The heavens declare
the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork."
Does the astronomer, however devout, as he comes back from
his flight across the measureless reaches of space, which sepa
rate suns and systems from us and from each other ; after hav
ing seen but the dim reflection of their unutterable glory and
magnificence, does he declare that it all but passes belief, that
frail man on his little ant-hill world, should be the object of
absorbing interest to "the Great Supreme;" and, if these
countless worlds be inhabited, to the innumerable company of
angels. The Psalmist had the same feeling when he cried' out,
perhaps as he "watched his flocks by night," "When I con
sider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the
stars, which Thou hast ordained, what is man that Thou art
mindful of him, and the son of man that Thou visitest him ?
For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and
hast crowned him with glory and honor." Does the mental
correct the physical philosopher, declaring with Pascal, " man
is but a reed, the frailest in nature, but he is a reed that thinks.
It needs not that the whole universe should arm itself to crush
him ; a vapor, a drop of water, will suffice to destroy him.
But should the universe crush him, man would yet be nobler
than that which destroys him." But our Lord had already
and for all time corrected the tendency, so characteristic of
our times, to exaggerate the importance of physical science
and material interests, by that decisive question — " Are ye not
much better than they ?" And this declaration, be it remem
bered, was made in connection with an assertion of the supe
rior external glory of other parts of God's works. Paley con
structed an unanswerable argument for the being of God, and
a clear demonstration of his perfections from " the things that
are made." But this train of reasoning is indicated, or at
least suggested in the following utterance of the patriarch Job :
" Ask now the beasts and they shall teach thee ; and the fowls

10
of the air and they shall tell thee : or speak to the earth, and
it shall teach thee ; and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto
thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the
Lord hath wrought this ?"*
Geology, a science which has come into being since the days
of Paley, claims to have augmented the resources of Natural
Theology, if in- no other way, certainly by giving additional
and "striking evidence of the Divine benevolence." For
instance, it is said " as the metals and their ores are usually
heavier than other rocks, we should expect that they would
have accumulated at the centre of the globe, and have been
enveloped by the rocks, so as to have been forever inac
cessible to man. " " Yet, by means of sublimation, and
expansion by internal heat, or the segregating power of
galvanic action, or of some other agents, enough of the metal
is protruded toward the surface, and diffused through the rocks
in beds, or veins, so as to be accessible to human industry."!
Job seems to have undersood something of this when he said :
" Surely their is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold when
they fine it. Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is
molten out of the stone. — As for the earth, out of it cometh
bread : and under it is turned up as it were fire. The stones
of it are the place of sapphires ; and it hath dust of gold."
It has been held that Paley did not rise to the height of his
great argument in that he failed to infer the personality of the
Creator, his possession of will and intelligence, from the
fact that man possesses them, on the acknowledged principle,
that an effect cannot transcend its cause. But this principle
is appealed to in the Scriptures, and this precise application of
it is made : " He that planted the ear shall he not hear ? He
that formed the eye shall he not see ? He that chastiseth the
heathen shall not he correct ? He that teacheth man knowl
edge shall not he know ? "
Other illustrations might be given:): of what would perhaps
* The substance of Paley's argument is actually given, as is well understood
by all who have thought upon the matter, in Rom. 1: 19, 20. '
\ Hitchcock's Religion and. Geology, p. 200.
X See, for instance, the brief but exhaustive summary of the argument from
Natural Theology, taking that phrase in its widest sense, contained in Paul's speech

11
by some be called the wonderful sagacity of those who wrote
this old book, sufficient, one would think, to justify our walk
ing in its old paths, even in the eyes of those to whom it bears
no sanction of Divine authority. But for us, who trace their
faultless descriptions of God and their unanswerable argu
ments for His existence to that " inspiration of the Almighty"
which " giveth wisdom " as the only rational way of account
ing for the promulgation of such views at such times ; for us
it is impossible to # reject that which is old because it is old.
We cannot discredit in any way or in the least degree this
witness, who has never been impeached and never successfully
contradicted. When any upstart science or beardless philoso
phy presumes to attack any of our outposts, remembering
how often He, " who abideth ever of old," has vindicated his
own truth, we can " calmly sell the ground on which our ene
mies are encamped," assured that sooner or later it will return
to our possession. Worshipping the same God with patriarch,
and prophet, and apostle, relying implicitly on their testimony,
we say with them to Him, who taught them all they have
transmitted to us : " in thy light shall we see light."
2. We adhere to the old paths because we regard the Church
as bound to maintain the truth set forth in the Scriptures, set
for the defense of the Gospel, called of God to be the pillar
and ground of the truth, to uphold it against the opposition of
men, and to proclaim and preserve it amid general neglect.
And believing that this truth which we are to maintain and
proclaim, is " the truth as it is in Jesus," the task which we
set before the Christian minister is to expound in all the
Scriptures the things concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, his
person and work. He is a preacher of the Gbspel, not a mere
moral instructor. His business is to " preach the word," the
whole word, and nothing but the word; going fearlessly
wherever that word leads him, and stopping always where it
stops. True, he is to apply this word to all the relations and
on Mar's hill ; in which he argues first from the works of Creation and Provi
dence to the existence of God and the propriety of worshipping him, and then
shows conclusively the personality of God, and thus the folly of both pantheism
and polytheism, from the personality of man. Can "this enlightened age" fur
nish a more thorough confutation of the errors and vagaries of its sophists ?

