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MEMOIR 
 
 JOHN CODMAN, D. D 
 
 WILLIAM ALLEN, D. D. 
 
 LATE PRESIDENT OF BOWDOIN COLLEGE : 
 
 REMINISCENCES 
 
 JOSHUA BATES, D. D 
 
 LATE PRESIDENT OF MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 T. R. MARVIN AND S. K. WHIPPLE & CO. 
 1853. 
 

 MEMOIR 
 
 JOHN CODMAN, D.D 
 
 WILLIAM ALLEN, D. D. 
 
 iyJ^70366 
 
MEMOIR 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTEODUCTORY REMARKS.— DE. CODMAN'S ANCESTRY. 
 
 The annals of the American pulpit are yet very 
 imperfect ; but it may well be doubted, whether 
 any nation, in the same period, has ever produced 
 a greater number of able and eminent ministers. 
 Certainly no country, of equal extent, can rival New 
 England in this respect. In its earliest settlement, 
 and amidst its privations and hardships, the estab- 
 lishment of Harvard College attested the wisdom of 
 our ancestors and their fidelity to the interests of 
 education and religion. They knew that, without 
 a clergy of piety and intelligence, there was little 
 hope of a safe and flourishing Commonwealth ; 
 hence it was their earliest care to provide the best 
 means of education, and to send forth to their 
 
10 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 churches a well-instructed and faithful ministry. 
 How well they succeeded, and how extensive and 
 salutary was their influence, is seen in the high tone 
 of morals which pervades New England ; in the 
 strength and beauty of its social and civil compact ; 
 in its far-reaching enterprise, its institutions of phi- 
 lanthropy, and its many visible tokens of primitive 
 and intelligent piety. 
 
 To give to the world a record of the virtues and 
 labors of the New England clergy, is one of the 
 best methods of perpetuating the blessings with 
 which they have enriched us. Whenever a min- 
 ister has been eminent in the cause of Christ, it 
 becomes an imperative duty to hold his character 
 and services in grateful remembrance. If, after his 
 death, his worth is commemorated, and his life and 
 character are presented to the world, he is still a 
 preacher of righteousness on the earth, while he 
 mingles in the worship above, and praises his 
 Redeemer in the upper temple, "not made with 
 hands, eternal in the heavens." 
 
 The important relations which the late Rev. Dr. 
 CoDMAN sustained to our churches, the eminent 
 services rendered by him to the evangelical faith, 
 the unsullied purity of his character, and the warm 
 and grateful love of his church and people, demand 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 11 
 
 that a life, thus devoted to the service of Christ, 
 should be fullj and faithfully delineated. Such a 
 biography belongs to the ministry, of which he was 
 an ornament and a model, and to the community, 
 who honored him while living and deeply lamented 
 him in death. 
 
 We shall give some account of Dr. Cod man's 
 ancestry, because men, who have done worthily in 
 their generation, ought not to be forgotten in sub- 
 sequent ages. They were among the laity of New 
 England, always remarkable for integrity, and 
 enjoying a large and valuable influence, both in 
 social and civil relations. 
 
 The earliest of the paternal ancestry of Dr. 
 Codman, in America, was Stephen Codman, of 
 Charlestown, Massachusetts, in the year 1680. His 
 youngest son, John Codman, (the only one of eight 
 children, who survived him,) married, in 1718, 
 Parnel Foster, daughter of Richard Foster, a man 
 of eminence in the Colony, whose wife was the 
 daughter of Isaac and Mary Winslow. And it may 
 here be mentioned, that the mother of Isaac Wins- 
 low was the first female who landed from the May- 
 flower, December 21, 1620. Capt. John Codman 
 held a commission under the king, and was an 
 officer in the Ancient and Honorable Artillery 
 
12 MEMOIE OF DE. CODMAN. 
 
 Company in 1745. He was a highly respectable 
 and useful citizen, and an active military officer. 
 The circumstances attending his death were most 
 afflictive. He had three negro slaves, named Mark, 
 Phillis, and Phoebe, who poisoned him with arsenic. 
 The two former were convicted and executed. 
 The place of Mark's execution was on the northerly- 
 side of Cambridge road, about a quarter of a mile 
 above the peninsula, and the gibbet remained until 
 a short time before the Revolution. Phillis was 
 burned at the stake, about ten yards from the gal- 
 lows. It has been said that, in the history of the 
 country, this is the only instance of that method of 
 punishment under the authority of the law. It is 
 well for New England, that her records can furnish 
 no other example. 
 
 John Codman, son of Capt. John Codman, was 
 born in Charlestown, in the year 1719, and died at 
 his residence in Boston, January 17, 1792. Early 
 in life he was deeply impressed with the impor- 
 tance of religion, under the eloquent preaching 
 of Whitefield and of Gilbert Tennent, during the 
 first visit of the former to New England. He was 
 admitted to the church in Charlestown, at the age of 
 twenty. About the year 1754, he married Abigail 
 Asbury, widow of John Asbury and daughter of 
 
MEMOIE OF DR. CODMAN. 13 
 
 John Soley, of Charlestown, an excellent woman, 
 of strong mind and ardent piety. Mr. Codman 
 was a decided whig, and a warm friend to his 
 country. In February, 1770, he was one of the 
 committee of inspection in Charlestown as to the 
 non-importation agreement. In November, 1773, 
 he, with many other whigs, petitioned for a meeting 
 on the subject of the tea, which was soon to be 
 imported, and he was one of a committee to recom- 
 mend measures that should be adopted. 
 
 Hon. John Codman, the third of the name, and 
 father of the Rev. Dr. Codman, was born in 
 Charlestown, January 17, 1755. He was married 
 at Lincoln, July 15, 1781, to Margaret Russell, 
 youngest daughter of Hon. James Russell, by whom 
 he had two children ; John, the subject of this 
 Memoir, and Charles Russell Codman of Boston, 
 recently deceased. The father of Dr. Codman 
 received his early education at Dummer Academy, 
 in Byfield, and subsequently entered the counting 
 house of Isaac Smith, Esq. in Boston. He died at 
 the early age of forty-eight, leaving a large estate ; 
 and at the time of his decease was a member of the 
 Senate of Massachusetts. The following tribute to 
 his memory was penned by the late John Lowell, 
 Esq. '' Amidst the awful and sudden dispensations 
 
14 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 of Providence, which we are occasionally called 
 upon to witness, few have ever produced more pub- 
 lic regret or private calamity, than the death of this 
 truly excellent and respectable citizen. Of manners 
 gentle, of affections warm and glowing, of habits 
 industrious and enterprising, with an understanding 
 clear and masculine, with an eloquence impressive 
 and energetic, with a heart expanded and generous, 
 he was excellently qualified to fill and honorably 
 to discharge the various important public and private 
 relations in which he stood to society. As a 
 husband, father, friend, he yielded to no one in the 
 tender, affectionate, constant performance of all 
 those interesting attentions which these endearing 
 relations require. As a merchant, his assiduity, 
 honor, fidelity, enterprise and discernment, rendered 
 him an object of sincere respect to the old, and an 
 excellent model to the young. As a citizen, he was 
 generous, affable, kind, compassionate and patriotic. 
 In public life, he exhibited capacity, information, 
 eloquence and an ardent love for his country. In 
 the meridian of life, in the full career of usefulness 
 and reputation, just entering into the higher councils 
 of the State, and while his fellow citizens were pre- 
 saging his future eminence, the destroying angel 
 aimed the silent but fatal blow, and left nothing to 
 
MEMOIR OF DR, CODMAN. 15 
 
 his affectionate survivors but unavailing regret. 
 Regret? No. When v^e recollect the brightest 
 and hitherto unnoticed trait in the character of this 
 admirable man, we ought not to express, scarcely to 
 feel regret. Mr. Codman died, as he had lived, a 
 Vi^arm, sincere, pious believer in the Christian relig- 
 ion, its hopes, and future rewards. His death was 
 even more honorable and distinguished, certainly 
 more extraordinary, than his life. After a very 
 short sickness, he yielded up his spirit into the 
 hands of his Maker, without a sigh or a murmur, 
 with calmness, resignation, and heroic fortitude. In 
 the full possession of all his faculties, he died a 
 hero, patriot, and Christian." 
 
 In the year 1791, Mr. Codman married his second 
 wife, Catharine Amory, daughter of John Amory, 
 Esq., a lady of singular intelligence, enlarged 
 benevolence, and devoted piety, by whom he had 
 six children. She died in Boston, December 22, 
 1831. 
 
 It seems proper to add to this account some 
 notice of the maternal ancestry of Dr. Codman, as 
 they occupied important stations in society, and were 
 highly influential and useful in the civil and eccle- 
 siastical affairs of New England. 
 
 Margaret Russell, the mother of Dr. Codman, 
 
16 MEMOIR OF DE. CODMAN. 
 
 was a descendant of Richard Russell of Hereford, 
 in the County of Hereford, in England, who came 
 to America and settled in Charlestown in the year 
 1640. He was elected a Representative and was 
 Speaker of the House for several years, and for a 
 long time was Treasurer of the Colony. He pur- 
 chased a part of the Pemaquid Patent, and most of 
 the town of Medford once belonged to him. He 
 died in the year 1676. To the church in Charles- 
 town, with which he had been in Christian fellow- 
 ship for many years, he bequeathed a portion of his 
 property, the annual proceeds of which have been 
 dispensed to the poor of that church down to the 
 present day. He also gave one hundred pounds to 
 Harvard College. 
 
 James Russell, son of Richard Russell, was born 
 in Charlestown in 1640, and was elected a Coun- 
 cillor for the Colony in the year 1680, from which 
 time until his death he was annually chosen, ex- 
 cepting during the few years of the reign of King 
 James, when the people were deprived of the priv- 
 ilege of that office. He served God and his country 
 also as Treasurer, Judge, and in other offices of the 
 highest influence and trust. His mortal career was 
 closed, April 28, 1709, in the full hope of a happy 
 immortality. 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. if 
 
 Daniel Russell, son of James Russell, was born in 
 Charlestown, November 30, 1685, and died Decem- 
 ber 6, 1763. He was for more than twenty years a 
 member of His Majesty's Council and Commissioner 
 of Imports, and also for about fifty years was Treas- 
 urer of the County of Middlesex. It is observable 
 that, in the several offices which he sustained 
 he succeeded his worthy father and grandfather. 
 Chambers Russell, his eldest son, was Judge of the 
 Court of Vice-Admiralty for the Province of Mas- 
 sachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and the Colony 
 of Rhode Island ; and, in the year 1752, he was 
 appointed one of the Justices of the Superior Court 
 of Judicature. He was heir to Charles Chambers, 
 Esq., who came from Lincoln, in England ; and 
 when a separation of the town of Lincoln from 
 Concord took place, it was called Lincoln, in honor 
 of him. 
 
 James Russell, second son of Daniel Russell, 
 succeeded to the public honors of his ancestors as 
 Representative, Councillor and Judge. His young- 
 est daughter, Margaret Russell, was the mother of 
 Dr. Codman. 
 
 Judge Russell, in a letter to his son, remarks as 
 follows : " Our family has great reason to bless God, 
 that its reputation has been preserved. You are of 
 
18 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 the fifth generation. In the year 1646, Richard 
 Russell entered upon public life ; and from that time 
 to the present, I may say that the family have had 
 every office of profit and honor, w^hich the public 
 could give them in the town of Charlestown, in the 
 County of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts ; 
 and I do not find, that any one was left out of office 
 for misbehavior. Let our hearts be filled with grat- 
 itude to Him who has thus distinguished us, and let 
 us evince this our gratitude to our Maker, by a good 
 improvement of our talents." 
 
 Such was the ancestry, and such the honorable 
 descent of the Rev. Dr. Codman. 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 19 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HIS EAELY CHAEACTER AND EDUCATION — INCIDEXTS OF COLLEGE 
 LIFE — RELIGIOUS IMPEESSIONS — COMMENCEMENT OF THEOLOGICAL 
 STUDIES — JOUENEYS IN NEW ENGLAND. 
 
 Dr. Codman was bom August 3, 1782, and was 
 baptized in Brattle Street Church bj Rev. Dr. 
 Cooper. " His parents," sajs the Rev. Dr. Storrs 
 in his funeral sermon, " educated their children 
 faithfully in the principles of scriptural morality and 
 strict regard to the institutions of revealed religion." 
 At this time there was no visible departure from an 
 evangelical faith. It was undoubtedly true, that 
 many circumstances had lowered the standard of 
 religious practice; and, among these, the war of the 
 Revolution had contributed its fatal influence. But, 
 whatever were the causes which in twenty-five 
 years from Dr. Codman's birth had nearly subverted 
 the ancient faith of the churches, there was no 
 marked distinction of doctrine, during his childhood 
 and youth, which might prevent the appropriate 
 influence of divine truth on his mind. It does not 
 
20 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 however appear, that he experienced anj strong 
 religious impressions in very early life. 
 
 " Of his early youth," continues Dr. Storrs, " the 
 prominent characteristics were a marked buoyancy 
 of spirits, gaiety of manners, sociality of feeling, 
 sprightliness of mind, facility of intellectual acqui- 
 sition, frankness of disposition, and ardent attach- 
 ment." His youthful studies were prosecuted at 
 Andover Academy, and under the care of the Rev. 
 Henry Ware of Hingham. He entered Harvard 
 College in 1798, and was graduated with honor in 
 1802, in a class of sixty — the largest class which 
 had been connected with the college. 
 
 His amiable deportment, his exemplary discharge 
 of moral and social duties, greatly endeared him to 
 his classmates and friends ; but we have no impor- 
 tant records of his college life, and he appears to 
 have given no remarkable indication of that firmness 
 and fortitude, and of those rare attainments in 
 prudence and wisdom, which, in after life, no emer- 
 gency could baffle, and of which neither persecution 
 nor flattery could disarm him. 
 
 In so large a class, it was necessary that a 
 considerable number should be excluded from the 
 opportunity of a public performance at commence- 
 ment. In the first arrangement of the exercises, 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 21 
 
 Mr. Codman's name was omitted. The class, 
 however, elected him to deliver a poem on the occa- 
 sion of their departure from college ; and this was 
 so creditable to him, that it induced the college 
 government immediately to repair the injustice, as 
 the President expressed himself, which had been 
 done to Mr. Codman, and to assign him a com- 
 mencement exercise. This affair was alwajs a 
 matter of pleasant reminiscence. 
 
 President Willard, who had just recovered from 
 sickness, was present at the delivery of the poem, 
 the following lines of which, containing an affec- 
 tionate address to himself, drew tears from his 
 eyes : 
 
 " Pause ! ye who aim the sacred desk to fill, 
 Look, ere you strive to climb the holy hill ; 
 Supremely blest, if with magnetic charm 
 You lure the giddy multitude from harm, 
 Stoop not to pluck the flowerets by the way, 
 That bloom for seizure, but when pluck'd decay ; 
 Receive and give to thousands of the fruit. 
 And water with your tears Religion's root. 
 Those who have claimed their blest abodes on high, 
 To form new planets, risen to the sky, 
 Belknap and Clarke, as second stars, shall guide 
 To show, how Jesus lived, and how he died ; 
 But, when a saint, almost expiring, strove 
 To join the kindred spirits gone above. 
 Thanks to Almighty power, which from the dead 
 Raised to new life the reverend Clergy's head. — 
 
22 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 Kind father of our literary days ! 
 Permit thy children to express their praise 
 To Him, who stretched his ready hand to save 
 The guide to truth from a too early grave. 
 
 " Indulgent Heaven, with wisest motives fraught, 
 Our greatest good, by contrast, oft hath taught, — 
 So, from the sky, sickness commissioned came 
 To blast the hopes of literature and fame ; 
 Round our horizon clouds of sorrow hung. 
 Prayer filled each heart and trembled on each tongue, 
 Till health unveiled her rainbow to the sight. 
 Dispersed the clouds, and bade the sun delight." 
 
 In bidding farewell to his companions, he de- 
 scribed, with prophetic truth, his own satisfaction 
 in after years, in recalling the scenes of his college 
 life. 
 
 " Harvard ! thy walls now lessen from my view, 
 Friends of my youth, classmates, a long adieu. 
 Old time hath brought our journey to a close, 
 Who heeds no feeling, and no friendship knows ; 
 Relentless tyrant ! cruel were thy sway, 
 Hard to acknowledge, harder to obey. 
 Had not sweet memory said and promised true, 
 That times, so pleasant, ever should be new, 
 And penciled on the canvass of the mind 
 In brightest colors all we've left behind." 
 
 While pursuing the study of the law in the office 
 of his kinsman, John Lowell, Esq., the sudden death 
 of his father was the means of changing his destined 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 23 
 
 profession. In his last sickness, his father intimated 
 a wish that his son should become a minister of 
 the gospel. This circumstance, and the subsequent 
 deep affliction, working on a most affectionate 
 heart, were doubtless instrumental, through the 
 mercy of God, in giving him religious impressions 
 which he had never before experienced. He com- 
 menced the study of theology, in 1803, with his 
 early instructor. Rev. Henry Ware of Hingham, 
 with whom he remained about a year; and then 
 removed to Cambridge, there to continue his theo- 
 logical pursuits. 
 
 Dr. Tappan, the Professor of Theology, was 
 now deceased, and he was not succeeded by 
 Dr. Ware until June of the next year. But at 
 Cambridge, Mr. Codman found congenial society, 
 associates engaged in the same pursuits. He 
 formed a particular intimacy with several students 
 and preachers of evangelical sentiments, with one 
 of whom, the writer of this Memoir, he entered 
 into a peculiar and strong friendship, which lasted 
 during his subsequent life. 
 
 At this period the preachers and students in 
 theology, resident at Cambridge, united in a society 
 called the Kappa Delta, from the initials of two 
 Greek words denoting the School of Preachers. Of 
 
24 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 this society, Mr. Codman was the secretary. At 
 the meetings, which were held in a retired room, 
 prayers were offered and a sermon was delivered, 
 which was subject to the criticisms of the mem- 
 bers present. Sometimes the discourses assumed 
 a polemical form, and important doctrines were 
 discussed. This institution was not without its 
 advantages. Of its members, at this period, five 
 or six were subsequently honored with the title of 
 Doctors in Theology. 
 
 There existed, at the same time, at Cambridge, 
 a society designed to promote practical religion, 
 consisting of the members of the college, but which 
 was often attended and encouraged by the resident 
 theological students. It was called the Saturday 
 Evening Religious Society, and was useful in keep- 
 ing alive, in a time of degeneracy, a spirit of piety. 
 Of this society Mr. Codman was an active friend. 
 
 At this period, either at Hingham or at Cam- 
 bridge, William Cooper's " Four Sermons on Pre- 
 destination" were put into his hands, with a re- 
 quest that he would write a review of them for the 
 Monthly Anthology. This journal was the organ 
 of the liberal party, which had just begun to present 
 somewhat distinctly the features of Unitarianism. 
 It was, of course, expected that the review would 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 25 
 
 be in accordance with the liberal opinions of that 
 periodical. Mr. Codman read the book, undoubt- 
 edly under the influence of the general prejudice 
 against the doctrines which it advocated. But 
 " its perusal opened his ejes, for the first time, on 
 the beautiful consistency of the doctrines there 
 defended, with the Scriptures of truth, and on their 
 excellency as revealing God on the throne of the 
 universe, controlling at his pleasure the movements 
 of rebellious man." * The review which was written 
 did not appear in the polished though frigid pages 
 of the Anthology, but met the public eye in the 
 first number of the Panoplist for June, 1805. 
 
 Of the kind, sympathizing and benevolent spirit, 
 which ever marked the character of Mr. Codman, 
 the following instance may here be mentioned : — A 
 young student, of Londonderry, N. H., was dan- 
 gerously sick at Cambridge, and his father came to 
 remove him to his home. Mr. Codman proposed to 
 the writer to accompany with him, in his own sleigh, 
 the sick man in his slow and melancholy journey. 
 At the end of three days, the son and brother 
 reached the bosom of an interesting family, whose 
 gratitude to Mr. Codman was without bounds. 
 The young student died on the fourth of March 
 
 * Rev. Dr. Storrs's Sermon. 
 
26 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 following, crjing out in his delirium, " Mr. Codman ! 
 my friend, Mr. Codman ! " A brief account of the 
 religious experience of this young man was given by 
 Mr. Codman, at the next meeting of the Saturday 
 Evening Society. He stated that, after suffering 
 the deepest anxiety from a sense of ill-desert, and 
 his exposure to the just punishment of sin, on one 
 morning the light broke in upon his mind, and 
 from that moment, as he was persuaded, he loved 
 God and relied upon the blood of atonement, having 
 a heart renewed by the divine Spirit, and living 
 continually in prayer and in the hope of immortal 
 blessedness. If any one could have witnessed the 
 grateful welcome with which, in many a subsequent 
 year, Mr. Codman was ever received at London- 
 derry, it might awaken in his heart the desire of 
 gaining the same inestimable reward of an act of 
 kindness. 
 
 After visiting this afflicted family in the month 
 of May, Mr. Codman, with his friend, prosecuted 
 his journey from Londonderry to Windsor, Vt., and 
 Dartmouth College. At Windsor, he met with a 
 number of his highly esteemed Boston friends, 
 who were called thither by reason of the ordi- 
 nation of the Rev. Bancroft Fowler. Among 
 them were Rev. Dr. Eckley, Rev. Mr. Channing, 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 27 
 
 and Mr. Josiah Salisbury, whose sister resided in 
 Windsor. 
 
