Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-11-24
DAVID WALK.
His DelinestiOn Of the Character and
Worth Of John F. Sale-The Fu-
neral EulOgium.

, The members of the bar having adj
D dressed a most fattering note to Rev.
David Walk requesting him to publish
his admirable discourse, evoked by the
death of John f. Sale, it was furnished
for publication. The production deserves
all that the bar have said of it:
REMARKS UPON THE DEATH OF GENERAL
JOHN F. SALE, MEMPHIS, NOVEMBER
19, 1872.
Irealize that my present duty is both
delicate and responsible; delicate, be-
cause / would not willingly say one word
that could fall heavily upon hearts al
ready torn and bleeding; responsible, be-
cause l must be true to Him whose |
am, aud whom I serve, and because l
expect to answer to Him for my utter
ances on this most solemn occasion. l.
is q duty that / did not seek, but one
from which 1 shall not shrink. 1t is also
a duty, in the discharge of which, / re-
fuse to be embarrassed. | may not be
inseusible TO the gravity ana delicacy OF
the situation, but still / refnse to be EN-
harrassed. Neither VIII / stultify myself.
1 accept no work, in the doing of. which
I am required to do violence to either my
mind or conscience.
We meet to-day-members OF the bar,
the press, and the pulpit-members or all
the learned Professions; we meet to-day
as Christians; we meet to-day as neigh
bors, friends, and fel,ow-citiZens, to pay
the last earthly tribute of respect and af-
lection to a distinguished and we'll
known citizen. l am therefore at liber-
ty to speak Of him as / would moi speak
Of one in the more humble and obscure
walks oflife. We are assured by n of
our morning papers that he was proba-
bly, better and more widely known than
any ether gentleman of city. ] pre-
sumo that this is true; and il would
therefore be inexcusable folly in me to
attempt either to disguise the truth or
pervert the facts with reference TO the
eminent dead.
Ifany apology be needed for such an
exOdium, il is found in the fact that men
have already inquired: What will the
preacher saw? What shall we hear con
! corning one with whoselife we are all ia
miliar? Nor am / at all perplexed by
the circumstance that such inquiries
have been made-thAt the probable de
| l~iveranees Of this occasion have been
| freely canvassed. My duty is plain and
| clear before my face, and l shall pursue
it steadily to the end. l find my text
if any be needed-in an utterance of my
dead friend, but a few hours before his
departure. In a conversation with his
daughter, he exclaimed: "Ob, hOW
strange that men lCiH postpone til the
hour Of death the dJgfH concerns Of the
soul! RGcked NTH pain, and disturbed
in mind, I am unable 10 think clearly on
the subject 0freHgion. y That, my friends,
is text enough for ten thousand sermons!
Yea, it would be a fitting text from
which to pronounce funeral sermons
upon myriads of our race! Those of you
who imagine that General Sale was IN
accustomed to think upon the subject of
his salvation, little know the man. He
did think of it. He thought of it much
and profoundly, and with trembling lip
and tear-dimmed eye, he often made it
the subject of conversation. Probably
no man has seen more of his heart, in
connection with the subject of religion,
than your speaker. ] scarcely need in-
form this audience that he was a con- 1
slant and regular attendant upon my
ministry; and that, therefore, it would
not be surprising if we INDUCED many,
many conversations on this most mo-
mentous of themes. And | say this upon
authority, that John f. Sale 0Cd q firm
believer IN the dU-Su6icient sacrifice Of
the Lord Jesus Christ for the sins Of the |
1corld, ard of the perfect credi6aity Of
the DiUine Reveldtion 0pOn iChicb the
Christian faith is based. This much l
know of my own personal knowledge. |
And Furthermore, there was no man in
our city who would listen with deeper
respect or ~profounder interest to the un-
folding of the scheme of redemption. |
He really and truly appreciated, and
highly valued, the faithful preaching of
the Gospel. L do not think that l he'd
a more attentive, and / know that / did
not have a more intelligent, auditor. /
also know that he deeply deplored the
weaknesses by which he was made to
stumble, and the temptations which
often caused him TO fall. Yes, my friends,
however much he might attempt to
hide those sacred things from the curious
and unsympathetic gaze of the world,
still / knew him to be Ia man of great
depth of religious feeling and sentiment;
and could he have been persuaded to
yield himself to Christ, l am thoroughly
convinced that he would ultimately
have developed into a strong aud vigor-
Gus Christian. God only knew the strug-
giles of that great and generous heart.
How often / have mOurned over its aber-
%rations! How often | have prayed that
il might settle down at last in sweet and
loving rest upon the Crock of Agesp'
But this was not to be, and with him
the harvest is past, the summer is end
ed.' Would to God that l could say in
perfect confidence that his soul is savedi
But l do not Judge my dead friend. Oh,
no; this is not my prerogative. He isin
the hands Of a just and merciful God;
and for veal or FOR woe, he has entered
into the mysterious realm of the unseen.
But what inexpressible joy it would be
to us-as we weep over his ashes to-day
to know that he put on Christ; to
know that he had died trusting in the
merits of the SavioT's blood He may be
happy, and at peace with God, but what
bliss it would be to know that be had at
least conformed to the outward and for
NAL requirements Of the Gospel! Then
at least we could weave the myrtle with
the cypress, and so lay an emblem Of
hope upon the grave of OUr dead. How
many, and how great the extenuating
circumstances in his life, temperament,
profession, education, and associations,
can be known only 70 God. L only know
that he died lamenting his neglected
opportunities; andiI believe that, could
ne speak with audible voice this day
from the eternal world, he would urge
an Immediate and hearty acceptance Of
Christ on the part OF every friend he
knew. l apologize not for anything that
was wrong or unworthy in the life of
him whose untimely departure we
mourn. Far be this from me. / could
not so insult his memory, OF trife with
the dear affections Of the broken-hearted
who survive him. But while this is true.
still / cannot conceal the unwelcome
truth that be was to a great degree the
victim Of a false and pernicious view
of the proper functions Of the Church Of
Jesus Christ. Do you ask me why he
was not a professed Christian? / will
tell y~ou-6ecd1lse he Uds afraid. And
why was he afraid? Because Of this
false and pharisaic Sentiments
sentiment, too, which has obtained al
most universal dominion-respecting
the functions and duty Of the Church
with reference to such men. He knew
that he had habits which could not
be broken in a day. He knew that he
had associations which could not be
dissolved with a wave of the hand. He
knew that be had professional cOnnee-
tions which could net be lightly laid
aside. He knew all these things; and
he knew also that any earnest effort to
extricate himself from the tolls, and en-
brace the Christian life, would subject
him to countless sneers and jests. 1t
may be replied that he should not have
regarded considerations Of this kind.
Perhaps not; but this is easier said than
done. Oh, had there been more men to
take him by the hand, and encourage
him to enter upon the life he so much
longed to livei Had there been more
men to assure him oftheir undying SYM
pathies and prayers in his struggles. for I
zedemptioni Had there been more men
Of this character, John F. Sale would
have died in the bosom Of the Church. I
But, no, he felt that de would be laughed
at for his pains, and that bis early fall !
would have been regarded as a matter
Of course. And so feeling, his nature !
shrank back from discharging this high
Obligation to his soul. There may be
false theologies, and false systems; and
preachers may waste their strength IN
wrangliug over questions Of doctrine;
butt is quite possible fer a far more !
deadly blight 10 fall upon the hopes ]
of perishing sinnsCsi and BY this mors