12
circumstances of men. , But in doing this he is to know
nothing save Jesus Christ and him crucified ; presenting him
as the bond of every duty, the ground of every hope,
the life of every joy. If he would enlighten men he
must lead them to Him who is the light of the world.
If he would elevate them, he must point them to Him
who was lifted up, that he might draw all men unto him
self. If he would comfort them, he must bid them give
heed to the gracious invitations of Him who alone can give
rest to their souls. In doing this and this alone, we believe
he is doing the most that he can, the most that any one can to
reform and elevate man. A clear understanding of this sim
ple work of "the ministry of reconciliation" would have
saved us much of that " mal-practice " in the pulpit, which
has been and must be equally disastrous to the Church and
the world. It is to this our view of the calling of an " am
bassador for Christ " that we owe, under God, our persistence
in the " old measure " of preaching the Gospel as the
Sov'reign balm, whose virtues can
Restore the ruined creature — man.
For you must remember that in presenting the grace of God
that bringeth salvation as the only sure and safe relief for
all the ills and woes of life, we are only following in the foot
steps of prophets and apostles. Upon this point we have no
new light. No " logic of events " has driven us back upon
the Gospel, as the only reliable remedy for the evils that
afflict us. We are doing, we desire to do only what we have
done heretofore ; carrying out steadily our convictions as to
the efficacy of the Gospel and the work of the ministry. Our
only anxiety is to do this more faithfully and successfully,
walking more steadily in " the old paths."
Our remedy for all the wrong and error of earth is thus of
high antiquity. We claim to have made no improvements.
We preach no progressive Christianity. The truth unto sal
vation was as well understood, certainly, by the Apostles* as
by us. It was set forth by them in a manner so clear and ex
plicit, as to leave us the simple task of showing how full and
* See note, page 1.

13
exhaustive are the statements which we find in their writings.
It was applied by them, perhaps as widely, and certainly as
successfully, as it ever has been since. We are content to apply
it as they applied it, rejoicing that, like them of old, we can go
" everywhere preaching the word ;" for all the progress man
has made, has only served to show how thoroughly our Lord
knew what was in man, and how confidently we may rely
upon his gracious call : "if any man thirst let him come unto
me and drink." Disregarding every " lo here," and " lo there"
of this restless, scheming age, we say still to Him that liveth
and was dead, and is alive for evermore : " Thou hast the words
of eternal life ; and we believe and are sure that Thou art that
Christ, the Son of the living God." Amid all the turmoil and
discord of this boasted progress, we fearlessly declare that we
are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. We rejoice that we
are allowed of God to be put in trust with a Gospel which has
for ages shown itself to be the power of God and the wisdom
of God ; which is still working with unspent energy and un
diminished virtue in every part of the world ; humbling it
self to the weakest intellect, and lifting itself up above
the grasp of the mightiest, thus proclaiming itself, always
and everywhere, the one thing needful for the soul of man.
3. But we claim for the Gospel which we preach an an
tiquity which transcends the bounds of time. It is a " matter
of constant faith " with us that the word of faith which we
preach had its origin in an eternal covenant of redemption,
and all that it has accomplished or shall accomplish is but the
fulfillment of an eternal purpose. "The revelation which
God has made of himself in his word is but the record of the
execution of his Eternal Decree, and the publication to the
world in time of the proceedings had in the counsels of eter
nity, "* and when any who were dead in trespasses and sins
are quickened and raised up, and made to sit together in hea
venly places in Christ Jesus ; we believe not only that it is
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that has blessed
them with all these spiritual blessings in Christ, but that he

* Robinson's Church of God, page 37.

14
has done this according as he hath chosen them in him, before
the foundation of the world. You will see, then, that the an
tiquity of a doctrine or a practice affords to us no presumption
against it, since that Gospel of which we are most confident, and
to which we are most attached, reaches back for its origin into
a dateless eternity, of which we can only say, such is the pov
erty oi human language, that it was " before the foundation of
the world." And let no one say that this notion of an eternal
covenant of redemption applied and accomplished in the out
working in time of au eternal purpose, is an abstraction too
subtle and impalpable to have any appreciable influence in be
getting or cherishing a reverence for " the old paths." All
history testifies that it is by just such abstractions — such great,
central, controlling ideas that man's life and activity, his
progress, have been determined. The philosophy of Yoltaire
was the slow match that lighted the fires of the first French
Revolution, which showed so clearly what progress man makes
when he turns aside from the old paths in which God would have
him walk. And not only such great events, but the every day
conduct and abiding character of individuals and communi
ties, are moulded and fixed by principles so fundamental as or
dinarily to lie entirely out of sight to the superficial observer.
It is, therefore, never safe for men to err in regard to these, since
their error sooner or later will be seen, and if not seen must
be felt. Our belief in an eternal covenant, ordered in all
things, and sure, exerts a powerful, and as we believe, a most
blessed influence upon the life of our Church ; not only upon
her doctrine, but since " truth is in order to goodness, " neces
sarily upon her practice too. Still further to explain, if I may
not justify the tenacity with which we adhere to the old paths,
I notice one or two important points upon which our views are
greatly affected by our belief in the eternal purpose of God
" to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery,
which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God,
who created all things by Jesus Christ : to the intent that now
unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might
be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God."
1. It leads us to believe in the identity of the Church in all