 The candidate was minutely examined, for as yet 
 it was deemed important that the forms of exami- 
 nation should be rigidly observed, though a wider 
 latitude of faith was tolerated ; and it was not 
 required of the candidate that he should be so 
 explicit, on some mysterious points of Christian 
 faith, as was soon afterwards found to be necessary. 
 Mr. Channing made the introductory prayer. Dr. 
 Burton, of Thetford, preached. Mr. Rowell, of 
 Cornish, gave the right hand of fellowship, and Dr. 
 Burroughs, of Hanover, a plain, unpolished, honest 
 old gentleman, presided and gave the charge. Dr. 
 Burton is known as the supporter of the Taste 
 Scheme in theology, retaining the old and correct 
 division of the mental faculties, the intellect, the 
 affections, and the will. He maintained, that all 
 holiness consists in a good taste, or a right state 
 of the affections ; and that volitions have no moral 
 quality, except as indicating the state of the heart. 
 As we are depraved beings, it is necessary, in order 
 to holiness, that a new taste be implanted by divine 
 grace ; a benevolent, holy disposition, which finds 
 happiness in imparting happiness. At a subse- 
 quent period he published a volume of JEssays> 
 
28 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 in which he unfolded and vindicated his moral 
 theory. 
 
 From the beautiful village of Windsor, Mr. Cod- 
 man journeyed to Hanover, where he was received 
 by President Wheelock, into a family afterwards 
 peculiarly endeared to the waiter. At this time 
 there was one wooden college-building and a small 
 chapel, near which was the pleasant mansion of 
 the President. The next Sabbath w^as spent by 
 Mr. Codman and his friend at Londonderry ; and 
 they had the pleasure of listening to the preaching 
 of President McKeen, a native of Londonderry, 
 and the first occupant of the presidential chair of 
 Bowdoin College. 
 
 As illustrative of the character of Mr. Codman, 
 it may not be improper for the writer here to intro- 
 duce an extract from his own journal, of May 31st : 
 ** How great is the goodness of God in giving me 
 such a friend as John Codman ! He has pre- 
 sented me with an interleaved Bible, Cruden's 
 Concordance, and Brown's Dictionary of the Bible. 
 He has requested me to consider his property as 
 my own. ' God,' said he to me, ' has blessed me 
 in giving me more money than I want to use ; you 
 have but two hundred dollars a year ; you cannot 
 live upon it ; let my money be your own.' Never 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 29 
 
 have I known a friendship so pure and fervent. 
 May God reward him ; and may our friendship, 
 which is founded on the religion of Jesus, be last- 
 ing as eternity." 
 
 At the time he offered me Cruden, I hesitated in 
 receiving it, saying that he conferred obligations 
 which I could never repay. He wrote on a piece 
 of paper as follows :— " I am surprised to hear you 
 speak of the reception of favors which cannot be 
 repaid. If I have ever conferred a favor upon you, 
 it has been amply and fully repaid. I enjoy, what 
 is to me of infinitely more value than silver or gold, 
 the pleasure of your society, and, I must hope, of 
 your friendship. Let me, I beseech you, return 
 a little of the debt, by sharing together what a 
 merciful God has been pleased to give me. It 
 would be my highest happiness, if we were so 
 intimately united as to supersede all those ideas of 
 obligation ; that we were one in heart, and life, and 
 in all our interests." 
 
30 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HIS STUDIES AVITII EEV. HENRY WAEE — DIFFICULTIES OF HIS SOCIAL 
 POSITION — VOYAGE TO ENGLAND — HIS MORAL INDEPENDENCE AND 
 THE INFLUENCE OF RELIGION UPON HIS LIFE. 
 
 At this period, 1805, there was no public semi- 
 nary, with teachers devoted to the instruction of 
 students in theology ; although some young men, 
 resident at Cambridge, were assisted by the pro- 
 fessor of theology in their pursuits. The candidates 
 for the ministry in general availed themselves of the 
 teachings and the libraries of private clergymen ; 
 and it must be said, to the honor of those ministers, 
 that they devoted much time and labor to qualify 
 those under their care for the sacred office. It was 
 considered a part of ministerial duty, to receive and 
 educate those young men who desired to consecrate 
 themselves to the service of Christ and the church. 
 As the fruits of their self-denying labors, many 
 clergymen of great eminence and piety were thus 
 theologically educated, and became the means of 
 extensive good to the community and the world. 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 31 
 
 Accordingly, we find Mr. Codman pursuing his 
 studies with Rev. Henrj Ware, then of Hingham. 
 The decline in matters of religious faith, and of 
 Christian feeling and practice, which for some 
 years had been noticed, was now disclosing a strong 
 opposition to Calvinistic theology. Mr. Codman 
 was surrounded by his own family connections, and 
 by the many friends of his early youth, who be- 
 longed to the *' liberal party," so called, and was 
 thus brought under the full influence of the new 
 opinions. These opinions had not then taken the 
 name of Unitarianism, but their advocates were 
 men of the world, greatly opposed to the excite- 
 ment of religious feelings, which had in them any- 
 thing of anxiety for the soul, or any deep solicitude 
 for the salvation of others. The doctrines of grace, 
 if preached at all, were only alluded to in Scripture 
 language, or in terms so general, or so ambiguous, 
 as to make little or no impression. Men were 
 exceedingly afraid of being righteous overmuch ; 
 hence there were few prayer meetings, very little 
 religious conference, and Sabbath evening services 
 were by many considered reproachful or unneces- 
 sary. Happily for Mr. Codman, he resolved to take 
 his opinion, in matters of such infinite moment, 
 from the word of God. Not "conferring with 
 
32 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 flesh and blood," in that noble independence for 
 which his whole life was remarkable, he determined 
 to " choose affliction with the people of God," and 
 to enlist the ardor of his youth, and the influence 
 of wealth and station, and all the powers of his 
 mind, to promote a gospel, which was despised and 
 rejected of men. He believed it to be the gospel 
 of the Son of God. In his own joyful experience, 
 he had found that divine peace which no other 
 gospel could give ; and neither the pride of the 
 world, nor the accomplishments of life, nor the love 
 of friends, nor any or all the combined and power- 
 ful influences which were brought to bear upon his 
 mind, could shake his high and holy resolution. 
 He was ready to " count all things but loss for the 
 excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his 
 Lord ; " and in the prayer meeting, the conference 
 room, and private devotional duties, he found his 
 supreme satisfaction and never-failing springs of 
 delight. Far from being bigoted or misanthropic, 
 a more cheerful Christian was rarely seen. He 
 was most remarkable, even at this early period, for 
 a sound judgment and practical wisdom ; and he 
 united the accomplishments of the gentleman with 
 the meekness and sincerity of the Christian, in 
 such a manner as to call forth the respect and 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 33 
 
 admiration of those who were most opposed to his 
 religious faith. 
 
 Few men, at this day, can have any conception 
 of the embarrassments and trials which Mr. Cod- 
 man endured, as the fruit of his religious convic- 
 tions. 
 
 Among his early acquaintances and friends were 
 two young men, of great eminence as scholars and 
 of most attractive eloquence as preachers, — Mr. 
 Channing, who was ordained in Boston, in 1803, 
 and Mr. Buckminster, who was ordained in 1805, 
 and who died in about ^\q years afterwards. Mr. 
 Channing was the beloved minister of Mr. Cod- 
 man's mother-in-law. In his preaching there was 
 a pious fervor, in connection with literary excel- 
 lence, which rendered it extremely interesting. He 
 lived to be the head of the whole party in America, 
 which, though very diverse in their views concern- 
 ing Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is classed together 
 as one by the title of Unitarian. 
 
 Mr. Channing was by some years the senior of 
 Mr. Codman. At this time, the tendencies of his 
 mind to the evangelical faith were undoubtedly 
 strong. It was his practice to dine, on every Sat- 
 urday, with the family of Mrs. Codman ; and he 
 therefore became familiar with Mr. Codman, whom 
 
 / 
 
34 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 he always regarded with esteem and affection ; and 
 although, in after years, their views of Christian 
 doctrine placed them in widely different relations, 
 yet their mutual friendship and regard were never 
 interrupted. As an evidence of the strong evan- 
 gelical feelings of Mr. Channing at this period, we 
 would state that, while Mr. Codman was pursuing 
 his studies with Dr. Ware, he was spending a few 
 days at home, on one of which Mr. Channing dined 
 with the family. After dinner, he requested Mr. 
 Codman to ride with him a few miles, and, during 
 the ride, after much serious conversation, he ex- 
 pressed his fears that the religious speculations of 
 the times were leading many astray ; and he ear- 
 nestly desired that his young friend might guard 
 his mind from the prevailing errors, and that, by a 
 prayerful study of the word of God and an implicit 
 faith in its teachings, he might be prepared for the 
 solemn duties of the ministry. Mr. Channing was 
 not, at this time, ready to give up the evangelical 
 doctrines ; doubtless they were more or less modi- 
 fied in his view ; but yet they exerted a powerful 
 influence over his preaching and his life. Nor is 
 it believed that this influence was wholly destroyed, 
 in any stage of his subsequent departures from the 
 faith of the New England churches. 
 
MEMOIR OF DE. CODMAN. 35 
 
 We have already seen the active operation of 
 divine grace upon Mr. Codman's mind. Under all 
 the peculiarities of his situation, far more unfriendly 
 to the growth of piety than if his position in life 
 had been obscure, we find him advancing in all the 
 graces of the Christian ; but a higher maturity was 
 soon after attained, in circumstances more congenial 
 to his Christian advancement. In the belief that 
 his theological studies could be pursued with greater 
 benefit in Scotland, he resolved to avail himself of 
 the advantages which the older institutions of that 
 country afforded. Accordingly, he embarked for 
 Liverpool in the brig Superb, Captain Bosworth, 
 and sailed from Boston on Tuesday, July 30, 1805. 
 His fellow passengers were, a gentleman of Boston 
 and his wife, and two young ladies. 
 
 The following are extracts from his journal : 
 
 Sunday Night, August 4. — I have had to lament one of 
 God's holy days spent in a very indiflferent manner, being very 
 sick and unable to fix my mind on devotional subjects. 
 
 Tuesday, August 6. — This morning, read to the ladies on 
 deck an excellent little pamphlet by Andrew Fuller, on the 
 question, "What shall I do to be saved?" Read two of 
 Smalley's Sermons, and spent a very pleasant afternoon on deck. 
 The evening was uncommonly fine, and Mr. T. obliged us with 
 some excellent songs. 
 
 Wednesday, August 7. — In the afternoon, read to the ladies 
 
36 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 several pieces from the Assembly's Missionary Magazine, and 
 from the Panoplist. 
 
 Sunday, August 11. — Fine weather and fair winds. On 
 this day, when thousands are uniting throughout the world in 
 praising God, I sensibly felt the deprivation of public worship. 
 There is an inexpressible pleasure in uniting with the congrega- 
 tion of the people in keeping holy day, of which those who are 
 not at a distance from the house of God cannot conceive. In the 
 morning read some of Sm alley's Sermons, and in the afternoon 
 Mr. and Mrs. T., the Misses E., and Captain B., assembled in 
 the cabin to attend my imperfect services. After prayer, read- 
 ing of the Scriptures and singing, I delivered a discourse from 
 Isaiah xli. 10. I hope and pray, that the Lord will assist my 
 weak endeavors, and that these exercises may be beneficial to 
 the souls of my hearers. I have much to bewail and lament 
 before God, my many and aggravated sins, particularly my cold- 
 ness and indifference to things spiritual, during my passage thus 
 far. The delightful exercise of prayer has in a great measure 
 abated, and I am too inclined to relapse into the habits of my 
 companions. How often and how deeply have I regretted the 
 absence of those dear friends, whose eminent piety and religious 
 attainments served to animate my endeavors and strengthen my 
 Christian zeal ; and more especially do I feel the absence of 
 one who has so often accompanied me to a throne of grace, 
 with whom I have spent so many agreeable hours, and to whom, 
 under God, I owe much spiritual edification. May his life, 
 health, and usefulness, be ever precious in the sight of the Most 
 High. 
 
 Sunday, August 18. — I pray God not to take his Holy Spirit 
 from me, nor to suffer me to be led away by the temptations of 
 the great world upon which I am about to enter. In the morn- 
 ing, read to the ladies a sermon from 2 Kings v. 13 ; and in 
 the afternoon, my usual auditors being assembled in the cabin, 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 37 
 
 I again performed divine service. My discourse was from 
 1 Corinthians xi. 28. 
 
 Sunday, August 25. — To our great joy, we discovered the 
 Irish coast. My usual hearers being assembled in the cabin, 
 after having returned thanks to God for his kind care and pro- 
 tection during the voyage, I delivered a sermon from Romans i. 
 20, in which, it being the last Sabbath we shall probably spend 
 together, I took notice of our situation, in an occasional address 
 to my hearers. God grant, if there be any thing of good in my 
 sermons, they may make a serious impression on the hearts of 
 those who have heard me. 
 
 Tuesday, August 27. — An English man-of-war, of thirty- 
 two guns, boarded us with three or four hardy looking seamen, 
 and one haughty, insolent officer, who, after inquiring whence 
 we came and who we were, called for our men ; and after exam- 
 ining their protections, took a young man from us, who had the 
 appearance of an Irishman, but with a regular American pro- 
 tection. Poor fellow ! almost in sight of port and perhaps of 
 friends, to be forced on board a man-of-war, subjected to the 
 tyrannical insolence of his superiors. Such are the tyrants of 
 the ocean ! How gratefCil ought I to be to Almighty God, for 
 preserving me from the situation of the Irish lad ! How un- 
 searchable are his ways, that one should be taken, and another 
 left ! 
 
 Wednesday, August 28. — Arrived at Liverpool. Praised 
 be God, that I can now close my journal under such favorable 
 circumstances, — a pleasant passage of twenty-eight days and 
 good health. This evening, thanks to the Giver of every good 
 and perfect gift, I enjoyed some little freedom in prayer, and 
 was enabled to pour out my soul in thankful adoration to the 
 Preserver of mankind for his sparing mercy in bringing me safe 
 to this foreign land. Oh, may I never be unmindful of the God 
 of my salvation. 
 
38 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 These extracts from Mr. Codman's journal give 
 us a pleasing idea of his religious disposition and 
 feelings, and of his Christian courage. A joung 
 man, a student in theology but not a licensed 
 preacher, amidst the discomforts of his first voyage, 
 with a small company, not sympathizing with his 
 views and emotions, yet, in his zeal for the glory 
 of God and their spiritual benefit, he undertakes 
 to be their religious teacher and persuade them to 
 devote the Sabbath to religious services. Of the 
 two men of this company, one was much opposed 
 to Trinitarians and Calvinists, and the other was 
 a disbeliever in any revelation to man from the 
 Supreme Ruler of the universe. Of the latter, Mr. 
 Codman said, " A man, so benevolent and kind, 
 as he appears to be, and yet a stranger to Jesus 
 Christ, is much to be pitied. 1 had a very inter- 
 esting conversation with him, in which I endeav- 
 ored, to the best of my ability, to explain to him 
 the scheme of salvation through a crucified Saviour. 
 He heard me with attention, and seemed to be 
 interested in the conversation." 
 
 It is not thus that the men of the world occupy 
 their time and talents. It is sufficient, in their 
 view, to pursue the gains and to enjoy the plea- 
 sures and honors which the world ofifers. How 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 39 
 
 Striking is the contrast between their pursuits and 
 the noble aims of this young servant of Christ ! 
 For them^ there is no hour of secret prayer, no com- 
 munion with God, no lively apprehension of those 
 eternal realities upon which they must soon enter. 
 For him^ the morning and evening altar are the 
 symbols of that high fellowship, which he hopes to 
 enjoy hereafter with his adored Redeemer. For 
 liim^ no scene of pleasure has any attractions, which 
 does not comprehend some foretaste of those joys 
 which *' eye hath not seen nor ear heard." His 
 Bible, his Sabbath, the conversion of immortal 
 souls, are the objects dearest to his heart ; and, 
 though surrounded by the wealth and flattery of the 
 world, he remains uncorrupted and undeceived. 
 Pressing forward in the path of duty, he gives his 
 example, and all his energies, to that cause which, 
 though it be *' a stumbling-block and foolishness" 
 to the world, is, to them that believe, " the power 
 of God and the wisdom of God." 
 
 It is exceedingly rare, that the religion of the 
 cross achieves its noblest victories amid the scenes 
 of uninterrupted prosperity. Yet some such exam- 
 ples are found ; and, in the subject of this Memoir, 
 we have one which invites the most serious con- 
 templation of those who enjoy in profusion the 
 
40 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 blessings of Providence. It is a picture of moral 
 beauty, in which we may see the divine excellence 
 of the Christian graces, and their superiority to all 
 the motives which govern the worldly and unre- 
 newed mind. It was not the incapacity of tasting 
 earthly pleasures that turned him to God ; it was 
 no disgust with the world ; it was no love of singu- 
 larity, no eccentric action of disordered sensibilities; 
 but it was the calm decision of a well-balanced 
 mind, that, under the guidance of the gracious 
 Spirit, enabled him to triumph over the snares of 
 youth and the blandishments of the world. It w^as 
 from the survey of the interests and of the future 
 destiny of the soul, that he derived the mighty 
 power of reducing the prominent and gaudy objects 
 of time to their own littleness, and of investing 
 with dignity and unappreciable worth the realities 
 of eternity. 
 
MEMOIR OF DE. CODMAN. 41 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 LIVERPOOL AND LONDON — PREACHING OF JOHN NEWTON — CHRISTIAN 
 FRIENDS IN LONDON — VARIOUS PREACHERS — EDINBURGH — STUDIES 
 AND LECTURES — DRS. HOPE AND HUNTER — DUGALD STEWART — 
 SCOTCH "BAPTISTS" AND " INDEPENDENTS " — RELIGIOUS REFLEC- 
 TIONS. 
 
 It was in the spirit of constant and fervent 
 prayer, that Mr. Codman entered upon the new 
 and interesting scenes to which he was now intro- 
 duced. He was perfectly aware of the powerful 
 temptations in his path, and he deeply felt the need 
 of restraining and supporting grace. He did not 
 intend to turn away from those various objects, 
 which are so worthy of the attention and call forth 
 the admiration of men of taste and genius, but he 
 resolved that everything should be subordinate to 
 the higher purposes of his mind. He knew that 
 the holy duties, to which he had consecrated his 
 life, demanded his first and supreme attention ; and 
 it was to qualify himself for the most extensive 
 usefulness, and not for personal gratification, that 
 he had sought the land of his ancestors. 
 
42 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 Upon his arrival at Liverpool, he therefore eagerly 
 repaired to several places of public worship ; but in 
 some of the pulpits of that city he did not find 
 the dignity and decorum, to which he had been 
 accustomed in his native country. In fact, he was 
 often disgusted with the familiarity, vulgarity and 
 levity of some preachers, which led him to say, 
 *' God grant, if he ever permits me to preach the 
 everlasting gospel, he will restrain me from all 
 appearance of levity." While in Liverpool, he 
 heard Mr. Yates, the celebrated antagonist of Ward- 
 law, and in his journal says of him, " Mr. Yates is 
 a pleasing man, but he appears to be incorrect in 
 religious sentiment ; probably of Socinian views. 
 His preaching, although it may gratify the man of 
 taste, is not calculated to afford sustenance to the 
 hungry soul." The School for the Blind, in Liv- 
 erpool, was an object of especial interest. He was 
 particularly gratified with its highly religious aspect; 
 and, on an occasion for catechetical exercises, he 
 listened with pleasure to recitations from the Cate- 
 chism by seventy-five members of the school, of 
 both sexes, and of widely different ages. 
 
 After a solitary ride of two nights, in the mail 
 coach, he reached London, and had the pleasure of 
 meeting his old friends and relatives, John Lowell, 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 43 
 
 Esq. and family, of Boston. He took lodgings in 
 Norfolk Street, Strand, which was then the Amer- 
 ican rendezvous of London, and gave him oppor- 
 tunity to hear often from his friends at home. 
 
 In his journal of September 8, he writes as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 This was another of the days of the Son of Man, and I hoped 
 at last to hear some serious, evangelical preaching. Called on 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bromfield, whom I found waiting to accompany 
 me to church. To me, the occasion was one of deep interest. 
 I expected to hear the excellent John Newton, but my friends 
 thought it doubtful whether he would preach. On entering the 
 church, we were agreeably surprised by seeing his venerable 
 form in the sacred desk. His interesting life, his uncommon 
 piety, his remarkable conversion, and his friendship for Cowper, 
 had created an indescribable interest in my mind. I had fre- 
 quently and most ardently desired to see that man of God. 
 The wish was at last accomplished. His figure was rather 
 short, and he wore a dark wig ; his countenance was strongly 
 marked, and his features were bold and commanding. He had 
 his servant with him, in the pulpit, to name his text ; for his 
 memory generally failed him in that particular. 
 
 After the text was given, which was from Acts xxvi. 28, 
 *' Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian," he repeated it, 
 and, leaning over the pulpit, began his sermon. It was not so 
 connected as might have been expected from him in early life ; 
 but it was a train of fatherly counsels and good sayings, so that 
 the most abandoned sinner might have left the church with the 
 text on his lips, and deeply fastened in his memory. Every 
 now and then the good man would hesitate and falter, and I 
 
44 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 was in great anxiety for him, lest he should not be able to pro- 
 ceed ; but he recovered himself and spoke with considerable 
 facility. Upon the whole, he is a wonderful man and a most 
 impressive preacher, considering he is upwards of eighty years 
 of age. 
 
 After dinner, I went to hear Mr. Burder, author of " Village 
 Sermons," who preaches in a small chapel in Feather Lane. 
 His sermon was pious and his manner impressive. 
 
 September 11. — Dined with Mr. Henry Bromfield. He is 
 one of the most agreeable and best Americans I have yet 
 met. He retains much of the manners of New England, is an 
 excellent merchant, and a very pious man. At dinner, I met 
 with two of my countrymen, Mr. Otis, and Mr. James Everett, 
 an old friend and class-mate, who came to England on busi- 
 ness last fall, and had been confined by sickness all winter in 
 London. 
 
