Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-05-12

Aitef Nlsltinp TINS Cnufcn ana nearing Ut.
Nixon preach it did not take us long to
decide where we would seek our spiritual
food each Lords day. We at once cast in
our lot with Central Church, sending to
Providence, r. l.. for our letters and unit
ing with this church at its next com
munion.
When we came to this city we came with
great grief in our hearts, as a few weeks
previously we buried out of our sight, the
last OF our two children, winsome little
daughter of nine years, we were therefore
hungry for just the teachings and preach
ing that Dr. Nixon could give. At that
time he was preaching in his own inimit-
able way course of sermons on heaven,
presenting his theme each Sunday with
such clearness, vividness, force and beauty
and yet with so much pathos and tender
ness, that his speech distilled upon our
hearts like the dew, and these sermons,
were as the balm of Gilead to our sorrow
ing spirits. He went right to our hearts,
he captured us and the friendship then
formed deepened, as the years rolled by
and when he left Wilmington it continued.
until death has interrupted IL for a little
while. God grant that by His grace may
be enabled to renew it in heaven.
1t is hardly necessary for me to speak of
him as preacher and pastor and as a man
in the presence of SO many who knew him
SO well. But although it is only four years
since he left us such arc the changes of the
passing years that many new faces have
appeared amongst us in the church and
congregation, and for the benefit of such
let me give my estimate of DIR. Nixon as a
preacher. His sermons were always very
carefully prepared. He was man of
superior mind, saw truth very clearly and
having. remarkably well balanced a
Judicial mind saw truth in its fullness and
looked at il from various standpoints,
taking it in in all shades of meaning, he
therefore grasped his subject strongly and
clearly, so that il stood out in his mind in
clearest outline, with his subject clearly
before him from premises to conclusion
he made his discourse clear to his hearers,
clothing his thoughts with the purest
Saxon and delivering his sermons
with JUNCTION, pathos and energy. his
clear penetrating voice reaching to the
remotest corner of the house without any
exertion on his part, making him a spec
ial favorite with those members of the
congregation who are hard of hearing.
never heard DR.. Nixon preach poor ser
mon, and some of his discourses were
models of pulpit eloquence. He was the
most uniformly good preacher | ever
knew. Those of you who heard the ser
mon he delivered at the ordination of Mr..
Brownson to the gospel ministry in this
church will recall it as being sermon of
great strength aud beauty. have heard
the best preachers on both sides of the
Atlantic, and don't think ever heard
more lucid, able and eloquent presentation
of gospel truth than that discourse.
Some Of you will remember the sermon
from the text, land they shall bring the
glory and honor of the nations into it,
think he told me that this discourse was
suggested to him on visiting the Centen-
NAL Exposition, where was gathered the
choicest and most beautiful things of
earth; The thought of the discourse is
That the falrest and most beautiful things
oil earth viii all be reproduced in heaven.
This sermon is a most glowing and beauti-
full piece of sacred literature. A former
member OF this congregation, a man of
| scholarly tastes himself an educator Of
| young people, but not specially interested
in sacred things told me that he enioyed
listening to DR.. Nixon's discourses, because
OF their real merit and fine literary finish
Take him all in all, as preacher he was
extraordinary. He could take so much
out of a text; he blended the teacher with
the preacher. His discourses were stimu-
latlng, instructive, helpful, cheering
and comforting. He seemed to know
| your mental trouble, and gave
| you the portion of truth needful,
rightly dividing the word of life.
As pastor he was very faithful in times
Il " SiNhllIoa LIS lIGattltt WIS u DpltulcliOn.
| lie could go into the sick room so gently
| and tenderly and his voice was so sympa-
thetlc and kind and his counsel and minis
| tratlons so spiritual and comforting that
| even where the patient was very sick, the
effect OF visit from him would be to
soothe and comfort. But il was in the dis
charge of his pastoral duties that he felt
handicapped, because of his physical in
| iirmltles. lie was a very conscientious
man and the fact that because of
physical weakness, he was unable to do
more pastoral work stung him to the
| quick, and fretted him more perhaps than
any of us have any idea of when feeling
depressed rs result Of disease He has
come to me, was going to say, almost
with tears in his eyes time and again de.
ploring his inability to do the pastoral
work and sayino - :rrst resign ."s.I musI
make way for stronger in..;l 20 do this
work and when the time came tina. he fell
that he could not conscientiously hold The
paStorate OF so large a church as this any
longer, he gracefully, yet reluctantly
yielded to the pressure of conscience. am,
what he conceived to be his duty, for h,
loved Wilmington, he would like TO hay,
remained amongst us nntil God should
call him home, The best years of his lif,
he gave TO this church
As q man, DIR. Nixon was rcmarkabl,
endowed mentally. lie Mad. as | hay,
already indicated, very fine mind re-
markably well balanced He was yer,
quick TO see a point. lie was a man o.
excellent judgment and good sense HI
lnhue very few mistakes III his public adj
dresses. never knew him to make. or II,
least cannot remember his making, an,
mistake IN speech requiring correction
: lie WAS very exact IN his statements. III
! presided over a meeting with great tact
and Il there were difficulties in the way h
, could get around them. lie was EN-
!, phatically peace maker. He was a mas
useful man iii lrcsbytery. lie was casll
the leader of the New Castle presbvtcry
! lie could unravel a church tauglc. II
was an excellent man to send to a cllitrc
7 that had big quarrel on hand FOR h
= could gracefully and gently pour oil upo
r the troubled waters and bring order out {
u confusion and peace out of war. rb
7 Presbyterian jUNfHni in its last issue snca[
}; ing Of his death, says ',lle WAS one ,
The most lovely men in our ministry
= devoted 20 his work, mild, winning, SUI
b cessful,h
y He did thoroughly and conscientiousl
anything he undertook and was wonde
I fully methodical.
/ pr, Niccoils N his funeral address sait
x lie was man d deep spiritual intu
=, TONS lie was taught Of cod and b
= cause tod revealed his truth so clu,trly
Y him, he was enabled to reveal it clearly
y others. What Dr.. Nixon has been 10 mar
Y souls in Wilmington, Indianapolis. cal
bridge and Webster Groves ia spiritu
y hepfulness and blessing the day Of Ind
l. ment alone will reveal
N llc frequently used TO call and see ii
le Il. The store and no matter how busy
~ might be was always glad Ia see him N
sSs greatly enjoyed chat with him, and / /;
Il ways felt better for his visits there Was
y something about his very personality I'll
IN WAS elevalinS 10 me a sort of divil
ny a4!iatua that was uplifting. As a 90
~ versationalist he was rclnugkah.N entertni
Y, iiig, as he was So We'll informed 81
T. many subjects and lie Ind such Il VIDE al