15
ages and under every dispensation. Our belief in this is not
a mere matter of inference. On the contrary we hold it to
be clearly and explicitly taught in the Scriptures.* Had it
not been thus revealed, it is doubtful whether we could have
discovered it, it is certain we could not have positively as
serted it.f But when once it is revealed, we can easily see
how it falls into symmetry with, and indeed grows out of an
eternal covenant of redemption administered throughout all
time, in accordance with and in fulfillment of one eternal pur
pose. By a bond no less close and indissoluble than this
eternal purpose, are we united to the ancient servants of our
Lord. We have with them one Lord and one faith. We
shake hands across the ages with patriarch and apostle, declar
ing with the one, " I know that my Eedeemer liveth," and
with the other, " I know whom I have believed." We say of
them all, " these all died in the faith." And as the basis of
their faith, we find the same gospel in every part of the
Scriptures. Deliverance from sin through the blood of the
everlasting covenant is constantly proposed as the great bless
ing bestowed or to be bestowed upon God's people. This
deliverance was as surely guaranteed in the first promise given
in the garden as in the cry " it is finished," with which our
Lord yielded up the ghost, and announced the completion of
his work as an atoning priest. We find the "gospel in
Ezekiel " as well as in John ; as plainly set forth in the fifty-
third chapter of Isaiah as in the eighth chapter of Romans.
But we are not content with scattered and occasional refer
ences to the Messiah, however clear. The whole Old Testa
ment is full of Christ. In every rite, before the eye of every
saint, in the heart of every believer, we see him of whom
Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus Christ, the
same yesterday, to-day, and forever. Not but that God hath
provided some better thing for us, that they without us should
* Acts 1: 38. Rom. 11: 1% 23, 24. Gen. 11: 1—10.
\ Of course by this is not meant that we must find some place where the
Scriptures say " the church is one in all ages," or we are not justified in assert
ing this. But we must find the truth there. Just as we do not need that the
New Testament should say, " you must baptize children," but we must find this
practice, as we do, enjoined and recognized.

16
not be made perfect, but then we must walk in the old paths
worn by their feet, if we would find rest to our souls. If the
Old Testament is, as we acknowledge, inexplicable, an insolu
ble enigma, separate from the New, so too is the New incom
plete, comparatively incoherent and superficial, apart from the
Old. For instance, if, as we all agree, the Jewish rites and
sacrifices were empty and worthless, mere child's play, except
as they are seen to prefigure Him. who abideth a priest con
tinually, and as they assured the ancient people of God of his
coming to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, so too, no
one can properly appreciate man's need of that sacrifice, and
the preciousness of the price which has been paid for our
redemption, who does not see what pains God took by all the
arrangements of the Hebrew economy, to interweave this
whole system of truth with the daily life of his ancient people.
It would seem as if God founded a school among the Jews.
for the purpose of teaching by slow, tedious, but indispensa
ble methods, that " without shedding of blood there is no re
mission of sin." It needs still, for the clear understanding
and the full effect of the word of faith which we preach, that
this training of a nation, protracted through ages, should be
repeated in the case of every individual, and compressed
within the compass of a few years. Christianity is, indeed, as
Tholurk says he learned by his progress in knowledge, " a tree
without root, as long as it is not understood in its intimate
connection with God's revelation of salvation in the Old Tes
tament." Believing, then, that the Church is one in all ages,
and that to this one Church has been " given by inspiration "
of God, " that Scripture, all of which is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished
unto all good works," we are constrained to ask for the old
paths. We cannot put the Old Testament upon a lower level
than the New, or look askance at the Church that was in the
wilderness. Not only unto us was the Gospel preached, but
also unto them, though the word preached did not profit them
(as it is even now a savor of death unto death,) not being mixed
with faith in them that heard it. Howbeit, not all that came

17
out of Egypt by Moses, for even then there was, as we be
lieve there always has been, certainly since the days of righte
ous Abel, " a remnant according to the election of grace." This
" sacramental host of God's elect " not only worshipped the
same God with us, they trusted in the same Eedeemer. They
have washed their robes and made them white in that blood
of the Lamb, which avails
To cleanse our souls from sin
And bring us near to God.
It does not so much follow from our belief in the iden
tity of the Church, under every dispensation, as it is neces
sarily involved in it, that we maintain the perpetual val
idity of the Abrahamic covenant. This covenant, of which
so much is said, is nothing more and, blessed be God, nothing
less, than the simple, but infinitely gracious assurance given by
God to Abraham, that He would be a God to him and to his
seed in their generations. This covenant, carrying with it all
the privileges and blessings accruing under it, we hold to be
still in force. Since " they which be of faith are blessed with
faithful Abraham," who is the father of us all, this Abrahamic
" covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ," must
be the only charter by which we can hold our place in the
Church of the living God. True, the Sacrament which signs
and seals this covenant, has been changed, but this " cannot
disannul " the covenant, " that it should make the promise of
none effect." A new seal has been provided and the old die
is broken, but of the government itself there has been no ab
dication. The oath of allegiance has been altered as to its
phraseology, but as to its force and significance, it remains in
tact and unimpaired. This Abrahamic covenant is expressly
declared to be " everlasting," and we rejoice in the assurance
that if we be Christ's, then are we Abraham's seed and heirs
according to the promise.
It has been held by some that this view of the Abrahamic
covenant is one of the most striking peculiarities of our
Church.* Certainly it is matter of " constant faith" with us,
* " But when these great master workmen, the two Johns of Geneva and Ed
inburgh, set up a separate party, they determined to have a bridge of their own.
2
V