 September 12. — This day I was engaged to dine" with Mr. 
 Robert G. Steele, of the house of Chalmers and Cowie ; and, 
 as Mr. Burder lived in Colebrook Row, Islington, I called there 
 on my way to Mr. Steele's, with a letter of introduction from 
 Dr. Morse. I was received with great kindness by this truly 
 excellent man, and found him preparing to go to Mr. Steele's to 
 dinner. As we were conversing, a Mr. Frey, a German Jew, 
 recently converted to Christianity, came in. I was much 
 pleased in seeing this worthy man. His preaching has been 
 attended with great success among his countrymen in this city. 
 We all went together to Mr. Steele's, and I found one of the 
 best and most agreeable families I had ever been acquainted 
 with. It consisted of Mr. Steele, (Mrs. Steele being absent,) 
 his mother and sister, and three very interesting children. Sev- 
 eral ladies were there, and also Mr. Lewis, pastor of a chapel in 
 Islington, of which Mr. Cowie is the great support and patron. 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 45 
 
 Rev. Mr. Bogue, of Gosport, was also there, and the conversa- 
 tion turned on my excellent friend, Mr. Allen,* who gave me 
 the letter to Mr. Cowie, and to whom I shall always feel under 
 the greatest obligation for introducing me to this society. 
 
 September 14. — Dined with Mrs. Gordon, at Islington. It 
 being a most delightful morning, I walked thither over the City 
 Road. It is very large, wide and beautiful, bordered, as is 
 usual in England, with hedges. Mrs. Gordon lives in a very 
 neat little house, quite in the country, and is a native of Charles- 
 town, near Boston. She appears to be a very pious lady, and 
 treated me with great affection and kindness. In the evening, I 
 heard Mr. Frey preach an excellent discourse on the subject of 
 the Brazen Serpent. There were many Jews present, although 
 at the risk of their lives. I pray God that he may be abundantly 
 useful to his countrymen. After service, several young Jews 
 called on him ; and we had some very interesting conversation 
 on the state of their souls. 
 
 In a letter to his friend, dated at Edinburgh, 
 November 1, 1805, Mr. Codman sajs : 
 
 I have now to inform you that, at Cambridge, I heard Mr. 
 Hall, so justly admired for his sermon on "Infidelity," at Oxford ; 
 Mr. Hinton, a celebrated and most excellent man ; and, subse- 
 quently, at a Baptist ordination. Dr. Ryland, and our much 
 admired Andrew Fuller. I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. 
 Fuller, and of receiving a warm invitation to visit him. The 
 Baptists of this country are highly intelligent and respectable, 
 and they unite with the most evangelical sentiments the true 
 spirit of charity. I have had the pleasure of communing with a 
 Baptist church, and with the pious of all denominations. 
 
 * Rev. Thomas Allen, of Pittsfield. 
 
46 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 Cambridge is a very inferior town ; Oxford, one of the most 
 beautiful in Europe, remarkable for the elegance of its Gothic 
 buildings and the best collection of paintings in England. I 
 spent ten days in that delightful place, and left it unsatisfied. 
 I have likewise visited the manufactories at Birmingham and 
 Manchester, and also Bristol, where I have an uncle ; and have 
 seen the romantic lakes of Cumberland and Westmoreland. 
 
 In comparing our government with this, perhaps it may be 
 dangerous to hazard many observations across the Atlantic. 
 Of this, be assured ; that more federalists return republicans, 
 than the reverse. There are twenty Americans in Edinburgh, 
 all republicans. John Gorham, whom you may remember at 
 college, is now here. He has visited England and France, and is 
 more and more satisfied of the policy and good sense of our 
 government, in their pacific measures. These sentiments, you 
 know, are not in compliment to you, but are the result of the 
 little observation I have made since I have been here. So 
 much for politics. Perhaps it is best for ministers not to meddle 
 with them ; but no true American can help rejoicing when he 
 considers the blesssings of his government, and dreading the 
 exertions of those, who attempt an imitation of a system of 
 which they do not know the evils. 
 
 I arrived here only last week, and the lectures have not yet 
 commenced. There are nearly a thousand medical students. 
 I shall attend the Professor of Divinity, and the lectures on 
 Church History and Hebrew ; also, Dugald Stewart's lectures 
 on Moral Philosophy, and the lectures on Chemistry, which are 
 very excellent. 
 
 The mode of living, in this country, is entirely different from 
 that in America. We find our own provisions, and breakfast 
 and dine in each other's rooms. Four o'clock is the hour of 
 dining, fixed by the University, it being the only one in which 
 there is not a lecture. 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 47 
 
 The following are extracts from his journal : 
 
 Edinburgh, January 1, 1806. — Another year is past without 
 much improvement ; oh, may the ensuing one be marked with 
 greater progress in knowledge, virtue, and holiness. The 
 Scotch have a singular custom of ushering in the new year. 
 Between twelve and one o'clock this morning, we were aroused 
 by shouts of festivity and rejoicing. The people crowd the 
 streets, with liquors of various kinds, which are freely dis- 
 tributed. This morning I walked with Mr. Ross, Mr. Silliman,* 
 and Dr. Gorham. After visiting Parliament House and the 
 Courts of Judicature, we proceeded to Edinburgh Castle, appa- 
 rently one of the most impregnable fortresses in the world. It is 
 situated at the west end of Edinburgh, and commands a most 
 delightful view. On the south are seen the meadows, Arthur's 
 Seat, Salisbury Crag, and a beautiful intervale, bounded by 
 majestic hills, rising in sublime confusion one upon another. 
 On the north, is a most enchanting view of the new town and 
 the Frith, with ships at anchor, and mountains on the opposite 
 side covered with snow. On the east, is a view of the old town, 
 the Tolbooth, and other churches. 
 
 January 2, 1806. — ^This day the lectures commenced. Dr. 
 Hope, it is said, gives one of the best courses on Chemistry. 
 His manner is rather stiff and pompous, and his style diffuse and 
 tautological. He is chiefly remarkable for the neatness of his 
 experiments. Dr. Hunter is the Professor of Divinity. He is 
 remarkable for his uncommon piety and a strict adherence " to 
 the faith once delivered to the saints," united with great charity 
 and benevolence towards those who differ from him in senti- 
 ment. As a professor, he is not so much distinguished for his 
 talents as for fervent zeal, pious simplicity, and Christian liber- 
 
 * Now Professor Silliman, of Yale College. 
 
48 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 ality. On Mondays, he expounds a portion of the Epistles ; 
 occasionally, he examines the class ; and Friday is devoted to 
 the purpose of reading discourses. Dr. Hunter gives out the 
 subjects, which are critical, practical, or for lectures. Each 
 student, who reads a discourse, makes one or two prayers. 
 Critical observations are made by the professor and students, I 
 presume there are upwards of eighty students. An attendance 
 on this course, the Hebrew and Church History classes, together 
 with those on Natural and Moral Philosophy, and the dead 
 languages, is requisite to a license to preach in the Church of 
 Scotland. 
 
 From Dr. Hunter's, I proceeded to Professor Dugald Stewart's 
 lecture on Moral Philosophy. I dare not undertake to describe 
 the wonder of Europe, the boast of metaphysicians, the pride 
 of literature, the ornament of polished life, — Dugald Stewart. 
 The riches of the ancients are at his command. The advance 
 and improvements in literature and science, among the moderns, 
 are perfectly familiar to him. The graces of eloquence, the 
 flowers of poetry, serve in his hands to adorn and elucidate the 
 abstruse science of metaphysics. His manner is energetic and 
 lofty, his style nervous, beautiful and glowing. He commands 
 the most profound attention. Once, indeed, a student made 
 some little disturbance in his class. Mr. Stewart cannot submit 
 to the least noise or inattention. As Gouverneur Morris says 
 of Washington, " His wrath was terrible." He made a solemn 
 pause, and, fixing his eye on a particular part of the room, was 
 silent for two or three minutes. He then renewed his lecture, 
 but the noise recurring he paused again, with his eye directed 
 to the same spot. In the most emphatic manner, he desired the 
 person who made the disturbance not to leave the lecture room 
 without speaking to him. After proceeding with his lecture for 
 some time, he stopped again and observed that, in order to 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 49 
 
 prevent mistake, he requested that gentleman to give him his 
 name. No answer was givefa. He then said, " I have my 
 eye upon him. He sits in the last seat, the fourth person 
 from the end. He shall not leave the room without my speak- 
 ing to him ; and I promise myself that the like shall never 
 happen again." All eyes were directed to the poor student, 
 who had been so unfortunate as to excite the wrath of Dugald 
 Stewart. I know not who he was, nor do I know what disturb- 
 ance he made, as my seat is at a distance from the offender. It 
 must have been a very heinous offence, to have justified such 
 language. 
 
 In the evening, Mr. Silliman and myself supped with Mr. 
 Black, one of the ministers of Edinburgh, and one of the best 
 of men. He is a man of uncommon piety and great meekness 
 of deportment. His manners are remarkably easy and polite, 
 and his preaching truly evangelical. We met a great number 
 of very worthy and pious young men there. Before supper, we 
 attended family worship. All the family and strangers being 
 assembled together, including three or four maid servants, a 
 short blessing was asked, followed by singing, in which the ser- 
 vants took a part ; the Scriptures were read, and all, falling on 
 their knees, united in prayer to the common Parent. It was a 
 most delightful scene. 
 
 January 4. — Dined with Mr. D. Dickson, Jr., colleague pastor 
 with Sir H. Moncrieff Welwood, in the West Church. He is a 
 sensible, pleasant young man, and we found there some very 
 agreeable company. In the evening, called on Rev. Mr. Camp- 
 bell, who has lately succeeded Dr. Kemp in the Tolbooth 
 church, and there united in the delightful duties of family wor- 
 ship. How sweet, how pleasant it is to praise God in a social 
 circle of Christians ! 
 
50 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 January 5. — This morning I went to the Baptist church. 
 The Scotch Baptists are remarked for great illiberality of senti- 
 ment. They hold no communion with Christians of other de- 
 nominations. The church is in the Cowgate, and the celebrated 
 Dr. McLean is one of the pastors. The sermon was a good 
 essay upon the vanity of the world, but was grossly deficient in 
 what Dr. Doddridge thinks indispensable for a sermon, — some 
 mention of our Lord Jesus Christ and of the influence of the 
 Holy Spirit. 
 
 January 6. — This day I called on Mr. Robert Haldane, 
 with a letter from Mr. Burder. There are in Edinburgh two 
 brothers of this name, both of considerable fortune.* Mr. 
 Robert Haldane was once a violent politician, and was very 
 obnoxious to the ministerial party. Within a few years he has 
 become a religious man, and is now as obnoxious to the friends 
 of Presbyterian government. He has a large fortune, which 
 he devotes to pious purposes, principally for educating young 
 men for preaching. Mr. James Haldane has likewise become 
 a religious man and a preacher. These two gentlemen are 
 the leaders of the Scotch Independents. It seems that two 
 ministers of the established church, a Mr. Ewen and a Mr. 
 Inness, from some disgust quitted the church, and, with the 
 Messrs. Haldane, set up Independency. There is a large 
 tabernacle, at which Mr. Haldane is the preacher. They 
 never license to preach, and they administer the Lord's sup- 
 per every Sabbath afternoon. Upon entering the room, Mr. 
 Haldane received me with considerable cordiality ; and the 
 first questions he asked were, " What I thought of a gospel 
 church? " " Whether I had inquired and consulted my Bible 
 
 * Mr. Robert Haldane died in 1842, and Mr. James Haldane in 
 1851. The biography of both has been recently published in this 
 country. 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 51 
 
 on the subject ? " *' What church I belonged to in Amer- 
 ica?" "What church I communed with here?" 
 
 The following extract from a letter to his friend 
 Allen, dated February, 1806, will exhibit the nature 
 of his religious impressions at that time : 
 
 Like you, I have been attending lectures on Chemistry, and 
 my time has been fully employed in my various pursuits. O, 
 my friend, vi^hile we increase in useful human knowledge, I 
 hope we shall not decrease in that knowledge, which will alone 
 be useful to us in the day, when we must appear before the 
 judgment-seat of Christ. Since I have been in this country, my 
 mind has been not a little distressed at my lukewarmness and 
 coldness in the spiritual life. The Lord, who knows all things, 
 I humbly hope knows that I destine to love him ; but with all my 
 desire, my heart still remains cold and languid. The effects of 
 indwelling sin are constantly rising in my heart and appearing 
 in my life. The temptations of the world, the flesh and the 
 devil, are constantly attracting me ; and I am daily exclaiming 
 with St. Paul, " O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver 
 me from the body of this death ! " 
 
 In the preceding pages, we have seen the careful 
 and judicious observer of the passing events con- 
 nected with his entrance upon the world, and upon 
 his preparation for active usefulness. Mr. Codman 
 was now in his twenty-fourth year, and his remarks 
 upon the society and circumstances, among which 
 
52 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 he moved, exhibit a wise discrimination, a just 
 caution, and remarkable maturity of judgment. 
 The reader will not fail to see, that in his relig- 
 ious experience he speaks with great humility and 
 self-distrust. The attractions of the world were 
 exceedingly strong, and the conflict between his 
 convictions of duty, his remembered vows, his high 
 obligations, and the opposing influences of fashion 
 and the world, was often sharp and distressing ; but 
 he had not yet attained to that high Christian prin- 
 ciple which, in after life, sustained him in yet 
 fiercer conflicts, and enabled him to rejoice that he 
 was " counted worthy to suffer shame for the name 
 of Jesus." He was now hopefully in the Christian 
 life ; yet he does not seem to have partaken largely 
 of its consolations. He loved the people of God, 
 the place of prayer, and the worship of the sanc- 
 tuary, more than all other objects; but he longed for 
 a holier zeal, a more lively faith ; and, as his stan- 
 dard of Christian feeling and duty was high, his 
 felt deficiencies, his apprehended want of conformity 
 thereto, often excited his fears and checked the 
 aspirations of his heaven-directed hopes. But, 
 though rarely attaining those more elevated Chris- 
 tian enjoyments, which are often afforded to the 
 disciples of Christ, he was rapidly maturing those 
 
MEMOIR OF DB. CODMAN. 63 
 
 vigorous principles of piety, which best exhibit the 
 calm and cheerful aspects of the Christian hope, 
 and which enabled him in after life so signally to 
 overcome the world, and to ' endure hardness as a 
 good soldier of Jesus Christ.' 
 
54 MEMOIR or DR. CODMAN, 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 JOURNAL AT EDINBUEGH — DIFFERENT PREACHERS — REV. MR. BLACK, 
 HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH — STATE OF RELIGION IN SCOTLAND — 
 LONDON — VISIT TO MR. WILBERFORCE — COMMENCEMENT OF MIN- 
 ISTERIAL LABORS — LETTERS FROM HIS MOTHER AND REV. MR. 
 CHANNING — TOUR ON THE CONTINENT — RETURN TO EDINBURGH. 
 
 Edinburgh, February 3, 1806. — Engaged in study all day. 
 In the evening, I went to the prayer-meeting for supplicating 
 the Almighty to extend the limits of the Redeemer's kingdom, 
 and to succeed all missionary exertion. This meeting is held 
 once a month, and the pious of all parties in the church unite 
 in it. O may the prayers that have this evening been offered 
 at the footstool of Mercy, be heard and graciously answered ; 
 and may the happy time soon come, when Jesus Christ, our 
 Lord and Saviour, shall " have the heathen for his inheritance, 
 and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession." 
 
 February 4. — Nothing to interrupt my studies. The weather 
 here is quite variable. To-day was the coldest day I have 
 experienced in Scotland ; thermometer at 21°. 
 
 February 8. — Attended the Philo-Theological Society, of 
 which I am a member. Heard a very good essay on the compar- 
 ative merit of the Christian and Mohammedan religions. The 
 question for debate was. Whether there are errors in the Church 
 of Scotland sufficient to justify a secession ? It was decided 
 unanimously in the negative. 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 55 
 
 February 9. — Attended, as usual, the Tolbooth church, and 
 heard Mr. Campbell preach upon the office of ruling elders. 
 He asked the elders, who sat before him, several questions : 
 " Do you believe in the Scriptures ? Do you believe the doc- 
 trines of the Westminster Confession to be the doctrines of 
 Scripture ? Do you believe the form of Presbyterian govern- 
 ment to be according to Scripture, and promise to support it ? 
 Do you promise to perform the duties of your office to the best 
 of your abilities ? " To which they assented, by an inclination 
 of the head. After the ordination prayer, he added some 
 advice, in which he urged the frequent perusal of Scripture and 
 other duties. Jn the afternoon, I went to hear Dr. Jamieson, 
 a Burgher minister, celebrated for his controversy with Dr. 
 Priestly, on the divinity of Christ. He preached a very excel- 
 lent sermon from Isaiah Ivii. 17. He observed, that no one was 
 stationary in religion ; that if he was not making progress, he 
 was going backward, I have very great apprehensions, that this 
 is my case. Little, very little progress have I made in religion 
 since I have been in this country. My heart has backslidden 
 from God. O Lord, " take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Re- 
 store unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy 
 free Spirit." Not till then, shall I be able to fulfill the duties of 
 a Christian minister. Not till then, shall I be able to *' teach 
 transgressors thy ways, that sinners may be converted unto 
 thee." 
 
 February 14. — This evening, for the first time since I have 
 been in this country, I went to a place of public amusement. 
 It was a funeral concert on the death of Lord Nelson, Mr. Pitt, 
 and the Marquis Cornwallis. The room was hung in black, and 
 was very crowded. The gentlemen were all dressed in black, 
 and the ladies in black or white. The music was sacred, from 
 Handel. 
 
56 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 February 16. — Heard Dr. Balfour, of Glasgow, preach an 
 excellent sermon from Psalm Ixxxiv. 11. His manner was easy 
 and graceful, his style rich and glowing, his sentiments just and 
 evangelical, and the whole discourse one of the best I have 
 heard. Again I heard him in the afternoon and in the evening, 
 at the Tron church, for the Sabbath School Institution. Never 
 did I hear a more eloquent discourse. What rich means of 
 grace do I enjoy, and how little do I improve them ! 
 
 February 21. — Dined in company with Mr. Silliman, at Dr. 
 Buchanan's. We met there a Scotch Baronet, Sir John Stir- 
 ling, his lady and daughter. Lady Stirling is an American, and 
 was born near New Haven. Mr. Silliman remembers a story 
 of a Scotch nobleman falling in love with the daughter of a 
 mechanic, at church, in a place not far from New Haven. This 
 is probably the very person. Her father still lives, and continues 
 his trade. 
 
 Monday, February 24. — Every one appears interested about 
 the Rev. Mr. Black, who is dangerously ill. His door is 
 thronged, and in the evening the pious from all parts of the city 
 crowded to his church, to supplicate Almighty God to spare his 
 valuable life. 
 
 February 26. — Sent a messenger to inquire for Mr. Black, 
 who brought me word, that * he was at his rest.' Supposing 
 that he was better, I went light-hearted to my duties. Seeing 
 Mr. Dickson, he gave me the melancholy intelligence of Mr. 
 Black's death, and told me that the phrase, * He was at his 
 rest,' was usual in Scotland to express death. O God, how 
 unsearchable are thy judgments, and thy ways past finding 
 out! His spirit has ascended to those heavenly mansions, 
 prepared for him by his blessed Saviour. It is our loss, but his 
 unspeakable gain. He was a man of the most gentle and affec- 
 tionate disposition, of great zeal in the cause of Christ, and a 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 57 
 
 most useful and excellent minister. He has left a disconsolate 
 widow and five young children. The God and the Judge of the 
 widow, and the Father of the fatherless, will provide for them. 
 Never did I see more general sorrow than is expressed on this 
 melancholy occasion ; for he was universally beloved, and is 
 universally lamented. He died in the forty-fourth year of his 
 age, of a nervous fever, after a short illness. 
 
 Sunday, March 2. — Hail, sacred day of rest ! In the morn- 
 ing I went to church, accompanied by one of my countrymen, 
 a very pleasing and amiable man, but I fear a stranger to the 
 blessed gospel. May the Holy Spirit constrain him to the truth. 
 
 Monday, March 3. — To-day, Mr. Black was interred. The 
 funerals in this country are conducted in a very different man- 
 ner from those in America. There are no prayers at the house, 
 or at the grave. No person attends, unless formally invited by 
 letter ; and he must then appear in full mourning. The mourn- 
 ing of the Scotch, is deep black with crape on the hat, generally 
 very long, and with the cuffs of their coats trimmed with white ; 
 which trimmings are called iceepers. The people, after taking 
 refreshment, attend the corpse to the grave, which is some- 
 times carried on shoulders, but most commonly in a hearse. 
 This is drawn by two, four, six, and sometimes eight horses, the 
 lower part being decorated with various colors. The upper 
 part is covered with black velvet and black trimmings, and orna- 
 mented with plumes. After the hearse, followed ten mourning 
 carriages and six private gentlemen's coaches. 
 
 Sunday, March 9. — In the morning I attended at Mr. Black's 
 church, to hear the tribute of affection and love. The church 
 was exceedingly crowded, and many could not obtain admit- 
 tance. After service, I went to Lady Glenorchy's chapel to 
 partake of the sacrament, unworthy as I am, and so little de- 
 serving of the crumbs that fall from my Master's table. What 
 a privilege, to sit down at the marriage supper of the Lamb ! 
 
68 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 Friday, March 14. — It being a beautiful morning, I took a 
 ride into the country on horseback. The scenery was quite 
 American. The hills were covered with snow, and the ground 
 just parting with the frost. As I jogged along, I overtook a 
 fellow-traveler ; and, according to the good old Yankee custom, 
 we fell into conversation. I must here observe, that I noticed in 
 this plain, good Scotchman, the same curious spirit for which 
 New England has been so frequently ridiculed. Perceiving I 
 was a stranger, he inquired from what country I came, what my 
 business was, &c., &c. He was, apparently, a sensible, judi- 
 cious and pious man. I make not this observation to con- 
 demn such curiosity as impertinent, for I really did not consider 
 it so ; but merely to show, that it is not peculiar to my Yankee 
 countrymen. 
 
