Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-03-30
Sermon,

the horsemen thereof Ill Kings, ii. H.
lfit had fallen to you, Christian friend
instead OF me, to choose verse of Scriptu
which should echo our feelings in view
the event that has brought US togethe
| might almost assume that you wOul
have chosen this one, or one of kindred iu
. port. Judging both from my knowleda
OF the relations long existing between th
, people and their pastor. and from the c,
prcssions OF feeling that have come to III
since this event took place, | believe tha
your hearts are constantly going out in
cry like that OF the prophet when he sa'
his master and friend taken from his sid
INTO heaven. "My Father. my ia ther, th
Chariot OF Israel and the horsemen there
Of! There comes first, OF course, the op
pressive feeling of personal bereavement
MY father, my father !" the bowl dermen
and dismay OF orphanage; the loss of
companshIp, dear and familiar, and grow
to be necessary; the loss of that counsel OF
which many OF you have so long depende,
that without it you hardly feel competen
to reach safe conviction and above all
the loss Of that kind iaithfulness. tina
anxious and prayerful solicitude for tn
salvation OF you and yours. through whicl
you had received so much, and cOnfdentl,
expected 80 much more, of the divine bless
ing. And then there rises over this feelin.
OF personal bereavement an Overwhelming
sense of the general lOss; the loss to thl.
.hnrch of hii1 who for thirty years has beer
Its teacher and guide to the churches of oul
communion of one who had long been
leader in council and in action you see no
only yourselves orphaned and desolate, but
lsrae bereit of its chariot and horsemen
It's defence and its honor. And, my breth
ern, these will be the feelings. aad these the
utterances, Of many besides yourselves; u
the large number Cf persons, both minister.
and laymen-and of other cUmmuniCns thar
his own-to whom he was personally en-
deared, and OF the wide circle of churches
to whom in the course of his long public
service he has ministered. There will be in
many hearts the same acute sense OF per
sonal loss as in yours; the same regret for
preacher sileDcej, a counsellor missed, a
prince fallen. 1t Is quite safe to say that
during the generation of his ministry there
has been no clergyman of his denomination
in the State who has filled a more conspicu-
Gus place, was more widely admired and
honOred or whose death will make more
hearts sad and bring to more churches
the sorrow of bereavement.
IL is not nv purpose to enter upon for
NAL eulogy of your late pastor. 1t would
have been as far from his own preferences,
as 1t Is from the expressed wishes of his
family, and from the prOprieties OF the
occasion. His character, his life. his at
| tainments. his services, will bear eulogy
| and will doubtless receive it in q fitting
place and time. But if we speak at all to
each other to-day. it must DO of him. Have
two persons met in Montpelier, in the par
lor, tho shop, or tho street, since last Sun
day morning, without speaking of him Or
has any one SPOKEN of him but in affection
ate remembrance. live may not speak of
him in high flown eulogy, We surely may in
such afeciiOnate remembrance. Not to speak
at all of one who Is uppermOst in all our
thoughts would be an htfectation of stoi-
cism; not TO speak OF him warmly and
atfectiOnately would be stoicism itself Be-
sides. the providence Of God has set forth
his lie as our lesson for the day: he who
has so long been preacher, is to-day text.
Ii il not merely by the truth as contained
in proposition and argument and appeal
that men are taught and persuaded; some
times h, the truth as it is in life are men
more ,tfectually reached and won. Ii Was
given to our departed brother, To few in a
higher degree than to HIM, to influence
men by Elective writing and by persuasive
rBtCCu luhi WIN - uOut uhS VIII
ten his last brilliant paragraph; he has ut
tered his last sl"wi;s period. But there
remains in your memories, and there will
long abide in the traditions OF this COM
munity, an ln, r,ssIun OF the lio that is
now closed which will perpetuste his in
auence for good over your children's chill
dren Tor many generations. IT in what
shall say of him to-day, you discover the
admiration and love of friend rather than
the cool judgment of a critic. | know that
| shall have your sympathy and shall not
need to ask your india gence.