18
and is one of our most cherished principles. How vital and
controlling is this idea, not only in our system of faith, but
also (alas that we cannot say equally*) in our practice, you
will perceive, when you consider, that this belief in the per
petuity of the Abrahamic covenant leads parents among us to
devote their children to God in baptism. And this is not a
vain thing, it is our life. The Presbyterian Church owes more
under God to her household training, than to any other influ
ence she has brought to bear upon the Church or the world.
She has not run over the land like wild-fire. She may not be
in the van of progress ; she may not be adapted to all ranks
and classes, as some suppose, though I for one protest against
this notion ; she may be too tenacious of the old paths, and
too suspicious of novelties, but she has done good service, even
her enemies themselves being judges, by the children who
have been reared in her bosom, and whose characters have
been moulded by her theology. Like the
 noblest Roman of them all,
That mother good and wise,
she can point to her sons and her daughters as her richest
Now, as they did not use the dientals for abutments, they must needs rely upon
a pier, and for this they needed a foundation in the river itself. There had once
been a rock in the middle of the stream, called the rock of Abraham, by means
of which the great prince whose name it bore, was authorized and enabled to
take himself and his infant son across the river. This stood till the days of
Paul, the Iconoclast, who, finding the early pilgrims much attached to this Rock
of Abraham, blasted it, and blowed it into fragments, as he thought, to its very
base. But so soon as this necessity arose, by sounding the depths carefully, the
ridge of this old rock was reached, and forthwith, in spite of the denunciations
of the stockholders in the Roman and English bridges, the famous Presbyterian
bridge was built upon a single pier." (Modern Pilgrims, Vol. 1, p. 26.) It is
not so clear, as this author seems to think, that this doctrine is peculiar to us ;
but if it be, we are not ashamed of it. In the name of our God we set up our
banner. The declarations of Paul already quoted, will show how little inclined
he was to blast that rock upon which the whole Church of God must rest, since
this covenant was " confirmed of God in Christ," who is the tried corner stone, the
sure foundation.
* This is only what occurs in regard to every doctrine and precept of our
faith, that our conduct falls short of our convictions. It is therefore no argu
ment against infant baptism, that many amongst us do not dedicate their chil
dren to God in this ordinance, that many who do, are unfaithful to their vows, or
that the Church fails often to treat these children as embraced in the covenant.
But let our conduct more fully accord with our convictions, then will these con-
- victions be deepened, and we shall be more clearly justified in walking in this
old path, since we shall find and shall furnish in the blessings that we receive,
unanswerable proof that this " everlasting covenant is ordered in all things,
and sure."

19
jewels, her highest commendation. Wherever these peo
ple go, their influence is felt, and uniformly felt for good.
The Church of our fathers welcomes the stranger and the alien
to a free and full enjoyment of her birthright blessings, but
she makes her tenderest appeals, and entrusts her dearest in
terests to the children of the covenant. And when these chil
dren stray away into other communions, you are almost cer
tain to And them among the most steadfast and reliable of all
who have taken the vows of God upon them. This old, old-
fashioned Church has been reviled, she has been ridiculed, she
has been sneered at, but no one denies that from her house
holds have flowed streams that make glad the city of our God.
But when you annul the Abrahamic covenant, you loosen, nay,
you take away one of the chief corner-stones of our family
altars. You dry up one of the surest and deepest, if not the
deepest source of our family religion. We train up our house
holds in the way in which we ourselves would go, not simply
because it is the faith in which our fathers were reared and in
which we would desire our children to abide, (though we
cheerfully acknowledge this feeling,) but much more because
it was the faith of Abraham, the father of us all ; nay, the
faith in which our Lord himself was reared, seeing he also was
a son of Abraham.
2. Our belief in an eternal covenant, administered in the
fulfillment of an eternal purpose, leads us to declare that " it
belongeth to synods and councils, ministerially* to determine
controversies of faith," and that such " determinations, if con
sonant to the word of God, are to be received with reverence
and submission," chiefly, but " not only for their agreement
with the word, but also for the power whereby they are made
as being an ordinance of God, appointed thereunto in His
word."f Believing that " the visible church hath," according
to the provisions of this eternal covenant, " the privilege of
being under God's special government, of being protected and
preserved in all ages, notwithstanding the opposition of all
enemies,"^: we cannot separate the Church of the present,
* That is, to ascertain what the Word of God teaches, and to declare that
these doctrines, as taught in the Word of God, are to be received by all.
f Confession of Faith, p. 159. \ Larger Catechism: Ans. 63.'