 Saturday, March 15. — I attended, as usual, the Philo-Theo- 
 logical Society, and heard a very good essay on moral agency 
 from Mr. Brotherston. Some of the society, however, did not 
 think so highly of it; and rudely attempted to pull it to pieces. 
 No good Calvinist could possibly have objected to the essay, but 
 these gentlemen pretend to be Calvinists ; that is, they are told 
 they must be so, their church confession obliging them to it ; 
 and they are much offended if you insinuate that they are not 
 so. The fact is, that very many of the members of the Church 
 of Scotland are Arminians, although they all sign the most 
 complete Calvinistic confession of faith in the world. Many of 
 the students of divinity, now at the hall, are at TiPAirt Arminians, 
 though they think it a most opprobrious title. *' The heart is 
 deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked ; who can 
 know it ! " 
 
 Sunday, March 16. — There is much real religion among the 
 lower classes of people in this country. The churches, where 
 the gospel is preached in its purity, overflow with hearers ; but 
 in the other churches, there 13 little more to be seen than the 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 59 
 
 bare walls. Happy Scotland ! while the most woful degeneracy 
 exists in every part of Europe and in my favored country, thou 
 still retainest, in a great measure, the piety and virtue of our 
 forefathers ! Never shall I forget the good I have received in 
 thy churches. 
 
 In a letter of April 25, 1806, he says : 
 
 I have spent the winter very pleasantly, and considerably to 
 my satisfaction. The session is now over, the lectures are 
 closed, and I am starting again to see a little of Europe. I 
 expect to visit the Highlands, thence proceed to London, and 
 after crossing the channel, if it should be safe, to return to 
 Edinburgh to devote another winter to my books. 
 
 The following extract from a letter to his friend, 
 will show the temper of his mind at this time, and 
 his love to the cause of his Saviour. After alluding 
 to a project of going, with other ministers, into the 
 woods of the Genesee country, to settle the track- 
 less wilds, he adds : " Have you forgotten your 
 plans on this subject ? Do you remember how we 
 used to talk it over together ? For my own part, 
 I would not hesitate to sacrifice all the favorable 
 prospect I might have, of a pleasant settlement 
 among my friends, were I persuaded that I might 
 advance the interests of our dear Redeemer." 
 
 He arrived in London, June 1, 1806; and, that 
 
60 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 he might be near his friends, took up his residence 
 in Islington for a few weeks. In his journal, he 
 thus speaks of his friend, Mr. Robert Cowie : 
 " He is a father to a numerous circle of pious 
 friends in Islington, and is the principal supporter 
 of a place of worship. How delightful is Christian 
 intercourse ! In this country, to be a Christian, is 
 a sufficient recommendation to Christians. The 
 fashionable world, the literary world, the mercantile 
 world, the idle world, are cold and ceremonious ; 
 but the Christian world is the reverse, warm and 
 friendly, — a temper truly becoming the disciples of 
 Christ." 
 
 Saturday, June 14. — Supped with Mr. Lewis, the minister 
 of Highbury Grove chapel, a very amiable, pious and useful 
 man. After tea, I went with him to a prayer-meeting at the 
 chapel. How unworthy I am to be favored with such privi- 
 leges, and, particularly, to lead the devotions of others. 
 
 Sunday, June 15. — After morning service, the sacrament 
 was administered, first in the Church form, and then in the 
 Dissenter's ; at the last of which I had the privilege of partaking. 
 In the evening, it was announced that I was to preach the next 
 Thursday evening. Gracious God, prepare me for this entrance 
 upon my ministerial duties ! O Lord, I trust in thee ; to whom 
 should I go, but unto thee ! 
 
 Wednesday, June 18. — This morning, I received a note from 
 Mr. Wilberforce, to whom I had a letter of introduction, inform- 
 ing me that he was much pressed with business at present ; 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 61 
 
 but if I would come and take a beef-steak with him, between 
 three and four, to-day or to-morrow, he would be very happy to 
 see me. When I reached his door, at the time appointed, I 
 found it so surrounded with coaches of style, that I could hardly 
 make my way up. I knocked, and was informed by the ser- 
 vants that Mr. Wilberforce was not at home. He had written 
 me, if he should not be in, to wait till he came. The servants 
 accordingly ushered me into the parlor, where were five or six 
 gentlemen waiting for Mr. Wilberforce. I took a seat, but no 
 one knew me, and I knew no one ; no one spoke to me, and I 
 spoke to no one. In this awkward dilemma I sat for about half 
 an hour, when the servant came in and said, " Gentlemen, Mr. 
 Wilberforce will not be in to dinner." The gentleman who 
 presided at the table was polite enough to take a glass of wine 
 with me, but not another word was exchanged. When dinner 
 was about half over, we heard a most violent rapping at the 
 door. One of the gentlemen exclaimed, " That is Wilber- 
 force ! " The door opened, and in ran a very small man, who, 
 in Scotland, would be called a wee wee 7nanme, hopping about 
 here and there. " How do you do, my lord ! " "Most obedient, 
 gentlemen ! " in a prodigious hurry ; and obliged to back a 
 friend's motion in the house. " Excuse me, gentlemen ; must be 
 gone ! " I rose and bowed ; but the little man was near-sighted, 
 and could not distinguish the features of a stranger. Presently, 
 one of the party said, " Mr. Wilberforce, here is a gentleman 
 who wishes to see you." I went up to him, bowed, and told 
 him my name. " Oh, Mr. Codman," he exclaimed, *' I did 
 send you a note this morning. I should beg a thousand par- 
 dons, and will send an apology to my friend, Mr. Banks, imme- 
 diately." " By no means, sir," said I. " Will you excuse me, 
 then?" ** Certainly." And out he flew, without introducing 
 me to a single person in the room. I suppose however, in the 
 
62 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 entry, he had told the gentleman who presided, that I was from 
 America ; for I was asked some questions at table concern- 
 ing America, and some conversation ensued. The company, I 
 found, were Lord Teignmouth, Mr. Henry Thornton, a clergy- 
 man, who I believe was Mr. Owen, author of the " Fashiona- 
 ble World Displayed," and other gentlemen. They were polite 
 and affable to each other, though not to me ; for it is a standing 
 rule, in this country, to take no notice of a person to whom 
 they have not been regularly introduced. Our Boston gentle- 
 men, who are in the habit of giving such splendid entertain- 
 ments, would be surprised at the dinner given by Mr. Wilberforce. 
 Some slices of cold beef, and a small piece of roast mutton only, 
 were provided for noblemen and members of parliament. The 
 most common white plates were on the table, and every thing in 
 the same style. 
 
 Thursday, June 19. — The evening of this day forms one of 
 the most interesting periods of my life. I entered upon the 
 arduous duties of a preacher of the gospel, and consecrated 
 myself to the service of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ. My 
 public labors were commenced before a few chosen friends, the 
 congregation not exceeding two hundred. I preached from 
 Romans xiv. 10. After having done all in my power to prepare 
 myself for this solemn undertaking, I left the rest to God ; to 
 his grace, to support me under the trying situation ; and, praised 
 be his glorious name, I never had more presence of mind, nor 
 was I ever so regardless of man. To him be all the glory. 
 
 As yet, however, he had not been licensed as a 
 preacher. 
 
 June 25. — Accompanied Mr. Lewis to Hoxton, a village 
 about two miles from Islington, to attend an anniversary of the 
 
MEMOIK OF DR. CODMAN. 63 
 
 academy. The academy is for Dissenters, and from this place 
 preachers are continually issuing. It has a master and a few 
 tutors. The students are taught Latin, Greek and Hebrew, 
 and a smattering of Philosophy. They are sent out to preach 
 almost immediately upon their entering on their studies, first to 
 the almshouses and then to the villages. There is no regular 
 course of study required ; but the students may preach as soon 
 they please, and whenever they are invited. Dined with the 
 excellent Mr. Cowie. O how delightful is Christian communion ! 
 a foretaste of the joys, which are prepared for those who love 
 the Lord Jesus, in another world. 
 
 It may be proper to introduce, in this place, a 
 few extracts from letters received, during his resi- 
 dence in Scotland, from his step-mother, Mrs. 
 Catharine Codman, which may show the mutual 
 esteem and affection which subsisted between him- 
 self and that excellent lady, as well as throw some 
 light on his domestic character. 
 
 May, 1806. — I have already written you by Mr. B , since 
 
 which I have received yours ; and as I believe he has not yet 
 sailed, I must thank you for it. In doing this, however, you 
 will not expect me to describe the feelings it has excited. If 
 you have reason to thank God for the event, which gave me to 
 be your mother, how much have I to bless him, that it gave me 
 you for a son ! In my peculiar state, what can be so consoling 
 as your friendship ? On what object can my affection so naturally 
 fasten, as on the counterpart of him who has been taken from 
 
64 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 them ? My gratitude for the blessing is still more excited, when 
 I view you as the father of my children ; and this is augmented 
 by reflection on the sacredness of the profession you have 
 chosen, which will add such weight and influence to parental 
 advice. 
 
 This is the first time I have attempted to write you in my new 
 house ; and it seems to me, that I should write in an improved 
 state of heart, and produce something which should evince a 
 sense of that peculiar goodness which has followed me all my 
 days, and which sometimes breaks out in such fresh instances of 
 favor, as to create astonishment that it is bestowed on so unwor- 
 thy a creature. On the evening of my entrance into this house, 
 I asked Mr. Channing, with two or three pious friends, to 
 assemble here and unite with me in prayer, that I might wait 
 upon God in it better than I had ever done, and thus consecrate 
 the house to his private service. But alas, after all, I find this 
 body of sin still about me, weighing me down to earth, while 
 receiving blessings which should attract me to the skies. 
 
 As the children advance in years, their conduct becomes of 
 so much more importance as greatly to increase my anxiety. I 
 have need, as well as you, to trust in Him, who can give me 
 grace that shall be sufficient for me ; and it is with earnestness, 
 my dear son, that I solicit your prayers that I may receive divine 
 support. You need not, as you say, ask for mine. They are 
 what you have always had. Your happiness, and especially 
 your advancement in the Christian life, never presses more 
 forcibly and tenderly on my heart, than when it is lifted up to 
 the throne of grace ; and I trust that my petitions for you, will 
 be answered in your safe return and useful subsequent life. 
 With what pleasure do I look forward to that period, when the 
 influence of your precepts and example will so greatly aid me in 
 rearing my children, and when we shall realize all the fond 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 65 
 
 wishes expressed for them in your last ! Let me again thank 
 you for that precious letter. 
 
 The following is an extract from a letter, which 
 he received about this time, from Rev. Mr. Chan- 
 ning : 
 
 Your last letter increased my interest in your welfare and 
 improvement. You seem to be full of doubts and fears respect- 
 ing your sincerity. It is good to doubt and to fear, when our 
 minds, instead of sinking into despondency, are excited by 
 painful uncertainty to self-examination, to careful inquiry into 
 the nature of true religion, as exhibited in the Scriptures, and 
 to humble, fervent prayer. I believe, my friend, we are apt to 
 expose ourselves to much needless pain, by forming loose and 
 vague opinions of our characters ; by condemning ourselves on 
 account of something which we cannot define. I am here 
 speaking of my own experience, rather than yours. I have often 
 felt gloom overspreading my mind, without being able to tell on 
 what account I felt it. I believe we may indulge this general 
 indefinite depression and fear without becoming, in any degree, 
 better acquainted with our real characters, without perceiving 
 more distinctly what change must be wrought in us, without 
 distinguishing the true Christian spirit from its counterfeits, and 
 without seeking from divine grace the temper we need to qualify 
 ourselves for heaven. I have suffered so much from indistinct- 
 ness of views, that I wish to guard you against it. Be not con- 
 tented with general views of religion. Analyze your heart, and 
 seek to obtain from the word of God just views of the distin- 
 guishing exercises of a child of God j and if then you have 
 
66 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 reason to fear for yourself, you cannot be too much impressed 
 with your danger. On this point, we cannot be too faithful. 
 May God, who searches us, save us from deceiving ourselves on 
 the infinitely interesting concerns of eternity. 
 
 In July, Mr. Codman left London for a short tour 
 on the continent, and returned to Edinburgh in the 
 following November. In a letter to his friend he 
 savs : *' I remained six weeks in Paris, and left it 
 on the 3d of October, after having seen everything 
 that was deserving the attention of one of my pro- 
 fession. I brought three very dear little children 
 of a Mr. White with me, from Paris to England, 
 whose story I shall reserve for a winter's evening. 
 I embarked from Rotterdam, and arrived safe in a 
 land of gospel light and liberty. O, my friend, 
 until you have been deprived of the institutions and 
 ordinances of religion, you can never sufficiently 
 appreciate their value. After spending a few days 
 with our Islington friends, I went to Bristol, on a 
 visit to my uncle, and preached for Mr. Lowell, a 
 Dissenting minister, on the first Sabbath of Novem- 
 ber. From Bristol, I came immediately to Edin- 
 burgh. Before my arrival here, I had received very 
 pressing invitations from my excellent friend. Rev. 
 D. Dickson, Jr., to make his house my home during 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 67 
 
 the winter. He would not allow me to decline ; 
 and I am now living on the truly generous hospi- 
 tality, for which this favored part of the island has 
 been so long distinguished. I cannot be sufficiently 
 grateful to Almighty God, for raising up such kind 
 friends in a foreign land. Surely, goodness and 
 mercy have followed me all the days of my life." 
 
68 MEMOIE OF DR. CODMAN, 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HIS EETUEN TO AMERICA — OEDINATION AS PASTOR OF THE SECOND 
 CHmCH IN DOECIIESTER — SERMON OF DR. CHANNING — PARISH 
 DIFFICULTIES — THE "DORCHESTER CONTROVERSY." 
 
 In the spring of 1807, Mr. Codman left Edin- 
 burgh. At Bristol, he obtained a license to preach, 
 dated April 29, and signed by three ministers of 
 Bristol and Bath, — Samuel Lowell, William Thorp, 
 and William Jay. He was soon invited to preach 
 in the Scotch church of Swallow Street, London, 
 where he continued his labors for about a year. 
 Returning home in 1808, he arrived at Boston in 
 the month of May. In August, he first preached 
 to the Second Church in Dorchester, which had 
 been recently organized. The new meeting-house 
 was dedicated, October 30, 1806. After preaching 
 here on two Sabbaths, the Church and Parish in- 
 vited him to become their Minister. Before accept- 
 ing their call, he sent to them a communication, of 
 which the following is an extract : 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 69 
 
 To tlie Members of the Second Church, of Christ in Dorchester. 
 
 My Christian Friends and Brethren, — I have received 
 your unanimous call to settle with you as your Pastor, with sen- 
 timents difficult, indeed impossible for me to express. The 
 entire unanimity of the call demands my most devout acknowl- 
 edgments to the great Head of the Church, and my warmest 
 gratitude to those who have thought it proper to give me their 
 votes. 
 
 I have endeavored to lay this very important subject at the 
 footstool of the throne of grace ; and to seek that wisdom which 
 Cometh from above, which is profitable to direct. It has also 
 been my endeavor to advise with pious and judicious friends, 
 upon a subject so intimately connected with my future happiness. 
 But, before I give a definite answer to your application, I think 
 it my duty to make a few remarks, and to enter into some expla- 
 nations, which are highly important and interesting, both to you 
 and me. 
 
 You must be sensible that the office of a Minister of the 
 Gospel is, in the greatest degree, important and responsible. 
 Immortal souls are committed to his charge ; and we are 
 assured that the Lord will require their blood at his hands. It 
 becomes him, then, as he regards the commands, and values the 
 favor of the great Jehovah, as he regards his ordination vows, as 
 he values immortal souls, to declare the whole counsel of God, 
 to deliver his message with boldness, to be faithful unto death. 
 He will necessarily sometimes speak of doctrines that may not 
 be altogether congenial to his hearers. It therefore appears to 
 me highly important, to prevent future di-fficultieSj for the 
 people, and especially the Church, in their choice of a Minister, 
 to be fully acquainted with his views, with regard to the peculiar 
 doctrines of the gospel. 
 
 The Second Church and Society in Dorchester, before they 
 
70 MEMOIR OF DE. CODMAN. 
 
 gave me a call, had but little opportunity to form an opinion of 
 my theological sentiments, having heard me only two Sabbaths 
 and one lecture. On those occasions, however, I endeavored 
 to be plain, explicit, and decided in the avowal of my religious 
 opinions. 
 
 Lest, however, there should be a doubt in the mind of any 
 one upon this subject, I think it my duty, in the presence of a 
 heart-searching God, and of this Church, to declare my firm, 
 unshaken faith in those doctrines, that are sometimes called the 
 doctrines of the reformation, the doctrines of the cross, the 
 peculiar doctrines of the gospel. 
 
 These doctrines, through the help of God, I intend to preach ; 
 in the "faith of these doctrines, I hope to live ; and in the faith of 
 these doctrines, I hope to die. 
 
 It gives me great pleasure to have it in my power to say, that 
 I believe my faith is the same with that of our venerable fore- 
 fathers ; and particularly with that of the former Pastors of the 
 Church of Dorchester, Warham, Maverick, Mather, Burr, &c., 
 &c., &c. 
 
 As Arian and Socinian errors have of late years crept into 
 some of our churches, I think it my duty to declare to that 
 Church of Christ, of whom I may have the pastoral charge, that 
 I believe the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, to he the one living 
 and true God; and that my faith, in general, is conformable 
 to the Assembly's Catechism, and to the Confession of Faith 
 drawn up by the Elders and Messengers of the Congregational 
 Churches in the year 1680, and recommended to the Churches 
 by the General Court of Massachusetts. 
 
 With regard to the Discipline of the Church, I shall be guided 
 by that excellent Platform of Church Discipline, drawn up at 
 Cambridge, principally by the Rev. Richard Mather, formerly 
 Minister of Dorchester. 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 71 
 
 I have thus discharged a duty, which I thought I owed to the 
 Great Head of the Church, and to you, his visible members. 
 
 On the 31st October, 1808, it was voted by the 
 Church and Parish to accept the communication of 
 their Pastor elect. Of the same date, was a letter 
 of the Parish Committee, of which the following is 
 an extract : 
 
 Dear Friend and Brother, — Although there may be a dif- 
 ference in opinion among us, respecting some parts of the Holy 
 Scriptures, your communication is received with pleasure and 
 general satisfaction ; and we venerate the principles of our fore- 
 fathers, especially the pious and worthy Pastors of the Church of 
 Christ in Dorchester, who have been as shining lights in the 
 golden candlestick ; and are happy to find you agree with them 
 in sentiment. 
 
 We are sensible that the office of a Minister of the Gospel is, 
 in the highest degree, important and responsible ; but if you 
 accept that office, and we are the people of your charge, we 
 hope it will not be rendered difficult or unpleasant, by the want 
 of candor or propriety of conduct on our part, and that no root 
 of bitterness will spring up to trouble us. 
 
 In our present imperfect state, various opinions and discordant 
 sentiments will exist, and occasions occur for the exercise of a 
 spirit of condescension, patience and toleration. This spirit we 
 wish to cultivate, as we all acknowledge the same Great Head of 
 the Church, and in him are all brethren ; and if we follow his 
 example, shall be all friends. 
 
 We all have important duties to perform, and may reasonably 
 
72 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 expect many difficulties to encounter ; but we hope the guidance 
 and blessing of the Father of lights will attend us, and bring us 
 at last to the knowledge of the truth, and enjoyment of himself, 
 through the merits of our glorious Redeemer. 
 
 The way being now prepared, Mr. Codman sent 
 the following answer to the call which he had 
 received : 
 
 To the Second Clmrch and Society in Dorchester. 
 
 My Christian Friends and Brethren, — The moment has 
 now arrived, when, in the providence of God, I am called to 
 accept the solemn and responsible charge of immortal souls. 
 When I consider the importance of the ministerial character, 
 and the nature and extent of ministerial duty, and when I reflect 
 on my own weakness as a worm of the dust, and on my guilt as 
 a sinner, condemned by the righteous law of a holy God, I am 
 ready to exclaim, " Who is sufficient for these things ! " and 
 to wonder at the goodness and grace of God " in counting me 
 faithful, putting me into the ministry." 
 
 Sensible, however, that God can employ the weakest instru- 
 ment to advance his cause, and the chief of sinners to promote 
 his glory, and relying on the promises and encouragements of 
 his holy word, I desire to go forward in the strength of the 
 Lord, to the arduous work of the gospel ministry. I accept the 
 friendly and affectionate call, which you have so unanimously 
 given me, to be your Pastor ; and shall endeavor, with a humble 
 reliance on Divine assistance, to discharge with faithfulness the 
 important duties of the pastoral office. The satisfaction with 
 which my communication has been received, and the readiness 
 with which my requests have been granted, are considered by 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 73 
 
 me, as proofs of your attachment, and will always be remem- 
 bered with lively emotions of gratitude. 
 
 The promotion of that peace, which is founded on true 
 Christian principle, and not on carnal security ; and of that 
 unanimity J which is the effect of the general reception of evan- 
 gelical truth, and not of indifference to religious opinions, will be 
 the subject of my prayers and the object of my life. 
 
 It will be my earnest endeaavor, as far as consistent with the 
 faithful discharge of ministerial duty, to promote peace and 
 friendship among the people of my charge, to do all in my pow- 
 er to continue and confirm it among our sister Churches and 
 their Pastors, and to promote the best interests of the University, 
 of which I shall be an overseer. 
 
 And now, my Christian friends and brethren, I look to you 
 for encouragement, countenance and support, in the arduous 
 work in which I have engaged. After the explicit declaration 
 which I have made in a late communication, you can be no stran- 
 gers to the articles of my faith ; and I trust you will unite with 
 me * in holding fast the form of sound words in faith and love, 
 in contending earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints, 
 lest any man spoil us through philosophy and vain deceit, after 
 the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not 
 after Christ.' 
 