One source Of satisfaction and gratitude
as We look back on our friends career, is
that be brought TO the Christian ministry
such endowments. physical, mental and
spiritual, that he compelled the respect of
men for his calling. The Christian minis
try is Il calling so noble in Itself. so lar
above the praise or censure of men in its
divinely inspired mission, that it need not
court any human appreciation; neither does
it borrow any lustre from the talents of the
men who are permitted to serve in its ranks
Still if the world will not respect 1t for its
intrinsic dignity, 1t is well that they should
be compelled 10 respect it in the persons of
ITS members. Ii it is true that we have
the treasure of Gods power over men sin
earthen vessels, that the excellency may be
nt God and not of men, it il also true that
God does sometimes raise up men of finer
mould, and qualify men with rarer gifts,
TO do Il service for him that ordinary men
could not do. Here was a man Of fine
personal presence. of unusual mental
endowments, Of large nature every way,
man who could have succeeded
in almost any sphere of activity. When
pah in midst ,Ea full
brilliant promise, enters the Christian min
istry, gives to that his whole heart and
soul, and in spite of all solicitations to
conspicuous and lucrative positions, labors
faithfully on in the village where he began
his work, it is impossible even for the
scutfer not to respect both the man and his
calling. And exposed as We all are to the
intrusIOns OF weak doubts and misgivings.
it is not in human nature that VIC should
not ieel safer in our convictions. more
secure in onr hopes of the permanence and
progress OF Christian Institutions among
Us. when We see that the church though
weak in US, is strong in such champions as
he was. If DR. Lord had been vain OF his
gifts, II he had used them for his per-
sOnal exaltation in the church. if he had
thought that the Master had not given him
here field large enough for his merits,
neither he nor his calling would have been
respected as they arc this day. | doubt
whether IN his estimate OF his ministerial
a humber man ever lived. have
Il letter written while he was in Europe in
which he speaks in the most deprecia,ing
terms OF his ability as preacher. and OF the
value OF his ministerial services. Aud yet
" no ever saw him ascend into the pulpit
without expecting TO be fed with the fat
things AMI the marrow of the divine word, |
and who was ever disappointed in this ex-
pectation And let me not forget to say |
he would have been the first to rebuke me |
if | should-ihat Cor all that he was, and |
all that he did. We owe our first recoyni |
ton and our cheicst thanks. to the great |
head OF the church who bestowed on him |
these gifts, and then bestowed him and /
them On the church. not for his honor. but |
for the work of the ministry, for tho per
ectlng of saints, Tor the edliyIng OF the
body Of Christ
We derive satisfaction alsO from the
houg hit that he gave himself wholly Ii the
work of the ministry. \ man Ut versatile
powers as he was, hO must have often felt
he temptation u turn aside and pluck
lowers in the inviting fields open to him un
All sides. lie had 4 fertile and facilc pen,
md might easily have won laurels in litcra-
ure An attractive speaker. ho might
nave gained applause and money as lee
uror. lie had u decided aptitude for the
management OF men, and Tor the organizI-
ION oi business projects. 1t would have
,cen ensy for him To have dashed of II ser
non IN II convenient interval, and to have
iad leisure aud energy for any one OF these
,ther pursuits. But he did not yield 10
be temptation. lie was wholly minister
II Christ, and not partly minister ct
'hr>t and partly II minister OF literature.
,rntory or business. There was in him
IL scattering ut power. The best he had,
us best thought. hIS purc-t and intenscst
cclns, his most strenuous action, no put
n,n hls sermons, and his pastoral work.
'hr natural result OF this WAS That hl4 pull
1T was II pulpit oi pcwrr. Fcw Christian
on lrerntIuns have been mIuIStered To with
he steady sustained power III the pulpit
at this congregation has been favored with.
have their characteristics,
lmO>t ns marked ~ those nt indlv iduals,
I'D largely due g the character Of the min
,t!atIuns they receive. have ottrn been