20
no, nor that shadowy Church of the future, for which many
are looking so anxiously, and waiting so impatiently, from the
Church of the past. Other men labored, and we are entered
into their labors. The battles of past time were fought for
all time. The controversies of past ages were waged, aye, and
settled for all ages. The determinations then reached were
made for our use, and inure to our benefit. When any point
thus settled is assailed, we must defend it " in the lofty spirit of
men who Contend for what has belonged, from time immemo
rial, to them and to their fathers, and not in the hesitating
temper of him who is striving to gain possession, of a territory
long and honestly disputed." Surely He who is head over all
things for the Church, has brought her through all these con
troversies, and has guided her in the settlement of these ques
tions. You will see, then, why we adhere so tenaciously to
the precise phraseology of our Confession of Faith and cate
chisms. It is because their statements are the result of ages
of study and prayer. These standards " owe their excellencies
to the labors of generations of men mighty in the Scriptures."
" Point by point, doctrine by doctrine, conclusion by conclu
sion, was wrought out in the lapse of centuries." The West
minster divines did but search for us the Partolian sands of
time, and gathering out for us the golden grains worn by the
waters of strife, have set them in this form of sound words,
" like apples of gold in pictures of silver." We cannot aban
don positions in which the Church of God has been entrenched
for ages. We cannot throw away weapons that have been
tested in the crucible of discussion, and tried in the fire of
controversy. " These articles of faith," says the eloquent
divine, whose language I have so freely used upon this point,
" these definitions and distinctions, and limitations and expla
nations, remind us of a collection of ancient British armor.
This is the cuirass in which' Eichard defeated the Saladin, and
rescued the Holy City from the infidel. That shield, battered,
but not broken, was borne at the battle of Bannockburn.
That spear did good service at Flodden field ; and this broad
sword clove through helmet and mail, at Cressy and Halidon

21
Hill."* It has been objected to this, by an ingenious writer,
that it was strange it did not occur to the author, that such
cumbrous and unwieldly armor is entirely useless in modern
warfare. It might be sufficient to answer that there is no
logic in pressing an illustration beyond its designed and indi
cated limits. But it is strange it did not occur to the critic
that the battles ot the Captain of our salvation are not like
the battles of men ; that error is constantly, in its poverty, re
producing its old forms, so thinly disguised that he who knows
them of old, will readily recognize them, and with his old,
tried weapons, more easily vanquish them than the raw re
cruit, with his modern inventions, who, terror-stricken at the
sight of his strange foes, imagines that besides his contrivances,
there is something else " new under the sun." But we answer,
in conclusion to this objection, and, as it seems to me, conclu
sively, that this is to put the deliberations and determinations
of the Church of God, upon a level with the speculations of
philosophy and the inventions of human genius. To this, we
who believe that the visible church hath the privilege of being
under God's special care and government, can never agree.
We believe that the great Head of the Church, in the execu
tion of his eternal purpose, has brought her and designed to
bring her through these controversies — by means of these dis
cussions, — aye, by the very antagonism of error, to understand
and to define " her own views of the grace of God." We
abide by these statements, not simply " for substance of doc
trine," but both for matter and form. We cannot separate
between the two and keep the truth, any more than we can
sever the soul from the body and preserve our life. We will
quarrel with no man about words. We are ready to say with
Calvin, that we " could wish them indeed to be buried in obli
vion, provided " the true faith were universally received ! But if
any one quarrels with us about words, we suspect that he is
" offended at the light of truth as having no other cause of cen
sure, but that the truth is explained and elucidated."!
You will see, then, why we hold fast to " this form of sound
* Inaugural Address, by E. P. Humphrey, D. 0., at Danville.
\ Calvin's Institutes, Book 1, chap, xiii., sec. v. and iii.

22
words," and walk so persistently in these " old paths." We be
lieve that the Church, since the days of the apostles, as well as
before, was embraced in the provisions of the eternal covenant,
and that in the accomplishment of God's eternal purpose, the
gates of hell have not been suffered, as they shall not be, to
prevail against it. But it may be said, is not this flat popery ?
How do you escape the conclusion, that you are bound to
receive the decretals of the Popes and the dogmas of the
Council of Trent ? I answer that our chief and controlling
reason for adhering to our Confession and Catechisms is their
" agreement with the word." For we teach that " the Su
preme Judge, by which all controversies of religion are to be
determined and all decrees of councils are to be examined,
and in whose sentence we are to rest, can be no other but the
Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture." And that " the in
fallible rule of interpretation of Scripture, is the Scripture
itself."* We therefore exhort all men to search the Scrip
ture, whether these things are so. We- rejoice when an ap
peal is made " to the law and the testimony." We do not
fear for our standards the results of such an investigation.
We proffer the Inquirer every facility for ascertaining " their
agreement with the word," appending to every statement a
" thus saith the Lord," upon which it rests. But certainly,
we may take some things as definitely settled. The progress
which we are to seek and in which we are to rejoice, cannot
be the aimless, restless progress of those who -are ever learn
ing and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Surely our Lord cannot have imposed upon his Church the
herculean task of investigating afresh and defining anew in
every generation, every article of her creed. May we not
say to the young disciple "in our Confession of Faith you will
find ' the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures ?' "
May we not recommend this with our catechisms to parents,
as affording an excellent summary of the principles of our
holy religion as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and
New Testaments ?" Every time we organize a particular
church, must we frame a new. creed. We are content with
* Confessions of Faith, p. 14.