 I ask an interest in your prayers. Frequently think of your 
 Pastor at a throne of grace. Earnestly pray that God would 
 grant him those gifts and graces, which are so essential to a 
 Minister of the Gospel ; and that he would make him faithful 
 in declaring the whole counsel of God, and successful in win- 
 ning souls to Christ. 
 
 Accept my prayers for you. Brethren, ' my heart's desire and 
 prayer to God for you is, that you may all be saved.' If I know 
 my own heart, I have no other motive in coming among you 
 
 10 
 
74 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 than to promote your eternal happiness. * For what is my hope, 
 or joy, or what will be my crown of rejoicing ? Will not even ye, 
 in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming ? I trust 
 ye will be my glory and my joy.' " And now, brethren, I com- 
 mend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to 
 build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them 
 which are sanctified." Believe me to be your willing servant 
 in the gospel of Christ. 
 
 Mr. Codman was ordained December 7, 1808, 
 by a Council consisting of the following clergy- 
 men of Boston and vicinity : — Rev. Drs. Osgood, 
 Eckley, Porter and Morse, and Rev. Messrs. 
 Huntington, Harris, Pierce, Channing, Bates, 
 Buckminster, Lowell and Gile, all of whom are 
 now deceased excepting Rev. Drs. Bates and 
 Lowell. The following is the Confession of Faith, 
 which was presented to the Council : 
 
 In conformity to ancient usages in our Churches, and with a 
 dependence on the Spirit of God for illumination and direction, 
 I desire humbly and reverently, in the presence of Almighty 
 God, and before this venerable Council, to make a confession of 
 my faith in the great doctrines of revealed religion. 
 
 Existence of God. — I believe in one God, self-existent, 
 immortal, invisible, unchangeable, infinite in wisdom, power and 
 goodness, without beginning of days or end of years. 
 
 Holy Scriptures. — I believe that God, out of his sovereign 
 pleasure and boundless goodness, has been pleased to reveal his 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 75 
 
 mind and will in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament ; 
 and I believe that '* all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, 
 and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for 
 instruction in righteousness." 
 
 I take the Holy Scriptures to be the standard of my faith, and 
 the rule of my practice ; and not from the traditions of men, but 
 from that inspired volume alone, I desire to form the articles of 
 my creed. 
 
 Trinity. — I believe that the Scriptures reveal, as ?i fundamen- 
 tal doctrine, that there are Three in the Godhead ; the Father, 
 the Son, and the Holy Ghost ; and that these Three are the One 
 living and true God, the true Jehovah, the Christian's covenanted 
 God, the only proper object of religious worship ; and although 
 this doctrine is above my reason, I believe it is not contrary to 
 it, but is to be received with meekness and humility, to be 
 spoken of with reverence and godly fear, and always to be con- 
 sidered as a mystery, which to attempt to explain, is presump- 
 tion ; and which to comprehend, is above the capacity of finite 
 beings. 
 
 Decrees of God, — I believe that God, from all eternity, has 
 foreordained whatsoever comes to pass ; yet in such a manner 
 as not to be the author of sin, nor to affect the accountability of 
 man. I believe that God has elected some to everlasting life, 
 while others are left to suffer the just punishment due to their 
 sins. 
 
 I believe that this doctrine is not without its practical uses, 
 in making us humble, under a sense of our entire insufficiency, 
 and in leading us to attribute our salvation, not to our own 
 works, but to the free and sovereign grace of God. 
 
 Creation and Providence. — I believe that God, the Father, 
 Son, and Holy Ghost, created the world and all things therein, 
 visible and invisible, in the space of six days, and that He 
 
76 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 upholds the same by the word of his power, exercising a general 
 and particular providence over the work of his hands. 
 
 Covenant of Works. — I believe that God created man upright, 
 and gave him a law as the rule of his obedience, when he said, 
 " Of every tree of the garden thou may est freely eat ; but of the 
 tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it ; 
 for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." 
 I believe that it thus pleased God to enter into covenant with 
 man, and that the first covenant made with man was a covenant 
 of works, " wherein life was promised to Adam, and in him to 
 all his posterity, upon condition of perfect obedience." 
 
 The Fall. — I believe that, enticed by the craft and subtilty 
 of the devil, our first parents disobeyed the command of their 
 Maker, broke his covenant, fell from the estate in which they 
 were created, and thus exposed themselves, and all their pos- 
 terity, to the penalty of God's most righteous law, temporal, 
 spiritual, and eternal death. 
 
 Original Sin and Actual Transgression. — I believe that, in 
 consequence of Adam's transgression, all his posterity are, " by 
 nature, children of wrath ; " and, in addition to this original 
 pollution, every one, who arrives at an age to distinguish good 
 from evil, is guilty of actual transgression ; and I believe that 
 God might have left our first parents, and all their posterity, to 
 have perished eternally, and his justice have remained unin- 
 fringed and unimpaired. 
 
 Covenant of Grace. — But I believe that, out of his free and 
 sovereign grace, he has been pleased to have mercy on man, and 
 to enter into another covenant with him, commonly called the 
 covenant of grace, wherein he freely offers sinners life and 
 salvation by Jesus Christ, requiring of them faith in him, that 
 they may be saved. 
 
 Jesus Christ. — I believe that God the Father, in his eternal 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 77 
 
 purpose, hath appointed the Lord Jesus Christ to be the only 
 mediator between God and man ; and I believe that, in the 
 fullness of time, the second person in the glorious Trinity, who 
 is God over all, blessed forevermore, and who thought it no 
 robbery to be equal with God the Father, condescended to take 
 upon himself the human nature, to be subject to all its infirmi- 
 ties, yet without sin. I believe that he was conceived by the 
 Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary ; that he was truly God, 
 and truly man ; and I believe that this glorious person, myste- 
 riously uniting the divine and human natures, is the true Christ, 
 the only sure foundation upon which sinful man can build his 
 hopes. I believe that he fulfilled the violated law by a perfectly 
 holy life, and by offering himself on the cross as a sacrifice for 
 sin, thereby satisfying the justice of God, and making an atone- 
 ment for the sins of men ; so that * God can now be just, and 
 justify every one who believeth in Jesus.' I believe that he 
 descended into the grave ; that he rose the third day from the 
 dead; that he ascended into heaven, and now sitteth at the 
 right hand of God the Father, and ever liveth to make interces- 
 sion for his people. 
 
 Holy Ghost.— I believe that the Holy Ghost is the third per- 
 son in the Godhead ; and that it is his office, in the plan of 
 redemption, to renew the hearts of the elect, and to carry on 
 the work of sanctification until the day of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Regeneration. — I believe that Regeneration is the immediate 
 work of the Holy Spirit ; opening the eyes of the spiritually 
 blind, taking away the heart of stone, and giving a heart of 
 flesh ; renewing the will, and changing the disposition from the 
 love of sin to the love of holiness, and from the power of Satan 
 unto God. 
 
 Sanctification. — Sanctification, I believe also to be a work of 
 the Spirit, and to be a continuation of the work of regeneration. 
 
78 MEMOIE OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 Saving Faith. — Saving faith I believe to be the gift of God ; 
 and to be that grace by which a sinner receives Christ as offered 
 to him in the gospel, and relies upon his merits for salvation. 
 
 Justification hy Faith. — I believe that, by the deeds of the 
 law, no flesh shall be justified ; but I believe that all God's 
 people are justified by faith in the Son of God, the righteousness 
 of Christ being imputed to them, and they receiving the same 
 by faith. 
 
 Adoption. — I believe that those whom God justifies, he adopts 
 into his family, and makes " heirs of God and joint heirs with 
 Christ." 
 
 Repentance unto Life. — Repentance unto life I believe to be 
 that grace, by which a sinner mourns for his sins, as offensive to 
 a pure and holy God, and turns from them unto God, resolving, 
 in the strength of the Lord, to keep his commandments. 
 
 Good Works. — I believe that good works, a holy life, and 
 blameless conversation, and a general conformity to the moral 
 law, is a requisite evidence of a sincere faith and repentance. 
 
 Perseverance of the Saints. — T believe that those who are 
 renewed, justified and sanctified, notwithstanding all the assaults 
 of the world, the flesh and the devil, shall persevere unto the 
 end, and obtain everlasting life. 
 
 Invisible and Visible Church. — I believe that Christ has a 
 Church in the world, and that the " gates of hell shall not prevail 
 against it." I believe that this Church is invisible and visible ; 
 that the invisible Church consists of all those who are, have 
 been, or ever shall be, gathered into one, under Christ, its head; 
 and that there is a visible Church, consisting of all those who 
 have made a profession of their faith in Christ, with their 
 children. I believe that Christ has instituted two Sacraments in 
 his Church, Baptism and the Lord's Supper. 
 
 Baptism. — I believe that Baptism is the mode which God has 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 79 
 
 been pleased to appoint for admission into the visible Church ; 
 and is to be considered as a sign and seal of the covenant of 
 grace, and that it is to be administered to believers and their 
 offspring only. 
 
 Lord's Supper. — I believe that the Lord has been pleased to 
 institute the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, in perpetual com- 
 memoration of his death and sufferings, to be observed by all 
 his disciples, and his disciples only, to the end of the world. 
 
 Resurrection. — I believe that, after death, the dust shall return 
 to the earth as it was, and the spirit unto God who gave it ; and 
 that, at the sound of the last trump, the dead shall be raised, 
 incorruptible, and they which are alive and remain, shall be 
 caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. 
 
 Judgment. — I believe that God has appointed a day wherein 
 he will judge the world in righteousness, by Jesus Christ ; when 
 all men shall appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, to give 
 an account of their thoughts, words and actions, and to receive 
 according to what they have done in the body, whether good or 
 evil. 
 
 Final State of the Righteous and the Wicked. — I believe 
 that there are distinct states prepared for the, righteous and the 
 wicked. A state of endless felicity for the righteous, and of 
 endless torments for the wicked ; and that, after sentence is 
 pronounced, the wicked " shall go away into everlasting pun- 
 ishment, but the righteous into life eternal." 
 
 John Codman. 
 
 The Ordination Sermon was preached by the late 
 Rev. Dr. Channing. His subject was, " The im- 
 portance of a zealous and affectionate performance 
 of ministerial duties." It was an earnest and 
 
80 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 eloquent exhortation to faithfulness in the office of 
 a minister of the gospel. The following are a few 
 extracts : 
 
 " The salvation of man is a leading object in the 
 providence of God. For this, the Son of God him- 
 self left the abodes of glory, and expired a victim on 
 the cross ! For this, the harmony of creation was 
 disturbed, and stupendous miracles were wrought 
 to attest the gracious promises of God. For this 
 end a church has been erected, and its interests 
 guarded, amidst the convulsions of a sinful world. 
 Heaven is gladdened by the tidings, that a sinner 
 has repented. Angels are sent forth to minister to 
 the heirs of salvation. . . . 
 
 " Of all the frowns of Providence, perhaps none 
 is more threatening than the settlement of a cold- 
 hearted, uninstructed minister. . . . Negligent 
 minister ! look forward to the tribunal of God. 
 Behold a human being there condemned, whom thy 
 neglect has helped to destroy. In that countenance 
 of anguish and despair, which might have beamed 
 with all the light and purity of heaven ; in that 
 voice of weeping and wailing, which might have 
 sung the sweet and happy strains of angels, see 
 and hear the ruin which thou hast made ! And 
 canst thou yet be slothful and unconcerned ? " 
 
MEMOIR OF DK. CODMAN. 81 
 
 After his settlement, Mr. Codman labored for 
 about a year in quietude and with great success ; 
 but the three following years were years of anxiety, 
 controversy and trouble. The origin of these diffi- 
 culties cannot be explained, except by a declension, 
 among the people, from the faith of the primitive 
 Christians of Dorchester and of the first settlers 
 of New England. Dorchester was the third settled 
 town in Massachusetts, as distinct from Plymouth 
 Colony, being next after Salem and Charlestown. 
 It was settled by a church gathered at Plymouth, 
 in England, which arrived at Nantasket, or Hull, 
 May 30, 1630, having two pastors, John Maverick 
 and John Warham. The former died in 1636, and 
 in the same year the latter removed with the church 
 to Windsor, in Connecticut. A new church was 
 formed in Dorchester, August 23, 1636, of which 
 Richard Mather was the teacher for thirty years. 
 He furnished the model of our Congregational Plat- 
 form, adopted by the Synod in 1648. His col- 
 leagues, for a short time, were Jonathan Burr and 
 John Wilson, Jr. The subsequent ministers were, 
 Josiah Flint, who died in 1680 ; John Danforth, 
 who died in 1730; Jonathan Bowman, from 1729 
 to 1773; Moses Everett, from 1774 till his dis- 
 mission, in 1793; and Dr. Thaddeus M. Harris, 
 
82 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 who was ordained October 23, 1793, and died in 
 1842. 
 
 In the Right Hand of Fellowship, delivered at 
 the ordination of Mr. Codman, Dr. Harris said, in 
 speaking of the inhabitants of Dorchester, who had 
 been under his pastoral care for fifteen years : 
 *' Standing fast in one spirit, and striving together 
 for the faith of the gospel^ they have paid little 
 attention to lesser matters and words of doubtful 
 disputation, and have been indoctrinated rather in 
 those important truths of religion, in which all 
 agree, than in those speculative topics about which 
 so many differ. The modern distinctions of sect 
 and party are scarcely known, and have never been 
 advocated among them. To be disciples and fol- 
 lowers of the Lord Jesus, has been their only 
 endeavor ; and to be called Christians, the only 
 appellation by which they have aimed or desired to 
 be distinguished. Enter, my Brother, into these 
 my labors. In this portion of the vineyard, may 
 you find the vines flourishing and the clusters fair, 
 and gather fruit unto everlasting life ! " 
 
 If, in his subsequent experience, Mr. Codman 
 was tempted to say, " Their grapes are grapes of 
 gall, their clusters are bitter," yet he could hardly 
 doubt, that it was in consequence of his plainly 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 83 
 
 preaching those doctrines, of which he expressed 
 his belief in his ' Confession of Faith,' and earn- 
 estly enforcing them upon the conscience. 
 
 The controversy which ensued, assumed at the 
 outset the ostensible form of a question, ' Whether 
 he had the right of refusing to exchange pulpits, 
 indiscriminately, with the neighboring ministers, 
 with some of whom he did not agree in religious 
 sentiment, and whose teachings he did not think 
 would be profitable to the souls of his people ? ' At 
 a parish meeting, it was voted, that he " be re- 
 quested to exchange with the ministers who com- 
 pose the Boston Association." His reply was in 
 accordance with his reserved rights in his letter 
 accepting his call, that he could not " pledge him- 
 self to exchange pulpits with any man, or any body 
 of men whatever." He added : " At the same 
 time you may rest assured that, in my exchanges, 
 as in every part of ministerial duty, it will be my 
 endeavor, as it always has been, to conciliate the 
 affections and to promote the peace and happiness, 
 but especially the spiritual welfare of the people 
 committed to my charge." 
 
 In consequence of this reply, the parish voted, 
 by a small majority, that the connection between 
 them and their minister, " become extinct." This, 
 
84 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 of course, was not in itself an effective measure. 
 In the progress of the proceedings at this period, 
 seventy-three male members of his parish presented 
 to him an affectionate address, in which they said : 
 " Nearly all your parishioners appear satisfied with 
 your performances, and acknowledge you have con- 
 formed to the doctrines and principles held out to 
 us in your communication, previous to your ordina- 
 tion ; and the foundation of the difficulties, pro- 
 fessedly, is your declining to exchange ministerial 
 labors with the Association of Ministers to which 
 you belong." They also acknowledge, that the 
 right was vested in him, " by the custom of ages, 
 to decide in respect to exchanges." This was 
 followed by an address, admirably written, from 
 one hundred and eighty-one female members of his 
 parish, which must have been most consoling and 
 refreshing to his heart. They say : " We, beloved 
 sir, when you were settled as our pastor, echoed 
 the voice of joy that proceeded from our husbands, 
 fathers, brothers and friends ; and, although we 
 could not become public advocates for your settle- 
 ment, the eye of approbation disclosed the happi- 
 ness of the heart. The power of sympathy has 
 never been denied us ; the virtue of sincerity we 
 hope is not withheld. With affectionate sympathy 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 85 
 
 and Christian sincerity, we beseech you to bear up 
 against the host of troubles that beset you, and, 
 like a good soldier of Christ, having on the whole 
 armor of the gospel, we hope you will fight man- 
 fully, and come off conqueror, and more than con- 
 queror, in this important conflict." 
 
 These women added in their address: "You have 
 this consolation, and our hearts gratefully bear wit- 
 ness to the truth, that your preaching has not been 
 in vain ; but that, by a blessing attending your 
 faithful and affectionate administrations of the 
 word, many of us have been awakened, comforted, 
 animated and strengthened." 
 
 In the course of this controversy, the parish 
 instructed a committee to write to the ministers, 
 with whom Mr. Codman had been in the habit of 
 exchanging, to request them not to preach in his 
 pulpit again, until difficulties were settled. The 
 ministers written to were. Rev. Drs. Morse, Bates, 
 Griffin and Strong, and Rev. Messrs. Greenough, 
 Homer, Gile and Huntington. But the committee 
 fell into the blunder of thus addressing two mem- 
 bers of the Boston Association, when the very 
 complaint against their pastor was, that he would 
 not engage to exchange with the ministers of that 
 Association. It was thus betrayed, that the real 
 
86 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 objection was to the religious faith of the ministers 
 exchanged with. 
 
 Rev. Dr. Bates, in his reply, inquired by what 
 right he was interdicted from preaching in exchange 
 with a brother minister, and why he was thus cen- 
 sured and proscribed, and his ministerial character 
 impeached ? For his refusal to yield to their re- 
 quest, he assigned four reasons : that his compliance 
 would lend a sanction to such irregular proceedings 
 as the interference of a parish with matters purely 
 ecclesiastical ; that it would be taking a part in a 
 parochial controversy ; that it would be, in fact, a 
 denouncement of a brother in the ministry, whom 
 he esteemed and loved, and regarded as a faithful 
 minister of Jesus Christ ; and that it would have 
 no tendency to promote their lasting peace and 
 happiness. 
 
 Rev. Dr. Morse, in his reply, alluded to the fact 
 of his being a member of the council which settled 
 Mr. Codman, and also a member of the same 
 Boston Association^ saying, " There is an obvious 
 inconsistency in requesting me not to preach in his 
 pulpit, merely because, in his exchanges, he selects 
 members of other Associations in preference to those 
 of his own." . ..." In conformity to the 
 usages of the churches, from time immemorial, he 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 87 
 
 maintains the right of inviting whom he pleases 
 into his pulpit." 
 
 When, in the course of the controversy, it was 
 agreed that a mutual council should be called, six 
 of the ministerial members were chosen by the 
 pastor, and six by the parish committee. By the 
 pastor the following ministers were chosen : Rev. 
 Dr. Prentiss of Medfield, Rev. Dr. Lyman of 
 Hatfield, Rev. William Greenough of Newton, 
 Rev. Dr. Austin of Worcester, Rev. Dr. Morse of 
 Charlestown, and Rev. Dr. Worcester of Salem; 
 and by the parish committee. Rev. John Reed of 
 Bridgewater, Rev. Richard R. Elliot of Water- 
 town, Rev. Thomas Thacher of Dedham, Rev. 
 Dr. Bancroft of Worcester, Rev. Dr. Kendall of 
 Weston, and Rev. Nathaniel Thayer of Lancaster. 
 
 The council met, October 30, ISIL The cause, 
 on the part of the parish, was conducted by Hon. 
 Samuel Dexter and Benjamin Parsons, Esq., and 
 on the part of Mr. Codman, by Dr. Bates and 
 Daniel Davis, Esq., Solicitor General. There were 
 various charges of imprudence or immorality, but 
 their inventors did not seem to attach any impor- 
 tance to them ; and the agents of the parish de- 
 clared, in the public hearing, that, if the affair of 
 exchanges was yielded, all other difficulties could 
 
88 MEMOIR OF Dll. CODMAN. 
 
 be settled in five minutes. In the result, the charges 
 in general were pronounced " not supported," or 
 unimportant. The great question was, ' Whether 
 Mr. Codman should be censured for his course in 
 regard to exchanges ? ' And on this, the council 
 were equally divided. 
 
 That the six ministers, chosen by the parish, 
 should vote for this censure, showed very plainly 
 their sympathy with their employers, and that a 
 marked and well understood division, at this early 
 period, existed among the ministers of Massachu- 
 setts. 
 
 The arguments on each side were, in substance, 
 as follows : on the part of the parish, it was 
 claimed, that, to decline so long to exchange with 
 the members of the Boston Association, was a 
 refusal which amounted to a denial of their minis- 
 terial character, a condemnation of a respectable 
 body of men, an impeachment of their fidelity, and 
 tended to stigmatise them as heretics ; that it was 
 a needless scruple, for none of them, in his pulpit, 
 would enter upon controverted topics ; that it was 
 an interruption of the harmony, peace and charity, 
 which should prevail among neighboring societies 
 and their ministers ; that a diversity in opinion was 
 no ground for a refusal of communion ; and that 
 
MEMOIR OF DE. CODMAN. 8^ 
 
 although the minister had the control of his ex- 
 changes, yet the people, too, had their rights, and, 
 if their wishes were not regarded, it was a reason 
 for the dismission of their minister. 
 
 On the part of Mr. Codman, it was said, that he 
 had given no pledge and made no promise in regard 
 to exchanges, yet he was always ready to perform 
 what he should find to be his duty ; that there was 
 now an attempt to impose upon him a compulsory 
 system of exchanges, unknown in the history of 
 the Protestant churches ; that, even in the Boston 
 Association, there is no such compulsion, for some 
 of its members have exchanged with the others, 
 and therefore, by joining that Association, there 
 was no implied engagement as to exchanges ; that 
 a minister is responsible for the religious instruc- 
 tions which, by his means, are given to his people, 
 and, therefore, he would be criminal in introducing 
 a preacher of pernicious error ; that he may have 
 very good and satisfactory reasons for neglecting to 
 exchange, when the public announcement of these 
 reasons might be improper ; that if he himself 
 preaches the true doctrines of the gospel, and ex- 
 changes with ministers who preach the same, his 
 people have no reason to complain ; that to allow 
 of a parish interference on this subject would lead 
 
 13 
 
90 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 to contention and incalculable evil, for it would be 
 impossible to satisfy individual preferences and 
 wishes, and even a vote of a majority might be 
 variable from time to time, as had already been 
 experienced ; that the clamor in favor of liberality, 
 charity, candor and harmony, was very absurd, for 
 charity " rejoiceth in the truth," and the minister 
 is set for the defence and the promotion of the 
 truth, nor was there any charity and candor in 
 allowing that all others were preachers of the truth, 
 against the most notorious evidence to the con- 
 trary ; that Mr, Codman brought no charges, how- 
 ever, against any one, but only maintained the right 
 of private judgment in regard to his duty on the 
 point of indiscriminate exchanges ; and that it was 
 indeed most wonderful, that in a region deemed 
 the most liberal and free, enlightened and catholic, 
 in the world, there should be this attempt to sub- 
 ject a minister to a system of compulsion. 
 
 The precise form of the motion, on which the 
 ministers and delegates were equally divided, was 
 as follows : " That, in the opinion of this council, 
 the aggrieved brethren and the majority of this 
 parish, have just cause of complaint against the 
 Rev. Mr. Codman, for having neglected to exchange 
 ministerial labors with the ministers of the Boston 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 91 
 
 Association generally." Had this motion prevailed, 
 the purpose was avowed of introducing another 
 motion, advising the dismission of Mr. Codman, 
 unless he would pledge himself on the subject of 
 exchanges. 
 
 After this first council, the opposers of the pastor, 
 instead of sitting down quietly under his ministerial 
 labors, persisted in their efforts to effect his re- 
 moval. They demanded another mutual council, 
 on the failure of which proposition the parish com- 
 mittee was instructed to call an ex parte council, 
 and submit to it two questions : First, " Whether 
 Mr. Codman had not given just cause of complaint 
 in regard to exchanges?" Secondly, "Whether 
 his dismission should not take place, on account of 
 the divided and unhappy state of the parish ? " 
 
 As the parish were determined to prosecute the 
 controversy, the church took measures to give their 
 minister all the support in their power. In a report 
 of their committee, they say : ** After three years 
 have elapsed, we are not able to perceive that he 
 has deviated from the course of conduct which he 
 then so explicitly prescribed to himself. On the 
 contrary, we feel cfurselves constrained to declare 
 that, in the services of the pulpit, he has laboriously 
 and zealously inculcated those doctrines which he 
 
92 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 then professed, and has followed them by pressing 
 on the conscience and the heart the duties of Chris- 
 tianity. In his private intercourse with the mem- 
 bers of his church and parish, we recognize the 
 disinterested, self-denying, beneficent spirit of the 
 gospel. Large additions have been made to our 
 number under his ministry, the attention of our 
 youth has been directed to religion, and the fruits 
 of the Spirit have appeared, as we conceive, in the 
 increase of vital and practical piety." 
 
 Among the reasons which they assign for not 
 consenting to the dismission of their pastor, one is, 
 that they believe the complaint against him, " with 
 respect to exchanges, has been, with many, only 
 ostensible ; and that opposition to his religious doc- 
 trines is the radical cause of complaint and dissatis- 
 faction, which, we have reason to fear, would not 
 cease or become more tolerable, unless his friends 
 would sacrifice their own principles and feelings, 
 and become entirely subservient to those, whose 
 high professions of liberality do not preserve them 
 from the greatest intolerance." 
 
MEMOIE OF DE. CODMAN. 93 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE CONTEOVEBSY CONTINUED — A SECOND COUNCIL — DOCTRINAL 
 ERRORS OF THE TIMES — VIOLENCE OF THE OPPOSITION — CLOSE OF 
 THE DIFHCULTIES — LETTER OF REV. DR. MILLER — MARRIAGE OF 
 MR. CODMAN — FAMILY AFFLICTION AND ILL HEALTH. 
 
 All attempts for the settlement of the contro- 
 versy having failed, another mutual council was 
 agreed upon. This second council, which met 
 May 12, 1812, consisted of nine ministers, four of 
 whom were chosen by Mr. Codman and his friends, 
 and four by his opponents. Rev. Dr. Lathrop, of 
 West Springfield, was chosen moderator and umpire, 
 by mutual agreement. Those chosen by the friends 
 of Mr. Codman were, Rev. Daniel Dana of New- 
 buryport, Rev. Samuel Stearns of Bedford, Rev. 
 Drs. Prentiss of Medfield, and Worcester of Salem ; 
 and by the parish. Rev. Dr. Barnard of Salem, Rev. 
 Dr. Reed of Bridgewater, Rev. John Allyne of 
 Duxbury, and Rev. Nathaniel Thayer of Lancaster. 
 The direct question was now proposed, ' Whether 
 the dismission of the pastor was expedient ? ' The 
 
94 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 eight ministers, with their delegates, being equally 
 divided in their vote, the moderator, Dr. Lathrop, 
 gave his decision in the negative. At the same 
 time, in explanation of his vote, he stated, that he 
 gave it in the belief that Mr. Codman " would 
 open a more free and liberal intercourse with his 
 ministerial brethren, and thus remove the only 
 objection alleged against him, and the only reason 
 urged for his dismission. Failing to do this," he 
 said, " if again called to vote, he should vote for 
 his dismission." 
 
 To many of his friends and those of Mr. Cod- 
 man, this expression of his views was very unsatis- 
 factory. It was attributed to his mistaken judgment 
 concerning the actual state of religious opinion 
 among the members of the Boston Association. It 
 has been stated, that he supposed they agreed with 
 him in receiving the doctrines of grace, particularly 
 the doctrines of the atonement, of justification by 
 faith, and of the renewing and sanctifying opera- 
 tions of the Holy Spirit. Had he been aware that 
 they differed in sentiment among themselves, from 
 rigid Calvinism down to the lowest Socinianism, it 
 is highly improbable that he would have approved 
 of an indiscriminate exchange ; and, by " a more 
 free and liberal intercourse," he must have intended 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 95 
 
 only an exchange with a part of them. In such a 
 condition of things, it is evident that every minister 
 must be left to his own judgment and conscience in 
 the matter of exchanges. 
 
 The parish committee still insisted that Mr. 
 Codman should exchange with twelve ministers, 
 whom they named. Although he actually ex- 
 changed with two of them, this did not satisfy his 
 opponents. In a letter to him, they asked : " Are 
 one or two stars, though of the first magnitude, to 
 content us for the light which might be derived 
 from all the planets of our system, revolving in 
 regular succession ? " Mr. Codman might, per- 
 haps, have had reason to think, that some of these 
 " stars " were not the regular and useful lights of 
 heaven, but distant, wandering planets, reflecting 
 but few rays from the fountain of light in our 
 Christian system. 
 
 As to this variety of opinion, and the extreme 
 errors into which some of the members of the 
 Boston Association had fallen, the following re- 
 markable statement was made in a review of two 
 pamphlets relating to the Dorchester controversy, 
 which was published in the Panoplist, in 1814, said 
 to have been written by Jeremiah Evarts, Esq., a 
 delegate from the church in Charlestown to the 
 first council. 
 
96 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 " The following opinions," he sajs, " are held 
 bj one or another of that Association, vi2 : That 
 Christ was a mere man ; that no such doctrine as 
 that of the atonement is taught in the Scriptures ; 
 that the idea of an atonement is perfectly ridicu- 
 lous ; that the common opinion of conversion is 
 fanatical ; that reason is superior to revelation ; that 
 the religion of nature is of higher authority than 
 book religion ; that repentance of sin is all that is 
 required for the enjoyment of happiness, here or 
 hereafter ; that men are justified by their works ; 
 that those who do not repent in this world, will 
 become wiser and repent, and be happy in the 
 future world ; that there will be no general judg- 
 ment ; that the soul sleeps with the body from 
 death to the resurrection ; that Christ made but 
 two considerable additions to the religion of man- 
 kind, viz., the fact of the resurrection of the body, 
 and the institution of the Christian ministry ; that 
 the soul of man is material ; and many other un- 
 scriptural notions. This description is not given 
 without consideration. With respect to every one 
 of these opinions, we have either heard it delivered 
 from the pulpit, in unequivocal terms, by some 
 member of the Boston Association, or have been 
 assured by competent witnesses, that it was so 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 97 
 
 delivered, or that it was clearly and expressly main- 
 tained in conversation. All but two of these opin- 
 ions have been delivered from the pulpit ; and most 
 probably they have also." 
 
 On the subject of exchanges, the council unani- 
 mously agreed in the following declaration : " While 
 they view it an important privilege of the Christian 
 minister to regulate his exchanges with his breth- 
 ren, according to the unbiassed dictates of his own 
 mind, they are sensible that this right ought to be 
 exercised with prudence and tenderness. If he 
 treat with wanton disregard, either the wishes of 
 his people or the sensibilities of his ministerial 
 brethren, he is undoubtedly culpable. Errors of 
 this kind, however, are of different degrees, and 
 are not all to be treated with the same severity." 
 
 The difficulties were not ended, but matters soon 
 came to a crisis. At a meeting of the parish 
 November 24, 1812, it was again voted by the 
 parish to dismiss their pastor. On the following 
 Sunday, they placed another minister in the pulpit, 
 with a guard on the pulpit stairs, so that Mr. 
 Codman was obliged to preach from the platform 
 below the pulpit; and, after preaching, he retired 
 with his congregation. The parish preacher then 
 went through his services, and, in the afternoon, 
 
 13 
 
98 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 performed a second service, at the close of which 
 Mr. Codman regained his pulpit and went through 
 his usual labors, having some hundreds of hearers ; 
 while the other preacher, much to the confusion 
 of the opposition, had only about fifty. 
 
 This strange and unheard-of outrage was so 
 revolting to the public sense of decorum, in the 
 minds of men of all religious denominations, that 
 the opposers of Mr. Codman, by this step, anni- 
 hilated at once their own power and gave to 
 him the triumph. They soon agreed to sell their 
 pews and to retire from the parish. And thus 
 was the pastor left perfectly free on the subject 
 of exchanges ; and the parish now voted as fol- 
 lows : " As it is the important privilege of the 
 Christian minister to regulate his exchanges with 
 his brethren according to the unbiassed dictates 
 of his own mind and conscience, we think it 
 expedient that the parish should agree, that Mr. 
 Codman should not be confined in his exchanges, 
 the advice of any council or member thereof not- 
 withstanding ; as the advice that was given was 
 upon the expectation, that the disaffected were to 
 continue active members of the parish, which is 
 not now the case ; and that the exercise of this 
 privilege shall not again be made the subject of 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 99 
 
 complaint before an ecclesiastical council in this 
 parish." 
 
 It appears that, at this time, of one hundred and 
 fifty church members, all but seven or eight were 
 anxious to retain their pastor ; which may show how 
 very unjust and oppressive, in respect to the church, 
 would have been the triumph of the opposers of 
 the minister in the parish. 
 
 In arranging the terms of compromise, it was 
 agreed by those who were disaffected towards Mr. 
 Codman, that they would sell their pews and cease 
 to act in the concerns of the parish. The value 
 of the pews purchased was about ten thousand dol- 
 lars ; and of these there remained in the hands of 
 Mr. Codman, after a year or two, pews to the value 
 of about three thousand dollars, which were readily 
 rented. The seceders, in 1813, built a new meet- 
 ing-house, and became a distinct and Unitarian 
 parish. 
 
 Thus ended this protracted controversy. " It 
 was conducted," says the Rev. Dr. 'Storrs in his 
 funeral discourse, " on the part of the youthful 
 pastor, with a moderation and Christian heroism, 
 rarely exhibited on the broad arena of ecclesiastical 
 strife, even by men of riper years. It was the 
 cause of Heaven and of vital Christianity, which he 
 
100 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 defended ; it was to maintain the faith of the Puri- 
 tan fathers and their descendants, the Warhams, 
 the Mavericks, and the Mathers, who had preceded 
 him in this fair field, that he strove ; it was to win 
 souls to Christ and prepare them for the heavenly 
 city, to the exclusion of every personal considera- 
 tion and private interest, that he hazarded reputa- 
 tion, endured reviling, and emulated in fortitude the 
 martyr at the stake." 
 
 Beyond all doubt, this was a very important con- 
 troversy in respect to the interests of truth, the 
 honor of the pure gospel, the character of the evan- 
 gelical ministry, and the rights and the welfare of 
 the churches. It was so felt beyond the bounds 
 of New England, as is evinced by the following 
 letter, written in the period of this controversy, 
 by the Rev. Dr. Miller, who, after the lapse of 
 nearly forty years from its date, recently died at 
 Princeton, where he had long been one of the 
 eminent professors in the theological seminary there 
 established. 
 
 New York, November 19, 1810. 
 
 My Dear Brother : — I have heard of your troubles. 
 
 Strange that a set of men who profess to cultivate the spirit, 
 
 which may be called liberality itself, should be so illiberal and 
 
 intolerant towards an orthodox brother ! But we may cease to 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 101 
 
 wonder. If it were not so, neither the conclusion of reason nor 
 of Scripture would be fulfilled. 
 
 I hope and believe, my dear brother, from what I hear, that 
 you are determined, whatever may occur, to adhere to your 
 original resolution respecting exchanges with ministers of 
 heterodox or doubtful sentiments. I am as firmly persuaded that 
 it is your duty to do so, as I am that it is your duty rather to 
 suffer martyrdom, than to deny the Lord that bought you. I 
 know that some good men are of a different opinion, or at least 
 feel doubtful on the subject. But the more I have reflected on 
 it, the more my mind has become fixed in the conclusion, that no 
 minister, situated as you are, can possibly recede from the ground 
 you have taken, without yielding a most important advantage to 
 the enemy, and without inflicting a deep and lasting injury on 
 the cause of truth. 
 
 Exchanging with ministers of known or suspected heterodoxy, 
 appears to me inconsistent with fidelity to our Master in heaven. 
 With the principles which we hold, we should not dare to preach 
 to our people a false Gospel. We should consider ourselves, in 
 this case, as falling under the awful denunciation of the Apostle, 
 Gal. i. 9 : " If any man preach any other Gospel unto you than 
 that ye have received, let him be accursed." But if we dare not 
 preach another Gospel ourselves, can we be innocently accessory 
 to this sin being committed by others ? And is not deliberately 
 sending a man into our pulpits, whom we suspect and more than 
 suspect of heresy, fundamental heresy, something very like being 
 accessory to the propagation of that heresy ? It is by no means 
 a sufficient answer to this argument to say, that the persons thus 
 sent/»to our pulpits, may not openly preach their peculiar senti- 
 ments. Even if ihefact were so, it by no means relieves the 
 difficulty ; because the very circumstance of our people seeing 
 us receive a heretic and practically bid him God-speed, will tend 
 
102 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 exceedingly to diminish their abhorrence of his heresy, and to 
 make them suppose, either that we consider it to be a very small 
 evil, or that we are very inconsistent if not dishonest men. But 
 the fact is not commonly so. These men generally preach in 
 such a way, that attentive hearers may readily perceive that they 
 reject every fundamental article of evangelical truth. They are 
 not only betrayed by their omissions, but also, at every turn, by 
 their phraseology and by their theological language ; so that, in 
 fact, they seldom enter our pulpits without holding out to our 
 people false grounds of hope. And is this a small evil ? I must 
 conclude that the minister, who views it in this light, has not well 
 considered the subject. 
 
 But solemn as this consideration is, there is another, which 
 appears to me in every respect equally solemn. It is the tendency 
 of the system of exchanging with heterodox ministers, to banish 
 the peculiar doctrines of the Gospel from our own sermons and 
 our own pulpits. I assume, as the basis of this argument, that 
 preaching the peculiar doctrines of the Gospel in a plain, pointed 
 and pungent manner, is the duty of every Christian minister ; 
 and that, without this, he cannot expect the divine blessing on 
 his labors, or hope to see real religion flourishing among the 
 people of his charge. I verily believe, that if an orthodox min- 
 ister could, in conscience, leave out of his sermons all the pecu- 
 liar and fundamental doctrines of the Gospel ; if, without preach- 
 ing anything contrary to them, he were silent respecting the 
 total depravity of our nature, regeneration, the divinity and 
 atonement of Christ, &c. &c. ; or if, to put the case in the most 
 favorable light, he sometimes advanced those doctrines, but 
 always did it in a concealed, wrapped up manner ; I verily be- 
 lieve, that by pursuing this course for 'twenty years, he would 
 banish religion from his church and prepare his people for becom- 
 ing Arminians, Arians, Socinians, Deists, or any thing that the 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 103 
 
 advocates of error might wish and endeavor to make them. If 
 I wished to banish religion from my church in the most effectual 
 manner, I certainly should not come forward openly and preach 
 heresy. This would excite attention, inquiry, and opposition. 
 But I would endeavor to lull my people asleep by simply with- 
 holding the truth ; and should expect to succeed, by this method, 
 with the least trouble and in the shortest time possible. Now 
 this negligent, spiritless, smooth kind of preaching, is precisely 
 that which frequent exchanges with the heterodox is calculated 
 to produce. The most pious and faithful minister living, when 
 he goes to the pulpit of a heretical brother, is under the strongest 
 temptation, if not absolutely to keep hack truth which he sup- 
 poses would be offensive, at least in a considerable degree to 
 soften and polish it down, that it may be received with as little 
 irritation as possible. Accordingly, he will be apt to take with 
 him to such a place, a discourse prepared upon this plan. If his 
 exchanges be frequent, he will often prepare such discourses. If 
 they become habitual, he will habitually preach those. The 
 consequence is as evident, as it is dreadful. To expect that a 
 man who prepares many such sermons, will preach none of them 
 to his own people, is an expectation not to be entertained. And 
 to hope that the mind of that man who preaches frequently in 
 this strain, will suffer no diminution either of evangelical zeal or 
 of ministerial faithfulness, is certainly an unreasonable hope. I 
 think there can be no doubt, that the Apostle Paul, with all the 
 ardor of his zeal for the truth and with all the tenderness of his 
 love to the souls of men, could not, without a miracle, have 
 withstood the influence of such a habit ; and that, if he had in- 
 dulged in it for one or two years, he would have been found at 
 the end of that time a less pointed, a less faithful, and less suc- 
 cessful preacher, than before. 
 
 You will perceive then my impression to be, that exchange in 
 
104 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 ministerial services with the heterodox, is not only unfaithfulness 
 to our Maker and his cause, but that it also tends to produce the 
 most unhappy effects on the mind and in the strain of preaching 
 of the orthodox themselves ; that, if habitually practiced, it can 
 scarcely fail to lower the evangelical tone of their ministry ; to 
 destroy that sacred unction from the Holy One, which can only 
 attend the simplicity that is in Christ ; and to produce such an 
 accommodation of their discourses to the tastes and feelings of 
 their heretical hearers, as to render them, in fact, no longer 
 preachers of the Gospel. I think it would not be difficult to 
 point out living examples in conformity to these remarks. 
 
 The question has often been asked, What has led to that awful 
 degeneracy of Boston with respect to evangelical truth, which 
 the friends of the faith once delivered to the saints have so long 
 observed and deplored ? Various reasons have been assigned for 
 this phenomenon, which has been nearly if not entirely unpar- 
 alelled in ecclesiastical history ; but I acknowledge, that none of 
 these reasons have been satisfactory to me. The licentiousness 
 and derangements of the war were known, and exerted an influ- 
 ence in other places, as well as in Boston. The literary char- 
 acter and inquiring spirit of the clergy have been quite as much 
 distinguished in some other places, as in that town, The same 
 remark might be made with respect to several other considera- 
 tions usually offered to assist in solving the difficulty. 
 
 I have scarcely any remaining doubt, that the principal cause 
 of the effect in question, is to be sought in the subject of this 
 letter, viz : indiscriminate exchanges with all classes of heterodox 
 ministers. And there probably never was a place, in which this 
 system has been carried to such a length, as in Boston. I cer- 
 tainly know of none. These exchanges have almost unavoidably 
 led to a strain of general, pointless, inoffensive preaching, in 
 which all may be disposed to agree. This strain of preaching 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 105 
 
 has of course banished the knowledge and the life of the peculiar 
 doctrines of the gospel from the churches. The greater part 
 of the present race of clergy, bred under such ministrations 
 and finding them most popular, have become their friends and 
 advocates. And the great body of the people, as might have 
 been expected, are distinguished, not so much by their adher- 
 ence to any distinct, avowed form of heresy, as by a general 
 belief of the innocence of error, and of the almost equal excel- 
 lence of all modes of faith. The more I reflect on the subject, 
 the more I am persuaded that this has lieen the principal cause 
 and the natural course of the Boston apostasy ; and the stronger 
 conviction do I feel that, wherever the same practice is admitted, 
 similar effects will follow. 
 
 Believe it my friend, that practice, whatever it may be, which 
 induces ministers to preach seldom, or superficially, on the pecu- 
 liar doctrines of the blessed Gospel, — which places the ambassa- 
 dors of Christ in circumstances in which they consider delicacy 
 as forbidding them to speak often, fully and pointedly, on the 
 great, distinguishing truths of the word of life, — will never fail 
 to have a most unhappy effect on their own souls, and to lay a 
 foundation for irreparable mischief among the people of their 
 charge. 
 
 The man who feels willing, or allows himself to be compelled 
 in the composition of every discourse, and especially in those 
 which he is preparing for exchanges, to inquire and balance in 
 his own mind, how far a gay and polite world will allow him to 
 go in declaring his Master's message, degrades his character, 
 dishonors his Master, is treacherous to his trust, and will soon 
 find himself to be left to be filled with his own devices. 
 