23
the form of sound words bequeathed to us by our fathers.
We are satisfied of its " agreement with the word."
As to this agreement, we know there has been and is yet
much dispute. Into that discussion I cannot now enter.
Upon one point, however, we think there can be little dispute,
and we desire that there may be no concealment. We wish it
it to be distinctly understood that our theology is the theology of
the olden time ; the theology of those who kept the word of
Christ's patience in the days before the Eeformation, the the
ology of the men who rolled away from the sepulchre of
nations the stone upon which the Eomish superstition had set
its seal, the theology of the men who broke the power of the
Stuarts, who laid the foundations of New England's great
ness, and bequeathed to her the elements of whatever
glory she has achieved or can claim. It is no part of our
mission to garnish the sepulchres of prophets whose teach
ings we reject. We have no special gift in lauding the Pil
grim fathers, but should those sainted men re-visit in its prime
the nation whose cradle they rocked, we do not think it hard
to determine where they would go to hear the truths which
sustained and consoled them when,
Amid the storm they sung,
And the stars heard and the sea.
We honor these men, though we see their faults, (for what
man is there, that liveth and sinneth not,) but we honor and
love them because they kept the faith. We abide by their
statements. In this direction we have made and expect to
make no progress. We have not found it necessary to alter
or explain away, to refine or re-define the phraseology of our
Confession. We take it still as of old in its plain, simple,
obvious sense. We seek no new " stand points." We intend
to make no concessions to " the disputer of this world." When
you come here to worship, if the wishes of those who erected
this house are carried out, it will not be to hear of some dis
covery or to examine some new invention in theology. Who
ever you may call to go in and out among you, if he fulfills
his ordination vows, if he is a faithful son and servant of the

24
Church, above all if he is faithful to Him, who hath chosen
him to be a soldier, he will walk in the old paths.
But you will say this is not simply to be out of sympathy
with progress, it is to oppose it. This is to be not an iceberg
unaffected by surrounding heat ; it is to draw a corden of ice
before the waves that must bear us onward. You barricade
the pass through which the adventurous youth is passing to
heights as yet untrodden. To determine whether our the
ology is such a foe to progress, let the appeal be made to facts.
And here I speak in behalf of all who hold the doctrines of
grace without abatement and without, disguise. I cannot stop
to give the reluctant testimony of Hume or the generous
acknowledgments of Bancroft, neither of whom were inclined
to be partial to Calvin and Knox, or their followers. But
where indeed can you find a nation, where infancy was nour
ished with this " sincere milk of the word," and whose man
hood has been fed with its " strong meat," that has not learned
that " love of liberty protected by law," which is the only
guarantee of safe and steadfast progress. Time would fail
us to tell of the Huguenots, of Scotland, of the Lowlands, of
Protestant Germany, of England and America, where the
leaven of this truth has worked mightily, where it still works
more ' or less powerfully, and will work, we believe, till the
whole mass of society is leavened with its life-giving influence.
True, men say, this old theology has done well in past times,
but it is effete, it is superannuated, it has run its race. This
old tree, they tell us, has breasted many a storm, it has been
crowned with many a garland of flowers, and shaken much
golden fruit from its boughs, but is girdled and dying.
" Yes," we answer, in the words of one whose very language
shows the enduring vitality and unspent energy of the old
theology, "it is girdled with a growth and belted with a might
that so far from showing any sign of decay, gives promise
that its fruits and its flowers will gladden the eye beneath the
sky of the millenial morning."* Ours is no fossil theology,
no dead orthodoxy. The warm current of life flows in its
* The author is aware that this is not precisely the language used by Dr. Moore,
in his sermon in behalf of the Board of Publication. He has simply given the
thought as it has lingered in his memory ever since he heard it.

25
veins, its influence is felt round the globe. Our dear old
church, whose record in the past is so bright and clear, refuses
not to be tried as to her present by the Master's test : " by
their fruits ye shall know them." Among the most recent
martyrs of the holy church universal you will find her sons
and daughters. Is there no life and power in this last mes
sage that crossed the ocean from one of those who." on the
bloody sands of Cawnpore," were faithful untd death.
" Should I be called to lay down my life, do not grieve, dear
sister, that I came here, for most joyfully will I die for Him
who has laid down his life for me." Nor is this a solitary
evidence of vitality. In all the elements of safe and substan
tial progress, not in any boastful spirit, but simply that she
may vindicate that word of life which, the world over, she is
holding forth, she challenges comparison with any communion
in the land. Least of all does she fear such comparison with
those who vaunt their more intimate sympathy with the
spirit of the age, and who expect on this ground, to root her
out and supplant her in this particular region. She cares little
for the " spirit of the age," if she may but be replenished
with the Spirit of God.* Let but the Spirit of glory and of
God rest upon her, it matters little to her upon whose part she
is evil spoken of. Eemembering who it was that said, " if
they have hated me they will hate you also," though conscious
of many deficiencies, she yet presents herself to her gracious
Lord with that plea which never fails to touch his heart, " the
reproaches of them that reproached thee have fallen upon
me." As for the future we desire progress. We confess that we
would avoid a progress toward ruin or such progress as ends
in sudden, impetuous recoil. We do not seek the advance
ment of the storm-beaten vessel that is lifted on high only to
be re-engulphed, or to be driven on the breakers. But pro
gress in the right direction and by wise methods, we labor for
and insist upon. Let those who will, babble of their " new
* Just after this sermon was preached, the author was pleased to see this same
thought in the Presbyterian Expositor. Nothing can be more unworthy of the
church than to be frightened by the idle cry that she is behind the age ; that
infidels and men of the world are in advance of her.