 I know that there may be a rash and indelicate mode of de- 
 claring the truth. I know that a man may be rude, boisterous 
 and violent, in the sacred desk, and call it fidelity. I consider 
 
 14 
 
106 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 it as the duty of every minister to endeavor to find out accepta- 
 ble words, by means of which to convey the truth as it is in 
 Jesus. But I would not, for my life, put myself into a situation 
 in which I should habitually or often be tempted to keep back, 
 or accommodate to human prejudices, those great and essential 
 truths which I dare not alter or modify to please any man. I 
 hope, therefore, my dear brother, that you will adhere to your 
 purpose with unalterable firmness. Let neither the frowns nor 
 smiles, the threats nor persuasions, of opponents move you. I 
 know that it is a trying thing, to resist the wishes of those whom 
 we respect, and who respect us. But, in this case, it really 
 appears to me that the cause of truth and righteousness, for 
 generations to come, is involved; and in such a cause, I take it 
 for granted, you are of the opinion that a minister ought to be 
 willing to make any sacrifice, rather than turn to the right hand 
 or to the left. It would afflict me more than I can express, to 
 hear that my friend had become an Arian or Socinian. But, 
 believe me, I should be little less distressed to hear that you had 
 abandoned your original ground with respect to the subject of 
 this lettet, and had consented to exchange with the advocates of 
 fundamental error. I should really consider you, in one sense, 
 as having delivered your God to the enemy. I am more and 
 more convinced, that the friends of evangelical truth in Boston 
 and its neighborhood must consent, at least for a time, to be a 
 little and comparatively a despised flock. They must form a 
 little world of their own, and patiently bear all the ridicule and 
 insults of their proud and wealthy foes. If they do this ; if, 
 instead of despairing or being impatient in the day of small 
 things, like a band of brothers they humbly wait on God, and, 
 when he tries their faith, instead of being discouraged, still 
 trust in him ; if, in short, they take for their model the conduct 
 of the Apostles, when all the wit, and learning, and wealth, and 
 
MEMOIR OF DE. CODMAN. 107 
 
 power of the world were leagued against them, they will as 
 certainly finally triunipb over the enemies of Christ, as there is 
 a King in the holy hill of Zion. But if they suffer themselves 
 to be distracted and divided ; if they are impatient under abuse 
 and contumely ; if they are discouraged when difficulties arise ; 
 and, especially, if they suffer the desire of emulating their oppo- 
 nents, in worldly wisdom and worldly grandeur, to gain the 
 ascendency in their minds, it is certain that they will be scourged 
 and depressed, if not, as a body, ruined. 
 
 My dear brother, I have written in extreme haste. I have 
 not time to be shorter, and scarcely to read over what I have 
 written. I have poured out, however, the feelings of my heart 
 on the subject ; and if what I have said- should tend, in the least 
 degree, to strengthen your hands, it will afford unfeigned plea- 
 sure to your sincere friend and affectionate brother, 
 
 Samuel Miller. 
 
 There were other friends of Mr. Codman who 
 took a different view of this affair, and who were 
 disposed to say to him : " You are an orthodox 
 preacher ; you know and love the truth ; you are 
 set for the defence of the gospel. Then preach 
 the gospel honestly, pointedly, and with all the 
 energy of Christian zeal in every sermon, in every 
 pulpit. You are placed in circumstances of pecu- 
 liar advantage for accomplishing the great work 
 of staying the progress of declension, perhaps of 
 reforming our corrupted and declining churches. 
 You are a native of Boston, pf a most respectable 
 
108 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 family, and this gives jou influence. You have 
 property, and are entirely independent as to pecu 
 niary matters. Even the loss of a parish, in this 
 respect, will be nothing to you. Let it be, that 
 fatal errors have been embraced by many ministers 
 around you ; yet the errors are, for the most part, 
 concealed. There is no honest boldness, as yet, 
 on the side of heresy. Preach every where the 
 truth, and you may arrest the downward progress. 
 Besides, there are many good Christians in the 
 heretical churches. You may enlighten them and 
 strengthen them, and keep them from being carried 
 away. Imitate the Apostle Paul, who feared not 
 the face of the bigoted Jew, of the besotted idol- 
 ater, nor of the learned philosopher of Athens. 
 Confine not your labors to congregations already 
 enlightened, but carry a blazing torch into the 
 midst of darkness. This is your duty, and it is 
 also the best policy. If you undertake to judge 
 your brethren, where sentiments are not distinctly 
 known, and select the ministers with whom you 
 will not exchange, you will be accused of unchari- 
 tableness and will make difficulty among your own 
 people. But be ready to exchange, and always 
 preach the most solemn and important truth, and 
 you will throw the odium of refusing to exchange 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 109 
 
 upon the men of error. Nor need jou fear, that 
 the number of jom' exchange pulpits will not be 
 soon reduced. If not, jou should rejoice that jou 
 may go on in the good work of saving those who 
 are in great peril. The time has not yet come, 
 though it will come, for the division of the ministry 
 and the churches ; but now is the time for benevo- 
 lent and earnest labor in every field around you, 
 that you may gather into the fold of truth those 
 who otherwise might be lost. If you are in danger 
 of being corrupted yourself, then consider the 
 example of Paul, of Luther, of Edwards, of 
 Whitefield. Catch more of their burning zeal, and 
 more earnestly seek the grace of God, which can 
 make you faithful even unto death, and then bestow 
 upon you a crown of life." 
 
 But this advice would seem to savor somewhat 
 of self-confidence and presumption, and to partake 
 less of deliberate wisdom, and to be less adapted 
 to the peculiarities of the crisis than the advice of 
 Dr. Miller, and of the great body of evangelical 
 ministers whose judgment was the same. The 
 special field of a minister's labor, unless he be a 
 Whitefield, is his own church and parish ; and to 
 instruct, guard and guide them, must require all his 
 efforts. To introduce into his pulpit a teacher of 
 
110 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 error, or of a corrupted gospel, is to counteract his 
 own most earnest purposes. It is not office which 
 makes a minister, but character ; the belief, the 
 love, and the inculcation of the pure truth as it is in 
 Jesus Christ. It does not appear, that Mr. Codman 
 was ever dissatisfied with the course which God 
 enabled him to pursue in his difficult situation ; and 
 in the close of the Review, already referred to, it is 
 remarked, '' that his character has not suffered by 
 the long trials through which he has passed ; that 
 his parish is now very flourishing, as more persons 
 attend his ministry than has been the case at any 
 previous time ; and that he and many of his friends, 
 in every part of the United States, think there is 
 abundant cause to bless God that the controversy 
 has been brought to so favorable a termination." 
 
 In respect to this controversy, the wonderful wis- 
 dom of Divine Providence, which brings good out 
 of evil, and makes the depraved passions of the 
 human heart subservient to his purposes of mercy, 
 ought not to be overlooked. A young minister, of 
 a distinguished family, endowed with a plentiful 
 estate, accustomed to the tokens of respect and 
 esteem, would not be likely to choose for himself to 
 enter upon his ministerial course under a cloud of 
 obloquy and abuse, obliged, as he was, to struggle 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. Ill 
 
 for years against a powerful ecclesiastical party, in 
 the maintenance of his rights, and for the honor 
 and success of the gospel which he preached. 
 But doubtless this unwelcome and severe discipline 
 was precisely the discipline which he needed for 
 his own humiliation, the perfecting of his virtues, 
 and the improvement of his character. In several 
 respects he was peculiarly fitted to be a cham- 
 pion of the cause to be asserted and maintained. 
 He was firmly established in the faith which he 
 professed ; he had zeal and courage ; and his 
 very wealth, which in other circumstances might 
 tempt to self-indulgence, was here a source of 
 strength, a muniment in the conflict. He waged 
 a weary battle of three years ; but he fought wisely, 
 and manfully, and prayerfully, and achieved a very 
 important triumph. Thus he gained a wide repu- 
 tation and influence, which he could not otherwise 
 have acquired. Had he not been a soldier, he 
 would not, in his age, have had the satisfaction 
 of remembering the conflicts of his youth. 
 
 Had he been overcome in the contest, and, driven 
 from his field of labor, succeeded by a preacher of a 
 different system of faith, it is easy to imagine what 
 would have been the result in his own particular 
 parish. The people might have heard from the 
 
1L2 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 pulpit many sweet words concerning liberality and 
 charity, the progress of light and exemption from 
 the bigotry of past ages ; discourses on the moral 
 virtues, and on the pure and holy example of Jesus ; 
 on his death as a martyr to the truth ; on his resur- 
 rection also, as a proof that our bodies will be 
 raised ; exhortations to good works, that the higher 
 rewards of virtue may be obtained, with perhaps 
 some soothing suggestions to the immoral and im- 
 pious that, in the end it might be well with them 
 ^and with all men, and that they might hope to reach 
 a humble place in heaven. Under such preaching, 
 there would have been a deep spiritual slumber, or 
 under such guidance immortal men, ignorant of the 
 truth, misguided and deluded, would have traveled 
 to the grave and to the judgment seat of Christ. 
 
 But they would not have had a preacher describ- 
 ing their depravity and ruin, teaching the necessity 
 of the renewing of the Holy Ghost in order to 
 their salvation, calling them to repentance and to 
 the exercise of faith in Jesus Christ, that they 
 might be redeemed by his blood, and to the prac- 
 tice of all goodness ; warning them of the terrors 
 of the great day of doom, and holding up to their 
 view the glorious, everlasting destiny of the friends 
 of God, and of the true disciples of his crucified 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 113 
 
 Son, who has gone to prepare mansions for Ihose 
 that love him. They would not have had a preacher 
 discoursing of these things with deep earnestness, 
 and solemnity, and affection, manifesting in every 
 way his solicitude for their religious improvement 
 and immortal welfare. Nor would their minister 
 have had the happiness to welcome, to the tahle 
 of the Lord Jesus, hundreds of immortal souls, 
 enlightened, through God's blessing on his instruc- 
 tions, renewed and sanctified ; and who, as he 
 hoped with unutterable emotions, would be his 
 crown of rejoicing in the day of the Lord. 
 
 In the course of this controversy, Mr. Codman 
 formed an intimacy with the family of William 
 Coombs, Esq., of Newburyport, an eminent mer- 
 chant, and a gentleman of rare and exalted 
 piety, who acted as delegate on the council 
 for his settlement. The intimacy thus formed, 
 led to an acquaintance with a grand-daughter of 
 Mr. Coombs, the eldest daughter of Ebenezer 
 Wheelwright, Esq. of Newburyport, with whom 
 he was united in marriage, January 19, 1813. 
 Of this lady, who still survives, well known 
 and appreciated by a large circle of affection- 
 ate friends, we need only say, that she was 
 eminently qualified to fill the important and, 
 
114 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 in many respects, difficult station, which she was 
 for so many years called to occupy. 
 
 In the year 1817, Mr. Codman wrote to his 
 friend, the author, in reference to afflictions which 
 each had experienced : " Those who sleep in Jesus, 
 God will certainly raise to life and glory. With 
 peculiar satisfaction I learned, from Professors Hall 
 and Hough, the excellent and respectable character 
 and rising eminence of your brother in Middlebury 
 College. But God's ways are not as our ways. 
 My friend, we have always been peculiarly united. 
 For nearly twenty years, we have traveled together 
 in the journey of life. We were married within a 
 few days of each other, and have each been blessed 
 with three dear children. But, alas, two of mine 
 are not, and but one boy remains. Oh, my friend, 
 although you have met with severe domestic afflic- 
 tions, you have not yet lost a child ; and I pray 
 God, of his infinite mercy, to spare you the painful 
 stroke." 
 
 January 27, 1822, he wrote in reference to the 
 commencement at Cambridge : " I am particularly 
 desirous that you should attend this year, so as to 
 meet the class on the evening preceding. You will 
 recollect, that twenty years have passed since we 
 took leave of our alma mater. It is quite an epoch 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 115 
 
 in our class history, and we hope to have a very 
 general attendance of the class. It is remarkable 
 that, in a class of sixty, but fourteen are deceased 
 during that period. Before the expiration of such 
 another era, how many of us will have taken our 
 leave forever of all human associations ! * In the 
 light of eternity, my dear friend, how trifling, 
 how insignificant do all human honors appear. 
 How important that honor which cometh from God 
 only!" 
 
 In regard to the title of Doctor of Divinity about 
 to be given him by Princeton College, he says : 
 " Of the distinction to which you allude, I had 
 already received some hints from another quarter. 
 I trust I can truly say, that the longer I live the 
 less important do such things appear. I most sin- 
 cerely reciprocate your wish, that we may be more 
 divine and heavenly in our temper and lives, and 
 be excited to teach others with greater fidelity and 
 pleasure the grand principles of the gospel." 
 
 March 12, 1823, he writes: "My health has 
 been very indifferent all winter. In October last I 
 
 * The writer, and seventeen other classmates of Dr. Codman, passed 
 Commencement Day together in 1852, half a century after their grad- 
 uation at Cambridge. They did not forget their recently departed 
 friend. 
 
116 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 had a fall from my horse, striking my head, which 
 deprived me of my recollection, and I felt mjself in 
 danger of inflammation of the brain, or extravasa- 
 tion of some of the vessels in the head. I have 
 never been brought so near, in my apprehension, to 
 the eternal world ; and may God grant that I may 
 be the better for this correction of his providence. 
 Bleeding and a general system of depletion reduced 
 me very low, and sensibly affected my nervous sys- 
 tem. I am now, blessed be God, in comfortable 
 health, and, as the physicians assure me, out of 
 danger from the fall. I am still subject to seasons 
 of depression, and have been advised to take a 
 voyage to Europe for the recovery of my health 
 and spirits." 
 
 Alluding to another accident of a similar nature, 
 he writes, April 13, 1824: *' Since we last met, I 
 have passed through a long and painful confine- 
 ment, occasioned by a fall in attempting to mount 
 a horse. I dislocated my right shoulder, and injured 
 my left arm to such an extent that it is doubtful 
 if I shall ever recover the perfect use of it. For 
 nearly three months, I was prevented from the cus- 
 tomary discharge of ministerial duty. My general 
 health and spirits suffered much, but, through divine 
 mercy, are now restored. In a little while, my 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 117 
 
 dear friend, our boys will be taking our places, and 
 we shall be gone. I have had much occasion to 
 familiarize my mind with the solemn thought of 
 death. Oh that we may be prepared for that great 
 change ! I ask your prayers for me, that I may be 
 found faithful. It is a delightful consideration, that 
 friendship, which has religion for its basis, will con- 
 tinue through eternity." 
 
 The life of the pastor of a country parish offers 
 but little of stirring incident to interest the public. 
 Happy in the faithful and diligent discharge of the 
 duties of his office, and in the devoted affection of 
 his flock, he exercised over them that silent and 
 yet powerful influence by which the character of a 
 people is generally moulded. In the children be- 
 longing to his charge, he ever took a deep and 
 lively interest, often assembling them, according to 
 the custom of ' the good old time,' for catechising ; 
 delighting to lead them in the way of truth, and 
 looking forward to the period when those, whom he 
 had consecrated to God in baptism, should rise up 
 and take the places of their fathers. He was highly 
 fitted to enjoy domestic life ; and, surrounded by a 
 large circle of affectionate relatives and friends, 
 living in the midst of the most attractive charms of 
 nature, and exercising an unbounded hospitality, 
 
118 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 the sun of earthly prosperity seemed to shine upon 
 him with almost unclouded brightness. He was 
 remarkable for a grateful appreciation of all the 
 mercies which surrounded him, delighting to trace, 
 in all the rich bounties of Providence, the hand of 
 an indulgent Father, and ever ready to employ all 
 the means in his power for doing good. 
 
MEMOIR OF DE. CODMAN. 119 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 JOUKNEY TO THE SOUTH— A CHRISTIAN PLANTER— SAVANNAH AND FAIR- 
 FIELD— VOYAGE TO ENGLAND — INTERVIEWS WITH OLD FRIENDS — 
 REV. DR. CHALMERS— MRS. HANNAH MORE AND "BARLEY WOOD "— 
 ROWLAND HILL — THIRD VISIT TO EUROPE— LETTERS — LAST VISIT 
 TO ENGLAND — RELIGIOUS ANNIVERSARIES. 
 
 Dr. Codman's health and spirits had suffered so 
 severely from the effects of the accident, to which 
 he alludes, that a sea voyage was considered by his 
 physician indispensable to their restoration. Ac- 
 cordingly, on the 11th of November, 1824, accom- 
 panied by Mrs. Codman and a female relative, he 
 embarked in the ship Emerald, Capt. Howes, for 
 Savannah. In that city, and in Charleston, he passed 
 a few months in very pleasant intercourse with min- 
 isters and excellent Christians of his acquaintance, 
 occasionally preaching for his brethren. A visit to 
 Richmond, the seat of Mr. Clay, gave some insight 
 into the management of a slave plantation by a 
 kind and Christian master. We have the following 
 account of it : " At a short distance from the house 
 
120 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 is a small village of negro huts, (which they call 
 the street,) consisting of thirty or forty buildings, 
 all of which, with their inhabitants, are the property 
 of Mr. Clay. As we entered the street, we found 
 the different families employed in assorting cotton. 
 Each house has a small coop for poultry attached 
 to it, and a portion of land is set apart for each 
 family, which they are at liberty to cultivate for 
 themselves after they have fulfilled their tasks. As 
 we stood talking with some of the children, an old 
 black man came up to us, by the name of Scipio. 
 He is upwards of seventy years old, and we soon 
 discovered, that he was pious and intelligent, acting 
 the part of priest, physician and nurse, in the vil- 
 lage. Mr. Clay told us that he was in the habit 
 of collecting all the blacks together, every evening, 
 to attend prayers, — a duty which he himself per- 
 formed in their behalf." 
 
 The following account of a Sabbath passed at 
 Fairfield, the seat of Colonel Law, may be read 
 with interest. The church alluded to was at a 
 place called Midway,* and was built by emigrants 
 
 * Of this church an uncle of the writer, Rev. Moses Allen, a native 
 of Northampton, was the pastor when his meeting-house was burnt, 
 in the war of the Revolution. In attempting to escape by swimming 
 from a prison-ship at Savannah, he was drowned February 8, 1779, 
 aged thirty years. 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 121 
 
 from Dorchester, Massachusetts: "Soon after break- 
 fast we prepared ourselves to attend church about 
 nine miles distant from Col. Law's. On our way, 
 which was principally through a thick wood, we 
 passed many negroes, neatly attired, walking to the 
 house of God in company. As we approached the 
 church, a great number of carriages were coming in 
 every direction to this sacred spot, which is far from 
 the habitations of men, and surrounded only by 
 the grave-yard and a few little houses and arbors, 
 erected for the convenience of the congregation, 
 who come from such a distance that, in some 
 instances, they take their whole families with them. 
 There is an intermission of about half an hour, and 
 this interval is spent by the whites in the buildings 
 and arbors around the church. The blacks, mean- 
 while, retire with their leader or watchman to the 
 woods, where they are reminded of the truths to 
 which they have been attending, by one of their 
 own number, whom they call an 'exhorter.' I 
 preached morning and afternoon to a very attentive 
 audience. The singing was performed in the old- 
 fashioned style, and without any select choir. The 
 members of this church retain the primitive faith 
 which their ancestors embraced, and are extremely 
 fearful of innovations. There are about six hun- 
 
 16 
 
122 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 dred communicants, including the blacks, and the 
 ordinance is administered once in three months. 
 The blacks have watchmen, as they are called, 
 whose duty it is to see that they walk circum- 
 spectly ; and, in case of deviation, to report the 
 same to the church, which has ever maintained a 
 wholesome discipline. Thus has passed this inter- 
 esting Sabbath, which may truly be called a ' Peep 
 at the Pilgrims,' and carries one back in feeling 
 to the early settlement of our country, when the 
 church was indeed in the wilderness, and the disci- 
 ples of Christ a distinct and peculiar people." 
 
 On the first of February, Dr. Codman and his 
 companions embarked again on board the Emerald, 
 for Liverpool. Little occurred to vary the mo- 
 notony of a sea voyage. Dr. Codman performed 
 divine service in the cabin, whenever the weather 
 would permit. They arrived at Liverpool on the 
 morning of February 28 ; and, after a few days 
 occupied in viewing the objects of interest there, 
 they proceeded to Manchester. Their visit to that 
 place was rendered peculiarly interesting, by some 
 circumstances connected with an acquaintance 
 which Dr. Codman had formed, during his previous 
 visit to Europe, with Mr. White, of Manchester, 
 who was then residing in Paris, to which he alludes 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 123 
 
 in a letter written about that period. He always 
 retained a most affectionate interest in the family 
 of Mr. White ; and, in after years, delighted to 
 relate to his own children the story of his little 
 adopted ones, as he always called them. 
 
 The following is the interesting account of the 
 circumstances connected with this family : — When 
 Dr. Codman visited Europe, in the year 1806, he 
 was introduced to an English gentleman in Paris, 
 by the name of White, whose lady had recently 
 died and left him with the care of five small chil- 
 dren. The friends of Mrs. White, who resided at 
 Seven Oaks, in Kent, on hearing of her decease, 
 requested that, if it were possible, the three eldest 
 children might be sent over to them, and they would 
 adopt them as their own. But the difficulties then 
 existing between France and England, seemed to 
 render such an arrangement quite impracticable. 
 It was about this time that Dr. Codman was intro- 
 duced to Mr. White and his lovely little family, in 
 whom he became much interested. Mr. White 
 stated to him the difficult situation in which he was 
 placed with regard to the children, and his desire 
 to get them over to their friends. Dr. Codman 
 was about leaving Paris for England, by the way of 
 Holland ; and, being an American, there was not 
 
124 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 much difficulty attending his return. After consid- 
 erable deliberation, he told Mr. White that if he 
 would intrust him with the care of his children, he 
 would endeavor to take them safely over to their 
 friends. The proposal was gratefully acceded to ; 
 and in a few days the children, with an attentive 
 nurse and a man servant, under the care of their 
 new protector, left Paris in the diligence for Rot- 
 terdam. The eldest of the children was about 
 eight years of age, and the youngest, four. They 
 were familiar with but few words of the English 
 language, excepting a hymn which their mother had 
 taught them, and the Lord's prayer. They would 
 kneel and repeat this on every evening of their 
 journey, and then unite in singing that sweet hymn : 
 
 " My God, how endless is thy love, 
 Thy gifts are every evening new," &c. 
 