26
stand points." We are content to walk in the old paths. In
these no one can go too fast or too far for us. That is to say,
no one can know too much of the truth as it is in Jesus, can
follow him too closely, can grow too rapidly in grace and
in the knowledge of Him, who is the way, the truth, and the
life. This is our method of progress, to bring men, man by
man, as fast and as fully as possible, " out of nature's darkness
into God's marvellous light." We know the world wants
light. That mournful cry of one of her noblest representative
men,  what am I,
An infant crying in the night,
An infant crying for the light,
And with no language but a cry,
thrills us with sorrow. We would teach our fellow men to say,
" in thy light shall we see light." Let them walk in these- old
paths and they will find that they shine " more and more
unto the perfect day." The light that leads them on will be,
and will be felt to be, light from Heaven. The light sought
in any other direction, or shining on any other path, will
" lead but to bewilder, and dazzle but to blind." How stands
the account to-day, after ages of speculation ? What are the
results of all this boasted progress ? One of themselves has
testified, "nothing can be' uttered so absurd that it has not
been said by some philosopher." The profoundest thinker of
the age has declared that " the past history of philosophy has
in a great measure been only a history of variation and error."
What have they done towards settling those high and absorb
ing questions as to our nature and destiny, in which we are all
deeply interested ? Might they not all, as well as we, go to
school to the seers of the Old Testament and the teachers of
the New ? If they come to us as advanced pupils in that
school, we will be grateful to them for expounding unto us
the way of God more perfectly, for we respect philosophy as
" the hand-maid of religion." But when, as God it sitteth in
the temple of God, undertaking to say what our doctrine ought
to be, we despise its impious pretensions. We try the teach
ings of the philosophers by the word of God that abideth for-

27
ever. " To the law and the testimony, if they speak not ac
cording to this word, it is because there is no light in them."
We do not think for a moment of refining or modifying our
doctrine, that it may harmonize with any of the discordant
sounds that rise around their Babel, but turn from this strife of
tongues to the Divine man of Nazareth with that old utter
ance, which through the lapse of ages has been gathering new
power, and depth and earnestness : " to whom shall we go,
thou hast the words of eternal life." Upon this there has been
no advance. True, man's physical condition has been much
improved. Many " laws of nature " have been discovered.
Many labor-saving machines have been invented. For all
this we would be grateful. But is not man's life more than
meat ? I want to know what I am, whither I am going, how
I may leave this world without taking " a leap in the dark ?"
As to these questions I must have something more than simple
progress — motion, commotion or even advancement. He who
lived eighteen hundred years ago " a life which all men have
agreed in some sense to call divine," he who knew what was
in man, who spake as never man spake, He said, " learn of
me, and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Ah, my brother,
my fellow sinner, this is what we need, rest for our souls.
Stand ye in the ways, therefore, and see and ask fpr the old
paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall
find rest for your souls. For it is only as men walk in these
paths, as they run in the way of God's commandments, as they
are transformed by the renewing of their minds, that they find
this rest. And it is found not as a goal at the end of the good
way, but all along and in the very act of walking in it. This
identification of intense activity and calm repose is the no
blest prerogative and the highest happiness of man. You will
see how abundant provision is made in these " old paths " for
man's love of progress and his longing for rest. There is set
before us God " as the unreached and ever ascending goal
of our endless and jubilant ascent." TO glorify and enjoy
Him forever is our chief end. It is only as enlightened by
the Holy Spirit we see this, and as created anew in Christ
Jesus we follow it, that we can find rest foi* our souls. Would

28
that these glad tidings might reach the multitudes who are fol
lowing every ignis fafruus that dances round the horizon, or
in the very face of the true light are groping with Cyclopian
energy as well as blindness, in the noon»day as in the night.
Bewildered souls, in these " old paths " is the light you
seek. This " rest of immortality " is the rest for which you
sigh, and toil, and wait ; a rest whose consummation will be
attained when we enter into that rest which remaineth for the
people of God.
We believe, and therefore speak. We are sure that " the
whole creation of God has neither nook nor corner " where
you can find rest, except at the cross of Christ. We are
equally sure that you will find rest and growth, peace and
progress in simple, child-like faith in Jesus Christ, such faith
as glowed in the hearts of patriarchs and prophets and apos
tles, and of that great multitude whom no man can number,
who attained like precious faith. Therefore we dedicate this
house to the preaching of that simple old Gospel, a Gospel as
old as the first promise, yet as fresh as the latest mercy, ven
erable in its hoary antiquity, bright and joyous with the dew
of a perennial youth. May no other Gospel, since any other
is no Gospel, ever be heard within these walls. May all who
worship here, preachers and hearers, walk in the good old
way, and thus find rest to their souls. To this end we give up
this house, the fruit of our labors, yea, our own selves also, to
Him who hath said " Lo, I am with you always, even unto
the end of the world."

HISTORY

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF ONARGA.

This church was organized on the 3d day of March, 1857,
by a Committee of the Presbytery of Peoria. It was com
posed of fourteen members, to-wit : C. C. Wells, Martha B.
Wells, Judith Wells, Eobert S. Johnson, Mary Johnson, Da
rius Matthews, Wm. P. Pierson, Mary C. Pierson, J. S.
Storms, H. Storms, Catherine Allen, Lewis Avery, John E.
Loudon, Elizabeth Loudon. Since that date, thirty members
have been received. Three members have died. Five mem
bers were dismissed, to organize the Presbyterian Church at
Gilman, and several have removed to other parts of the coun
try, leaving a present resident membership of thirty.
The original eldership of the church consisted of C. -C.
Wells, Wm. P. Pierson, and Darius Matthews. C. C. Wells
went into the church at Gilman ; Darius Matthews died in
August, 1857.
The present elders of the church are Wm. P. Pierson and
John E. Loudon.
Until the fall of 1859, this church had no regular place of
worship. In the month of May, 1858, at a called meeting of the
church and* congregation, it was resolved to proceed at once
to devise ways and means to erect a house of worship.
In the summer of 1858, sufficient means had been raised to
justify the commencement of the work of erection. An eligi
ble site was donated, and the contract for building the house
was let to a competent and reliable mechanic.
Within a little more than one year from the time the work
commenced, the house was completed and ready for occu
pancy, and the sermon herewith published, was preached on
the occasion of its dedication.

30
The building has cost about eighteen hundred and fifty dol
lars. Of this sum —
$300 00 was paid by the Church Extension Committee.
100 00 was received from the First Presbyterian Church of
Oswego, N. Y., as a " special donation," through the
Church Extension Committee.
50 00 from the Sabbath School of the First Presbyterian
Church, of Oswego, N. Y.
25 00 from Gilbert Mollison and wife, of Oswego, N. Y.
25 00 from Mrs. E. W. Condit, of Oswego, N. Y.
41 00 from friends in Hartford, Conn., through Mrs. E. E.
Beadle and Miss Lucy Yale.
40 00 from friends in Watertown, New York, through Mrs.
O. Brainard.
25 001 from friends in Buffalo, N. Y., through Mrs. George
Hubbard.
35 00 from T. W. Ferry, of Grand Haven, Mich.
10 00 from A. E. and G. H. Miller, of Chicago.
The balance was paid by residents of Onarga and
vicinity.
It should here be observed that the church entered upon
this undertaking with the fixed purpose not to owe a dollar at
any stage of the enterprise. To this end, the subscription was
drawn up in the following form, to-wit:
" We, the undersigned, agree to pay the sums placed oppo
site our respective names, to the Trustees of the First Old
School Presbyterian Church and congregation, of Onarga ;
the same to be expended by said Trustees in the erection of a
house of worship in Onarga, for the use of said church and
congregation. The payment of our respective subscriptions
to be made as follows, to-wit : One-half on the first day of
October, 1858, and the other half on the first day of December,
1858. We, the undersigned, further agree, that as soon as the
aforesaid Trustees shall have obtained subscriptions for the
purpose aforesaid, of an amount sufficient in their estimation
to justify them in proceeding to erecting a house of worship,

» 31
we will execute to said Trustees our two individual, negotia
ble, promissory notes, for amounts corresponding to the two
separate payments of our respective subscriptions ; said notes
to be made payable, one on the first day of October, 1858, and
the other on the first day of December, 1858."
In due time the subscriptions were reduced to notes. These
notes, together with promised aid from the Church Extension
Committee, and from friends at a distance, constituted the
basis of the undertaking, and with these, as they became
available, the material and the work were paid for, as the
enterprise progressed.
The notes were turned out to the builder " without recourse,"
and the church was thus saved from encumbrances and entang
ling alliances that might have arisen from the non-payment of
the subscription. In this form also, the subscription readily
became available before it was due. It should also be ob
served that when it did become due, it was in many instances
paid much more cheerfully, and with much greater ease to the
subscribers, than it would have been had it remained in the
hands of the Trustees in its original form.
It is due to the Church Extension Committee, and to our
generous friends at a distance, that we should here observe
that in its infancy, this church enterprise was greatly stimu
lated and encouraged by their promised aid, and that without
the prospect of such aid the enterprise would not have been
undertaken, nor could it have been accomplished.
Since the foregoing was prepared for the press, this Church
has been favored with another visit, from the Eev. Mr. Bacon.
He came seeking rest and relaxation, but he found himself
among a people who were hungry for the bread which cometh
down from heaven. Many flocked around him to listen to his
simple and touching expositions of the truths of the Gospel.
His utterances of words of comfort, and words of hope, of
words of terror and words of love, thrilled every hearer, and
carried with them joy and gladness into many a stricken, dis
consolate and desolate heart. His labors have been abundant

35J
in both town aud country, and the Gospel has been preached
at several points where the glad news of salvation had never
before been proclaimed.
The faith of God's people fn the plain preaching of the
Gospel of Christ in its original simplicity, accompanied by
prayer and the administration of the sacraments of God's
house, as the true and legitimate means of promoting vital
godliness, and of introducing and of building up Christ's
spiritual kingdom in the hearts of men, has been greatly
increased. Another fact is worthy of note. That same old Gospel
which is the theme of the Dedication Sermon herewith pub
lished, that same old Gospel which prophets announced, which
apostles proclaimed, which our fathers believed and preached,
and to which the Presbyterian Church has so steadfastly ad
hered through all her conflicts, and on which she has- so per
sistently relied for success, has again demonstrated its power
to arrest the attention and to reach the hearts and consciences
of men, unaided by questionable measures and methods not
recognized in the teachings of Christ and His apostles, but
which have practically come to be regarded by large numbers
of our religious teachers as well as laymen, as a great improve
ment on the primitive Gospel, an improvement without the
use of which no good can be expected to come to Israel.
It has moreover been both interesting and suggestive to
witness the surprise and wonder manifested by many persons
while listening to these exhibitions of Gospel truth, who had
before known nothing of the teachings and practices of the
Presbyterian Church, excepting what they had learned from
the caricatures and gross distortions of its doctrines which
they had been accustomed to hear from its enemies, and from
those who, in many instances at least, ought to know their
representations to be false.
Within the last few days there have been added to this
church twenty members on profession of their faith, and two
by letter, making the present membership of the church fifty-
two.

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