 Their party occupied all the seats in the diligence 
 excepting one, which was taken by a Frenchman, 
 who was very inquisitive to know something about 
 the children, remarking to Dr. Codman, that he 
 was quite a young man to be the father of such a 
 family. Dr. Codman discouraged any conversation, 
 on the ground that he was but little acquainted 
 with the French language, so that the gentleman 
 suppressed bis curiosity for the remaipder of the 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 125 
 
 journey. The nurse accompanied them as far as 
 Antwerp, and then returned to Paris. When they 
 reached Rotterdam it was late in the evening, and 
 the children were put into their beds very weary. 
 In the mean time, there was a report in circula- 
 tion, that the children were the offspring of English 
 parents. On being informed of this. Dr. Codman 
 hardly knew what course to pursue ; but finally 
 concluded to take the children from their beds and 
 go with them himself to the French commandant, 
 and let his servant state all the circumstances of 
 the case and plead in their behalf. This the ser- 
 vant managed so well that, before he had finished 
 his story, the commandant burst into tears, took 
 the children in his arms and kissed them, saying, 
 "If they were the children of King George, I would 
 let them go." He at once signed their passports, 
 and in the morning they set off for the Briel, and 
 took passage in a vessel bound for England. Dr. 
 Codman flattered himself that he had no more 
 difficulties of this kind to encounter ; but on pre- 
 senting his passport, he was told that it was defec- 
 tive, not having been signed by the commandant 
 at the Hague. All entreaty was vain ; and, finding 
 that the children would be permitted to go, he com- 
 mitted them to the care of an American gentleman 
 
126 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 on board, and returned to the Hague. Having suc- 
 ceeded in obtaining the necessary signature to his 
 passport, he set off again for the Briel. Day was 
 just beginning to dawn, as he approached the land- 
 ing ; and, to his great joy, he found the vessel still 
 detained by a head wind. He was soon on board ; 
 and, the wind changing in the course of an hour, 
 they set sail for England, where the children were 
 safely delivered to their friends. 
 
 It was the recollection of this adventure, which 
 gave a peculiar interest to Dr. Codman's visit to 
 Manchester, after the lapse of so many years. He 
 found Mr. White still living in that town, though 
 quite an invalid. He had suffered from several 
 attacks of paralysis, which had so weakened his 
 mind that it was a long time before he could be 
 made sensible with whom he was conversing. But 
 when he was convinced that it was indeed Dr. 
 Codman, he extended his hand with all the warmth 
 of friendship, and gave an account of the state of 
 his family and situation of his children. He prom- 
 ised that the two eldest should pass the evening 
 with Dr. Codman at his lodgings, without inform- 
 ing them whom they were to meet. They accord- 
 ingly came ; and, though twenty years had elapsed 
 since they had seen their protector, the eldest had 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 12T 
 
 a perfect recollection of him, and mentioned a 
 number of circumstances that took place on their 
 journey, which Dr. Codman had forgotten. This 
 interview was the more delightful to Dr. Codman, 
 when he found that both the young men were 
 pious, and had made a profession of their faith in 
 Christ. One of them had been engaged in the 
 early part of the evening at a charity school, and 
 he produced from his pocket '' Janeway's Token 
 for Children," which Dr. Codman had given him 
 when he was four years old, and from which he 
 had been instructing the poor children connected 
 with the charity school. 
 
 Mrs. Codman's journal, written in the familiar 
 style of letters, contains many interesting incidents 
 of this journey; but, passing over much that might 
 otherwise engage our attention, we make such 
 extracts only as may seem most appropriate to our 
 present purpose. Their visit to Scotland, and the 
 renewal of Dr. Codman's intimacy with early 
 friends in Edinburgh, were among the most de- 
 lightful reminiscences of this tour. 
 
 On the fourth of April, Dr. and Mrs. Codman 
 made a visit to St. Andrews, where they were 
 received with great kindness by Rev. Dr. Chalmers 
 and his lady. 
 
128 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 We dined with them, and then proposed going to Cupar to 
 pass the night, to which Dr. Chalmers would not consent; and, 
 after we had concluded to stay, he introduced us to a young 
 gentleman, who offered his services in showing us about the 
 place. In the evening, we went with Dr. Chalmers to an 
 obscure part of the town, to attend the first missionary concert 
 for prayer that was ever held in St. Andrews. This gave us an 
 opportunity of seeing Dr. Chalmers to the best advantage. He 
 is, at present, exceedingly interested in the subject of missions, 
 and had taken great pains in preparing for the exercises of the 
 evening. His object was to give the people a history of missions 
 from the beginning, in as concise a manner as possible ; and for 
 this purpose he had condensed a great body of materials, so that 
 he might exhibit the whole subject, in all its important bearings, 
 at one view. In doing this, he made large extracts from his own 
 sermons, which he delivered in a very animated and energetic 
 manner, so as to give us a perfect idea of his mode of preach- 
 ing. After our return home, which was between nine and ten 
 o'clock, he devoted his whole time to us; and, as we were seated 
 around the supper table, partaking of minced collops and oat- 
 meal cakes, he entered into conversation in the most lively and 
 animated manner, using at the same time various gestures, 
 expressive of the interest which he felt in the subject of conver- 
 sation. Edwards was one part of his theme ; and, after pro- 
 nouncing an eulogium upon this great and good man, he lifted 
 both hands and exclaimed : ** Oh, he was the glory of America." 
 
 In person. Dr. Chalmers is of middling size. His complexion 
 is light and pale, and his face is deeply marked with the small- 
 pox. His eye is of a filmy blue, and devoid of animation. He 
 has a fine broad forehead, but it is not until he speaks, that one 
 can discover any thing in his countenance to interest or please. 
 It is seldom that the mouth gives the whole expression to the 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 129 
 
 face, but it is remarkably so in this case ; and one can hardly be 
 said to have seen Dr. Chalmers, who has not seen him smile or 
 heard him speak. 
 
 At Rothsay, in the Isle of Bute, Dr. Codman visited his old 
 friend Mr. Denoon, the parish minister, who preaches partly in 
 the Gaelic language, having the charge of the whole parish, or 
 island, of six thousand souls. The living is in the gift of the 
 Marquis of Bute, who is much attached to Mr. Denoon and 
 frequently visits him, patronizes Sabbath schools in the parish, 
 and offers to remunerate any expense that may occur in the 
 establishment or continuance of them. 
 
 Passing over a visit to many objects of interest 
 in Ireland, v^e come to the following account of an 
 interview with Mrs. Hannah More. 
 
 May 4. — The events of this day have been of a peculiarly 
 interesting nature, and such as will long be remembered. After 
 
 breakfast, Mrs. B proposed taking us in l\cr carriage to 
 
 ** Barley Wood," the residence of Mrs. More. We were 
 informed, at the door, that she was not so well as usual to-day, 
 but that she would see us with pleasure, We were then con- 
 ducted to her bed-chamber, where we found her seated in an 
 easy-chair. She rose at our entrance, extended her hand, and 
 gave us a most cordial reception. Her person interested us 
 exceedingly. She has a fine countenance, full of animation, 
 and expressive of every thing kind and benevolent. She wore 
 a plain lace cap, with a wreath of white ribbon in front, and her 
 hair was slightly powdered. Dr. Codman took the chair next 
 her ; and, while conversing with him, her countenance bright- 
 ened, and she occasionally laid her hand upon his arm, — a ges- 
 ture expressive of the interest which she felt in the subject of 
 
 17 
 
130 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 conversation. When Dr. Codman remarked that he had not 
 seen her last work, she at once handed him a copy of it, saying, 
 " I will make you a present of it. It was compiled during my 
 late illness, and was intended as a death-bed present to my 
 friends." She then wrote his name on the leaf, without using 
 her glasses, for which she said she seldom had occasion. She 
 remarked, that it had pleased God to deprived her of both taste 
 and smell, " which," she said, " you may think somewhat afflic- 
 tive ; but no, for I have been doomed for the last eight years 
 to live upon medicines, and I can see the kindness of my Heav- 
 enly Father in continuing to me the two intellectual senses, 
 seeing and hearing, while he has deprived me only of those 
 which, under existing circumstances, would have been a source 
 of misery." On a table before her lay a box made of mulberry 
 wood, which, in her youth, she had taken from a tree, planted 
 by the hand of Shakespeare. We read aloud, at her request, 
 the lines she had inscribed upon it : 
 
 " I kissed the ground where Shakespeare's ashes lay, 
 And bore this relic of the bard away. 1767." 
 
 The room in which she received us was furnished in a very 
 simple manner. One part of it contains her library, and in the 
 other part there is a bow with three windows, down to the floor. 
 In this bow, a large number of beautiful plants and flowers 
 were arranged. Beside her was a table composed of parts of 
 the different kinds of trees, growing at Barley Wood, all of 
 which she had planted with her own hand, excepting one, 
 which was put into the ground by her friend, Bishop Porteus, 
 and was distinguished from the rest by its peculiar color and 
 texture. Some ladies, who were present, introduced the Cath- 
 olic question, a subject in which her feelings were warmly 
 interested, and she inquired of Dr. Codman, with great earnest- 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 131 
 
 ness, whether he had read the speech of the Duke of York, 
 and expressed much anxiety lest the bill for the emancipation 
 of the Catholics should pass the House of Lords. Something 
 had previously been said on the subject of slavery in our 
 southern States, and Mrs. More remarked, that if she could 
 live to see that evil remedied in our country, and the question 
 above alluded to settled according to her views, she could say, 
 *' Now let thy servant depart in peace." As we were leaving, 
 Mrs. More begged us to walk about her grounds, and visit the 
 monuments which she had erected to the memory of Locke, and 
 of her friend Porteus. We walked through a winding path, 
 bordered by shrubbery, with here and there a little rural house, 
 which had been erected for the accommodation of Mrs. More 
 and her friends, in their rambles through this delightful solitude. 
 Near where we stood, on the top of the hill, was the monument 
 to Locke presented by Lady Montague to Mrs. More ; and the 
 birth-place of this distinguished man may be seen in the village 
 over against it. 
 
 May 1L — The great missionary meeting of the Dissenters 
 was held to-day in Surry Chapel. Dr. Morrison, of China, 
 preached a very appropriate sermon ; after which, Rowland Hill 
 rose in the desk below and made an address. He concluded by 
 saying, that he hoped a large collection would be made, and that 
 the people of Surry Chapel would not be backward in the good 
 work ; that he should hold one of the plates at the door, and 
 hoped his hearers, as they passed out, would heap up his plate 
 full. As we went out by way of the vestry door, we saw the 
 old gentleman standing and presenting his plate to those passing 
 him, and at the same time gathering up in his hand a few stray 
 half-pence, which had fallen in among the silver, saying, in a 
 low voice, " I will take up all these as fast as they come and 
 put them into my pocket, lest others, seeing them, should drop 
 in theirs also instead of silver." 
 
132 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 May 16. — We went to dueen Street Chapel, to hear Mr. 
 Irving. He gave us a sermon nearly three hours in length, 
 from the seventh chapter of Daniel ; but confined his discourse 
 principally to the Book of Revelation, which he represented as 
 one great drama, divided into a number of scenes, interspersed 
 with choruses sung by the heavenly hosts. His manner was 
 very terrible, and well accorded with some parts of his subject. 
 
 On the sixth of June, Dr. Codman and his 
 friends made a journey to Paris ; and, on their 
 return, visited the Isle of Wight, lingering with 
 great interest among the scenes associated with the 
 memory of Leigh Richmond. In July, they sailed 
 from Liverpool, in the Emerald, for Boston, with 
 several very agreeable passengers, and arrived on 
 the 30th of August. 
 
 After a lapse of about ten years devoted to his 
 pastoral labors. Dr. Codman was ae^ain induced to 
 cross the Atlantic. At the meetino; of the General 
 Association of Mass'achusetts, in June, 1834, he was 
 appointed a delegate to represent that body at the 
 annual meeting of the Congregational Union of 
 England and Wales, in London. With the intention 
 of passing the preceding winter on the continent of 
 Europe, he embarked at New York for Havre, in 
 the ship Silvie de Grasse, October 16, 1834, accom- 
 panied by a part of his family. It will be unneces- 
 sary hpre to give the particulars of this journey, 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 133 
 
 as, on his return, he published an account of the 
 religious anniversaries in London, together with a 
 rapid sketch of his tour on the continent, in a 
 small volume, entitled, *' Visit to England." He re- 
 turned to America in September, 1835. His people 
 received him with a most warm and affectionate 
 welcome, and he engaged anew in his ministerial 
 labors with undiminished usefulness. In about five 
 years, one hundred members were added to his 
 church ; and the demands upon his time, in various 
 fields of labor, for the advancement of the kingdom 
 of Christ, continually increased. In a letter dated 
 October 20, 1841, he writes : 
 
 Things go on with us very quietly. All we need is more 
 attention to tlie subject of religion, and this we need greatly, 
 " Pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, 
 and be glorified." I feel that I have great reason for grati- 
 tude, for the innumerable blessings I enjoy ; and for none 
 more so, than the blessing of health with which I have been 
 highly favored. Though approaching to threescore, I am still 
 able to discharge all my ministerial duties with comfort, and 
 can scarcely realize that I am growing old; but it cannot be 
 denied. My dear friend, may God grant that we may both 
 bring forth fruit in old age, and that our friendship may con- 
 tinue firm and ardent, as it was in the days of our youth. 
 
 To show his tender and affectionate interest in 
 the spiritual, as well as temporal welfare of those 
 
134 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 whom he loved, a few extracts of letters, written to 
 a beloved sister-in-law, whose attention had been 
 called to the subject of religion, maj here be intro- 
 duced : 
 
 June 3. 
 
 I am obliged to you, my dear sister, for the freedom with 
 which you have written respecting the state of your mind. It 
 would give me the greatest delight to be the instrument of 
 helping you on your way to Zion. You ask me if, by approaching 
 the table of the Lord, you may hope to have your heart warmed, 
 &c. I can only say, that I have found this ordinance a source 
 of comfort and joy which I cannot describe ; and though I have 
 often lamented my coldness and insensibility, and have been 
 deeply sensible of my unworthiness to sit down at the table, yet 
 I have never regretted being united with the church of Christ. 
 Far be it from me to urge you to make a profession of religion. 
 I would not do so upon any consideration. My object in my 
 last letter was only to call your attention to the subject, and I 
 should not have done even this, had I not entertained a hope 
 that you had experienced the power of religion; in which case I 
 conceive it is the duty of every one openly to profess Christ 
 before men. Whether this is your case, my dear sister, you 
 may form some opinion. Let me advise you to examine your- 
 self faithfully by the rules contained in the word of God. At 
 the same time that you are strict and close in the examination, 
 remember that we must not despise the day of small things; 
 that the weakest believer is a suitable guest for the table of the 
 Lord, and that a merciful Saviour will not break the bruised 
 reed nor quench the smoking flax. May the Lord direct and 
 bless you. May he discover to you your duty, and enable you 
 to perform it. 
 
MEMOIK OF DR. CODMAN. 135 
 
 June 23. 
 
 I know that you have it in contemplation to make a profes- 
 sion of religion, to enter into an everlasting covenant with the 
 Lord your God ; and I feel it my duty to write to you freely 
 upon this subject, in the hope of removing any difficulties which 
 you may feel, and of confirming you in the path which you 
 have begun to tread. 
 
 I presume that the principal difficulty which now lies in your 
 way, is a consciousness of not being prepared for such an impor- 
 tant and solemn duty. You feel that you have so many corrup- 
 tions, which are yet unsubdued ; that you are afraid, in your 
 present state, to approach the table of the Lord. My dear 
 sister, you must remember that sanctification is a progressive 
 work, and that the ordinance of the Lord's supper is one of 
 the means which God has appointed for carrying it on in our 
 souls. It is sufficient, if we have reason to entertain the hope, 
 that God has begun the good work in us. We are encouraged, 
 without delay, to connect ourselves with the visible church ; to 
 avail ourselves of all the privileges it affijrds, in order that we 
 may grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ. The table of the Lord is spread, I con- 
 ceive, for habcs in Christ as well as for the more advanced and 
 experienced Christian. There we may hope to have our faith 
 increased, our love excited, our hope animated, and all our 
 graces nourished. It is true, that much will be expected of 
 those who make a public profession of religion ; but I trust this 
 does not operate as an objection in your mind. If I am not 
 greatly mistaken, you have forever renounced the world, and 
 are willing to come out and be separate, to take up your cross 
 and follow Christ. You will from this time, I have no doubt, 
 be a companion of those who fear God, and will never choose 
 for intimate friends those who are strangers to the power of 
 religion. 
 
136 MEMOIR OF DE. CODMAN. 
 
 In this day of delusion and error, when the enemy has come 
 in like a flood, and when men will not endure sound doctrine, 
 I have no doubt that you will be decided in your attachment to 
 those doctrines which are calculated to debase the sinner and 
 exalt the Saviour. You will not for a moment listen to the 
 insinuating arguments of those who wish to be considered 
 liberal Christians, but who " deny the Lord who bought them." 
 My dear sister, may you never cease to be attached to the pecu- 
 liar doctrines of the gospel. Let it always be the language of 
 your heart : '* God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto 
 me and I unto the world." 
 
 In the year 1845, Dr. Codman made his last visit 
 to Europe. He sailed from Boston, accompanied 
 by his youngest son, on the first of April, in the 
 steamship Cambria ; and was absent from home 
 about six months, spending most of his time among 
 his early friends in England and Scotland. This 
 frequent renewal of intercourse with those whom 
 he had known and loved in former years, was 
 tinged with sadness by the changes wrought by the 
 hand of time, and the breaches made in the pleasant 
 circle during each successive separation. Some, 
 who very dear to him, had been called to their 
 reward since his last visit ; and it was with a full 
 heart that he offered, to their surviving families and 
 friends, the tribute of his affectionate sympathy. 
 He had the happiness of seeing again his old friends 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 137 
 
 at Islington, and Drs. Reed, Matheson, Burder and 
 Raffles. He went one morning to Swallow Street 
 Chapel, where he had preached thirty-six jears 
 before ; but the condition of this Scotch Church 
 was now changed, for, in the Free Church move- 
 ment, many of its excellent members had seceded 
 and formed a new congregation. 
 
 It was his privilege again to be present at the 
 interesting anniversaries of the benevolent socie- 
 ties in London, in the month of May. At the 
 meeting of the British and Foreign Bible Soci- 
 ety, Lord Teignmouth, son of the first president, 
 presided, and Dr. Codman, as delegate from the 
 American Bible Society, made a speech, which was 
 very favorably received, and was afterwards pub- 
 lished. Other addresses were made by the Bishops 
 of Norwich and Chester, Dr. Cumming of Scot- 
 land, and others. Dr. Codman was also invited to 
 address the Religious Tract Society, on its forty- 
 sixth anniversary. He spoke again at the fifty-first 
 anniversary of the London Missionary Society, at 
 Exeter Hall. One of the most eloquent speakers 
 on these occasions was Dr. Cumming, a zealous 
 supporter of the National Scotch Establishment, in 
 an interview with whom. Dr. Codman was happy 
 to learn that, notwithstanding the secession of the 
 
138 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 Free Church, in Scotland, there yet remained in 
 the Establishment many evangelical ministers, who 
 knew, and loved, and preached the truth, as it is in 
 Jesus Christ. At the meeting of the Congrega- 
 tional Union of England and Wales, he met with 
 two or three hundred ministers, among whom he 
 was happy to be introduced to Dr. Harris and Mr. 
 Jenkyn, and to greet again many of his old friends. 
 Dr. Codman made a rapid tour through France, 
 Italy, and Germany. At Hamburg he passed a 
 few days, and enjoyed the opportunity of very 
 pleasant intercourse with the relatives of his son- 
 in-law, to whose kindness and hospitality he was 
 very much indebted. On the seventh of August, 
 he breakfasted with Dr. Chalmers, in Edinburgh, 
 and had an interesting interview with him. At 
 parting, the latter inquired, when they should see 
 each other again. Dr. Codman replied, that he 
 hoped to visit Europe again in 1848. '' O, then," 
 said Dr. Chalmers, " we shall meet again in '48." 
 Little did either of them imagine that, ere that 
 period arrived, their glorified spirits would indeed 
 meet, unrestricted by the limits which bound our 
 earthly intercourse, in that world where they should 
 together receive the reward promised to the good 
 and faithful servant. 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 139 
 
 Dr. Codman preached at the Free Church in 
 Kenmore, near Taymouth Castle, the seat of the 
 Marquis of Breadalbane, on Sunday, August 10. 
 In the evening, he dined at the Castle, and was 
 very hospitably received by the Earl and his Lady. 
 On the nineteenth of August, he sailed from Liver- 
 pool in the Caledonia ; and after an unusually rough 
 and stormy passage, arrived in Boston, Septem- 
 ber 3, 1845. 
 
140 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN, 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HIS LAST SICKNESS AND DEATH. 
 
 The closing scenes in the life of every true 
 minister of Christ are of deep interest. He is now 
 about to put off his armor, and to rest from his 
 labors. Like the holy Apostle, he can say : " I 
 have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, 
 I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid 
 up for me a crown of righteousness, which the 
 Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that 
 day." 
 
 The faithful pastor is now standing on the out- 
 posts of life. He has heard the summons, which 
 warns him that his work is done ; and he solemnly 
 reviews his ministry. He is conscious that he has 
 declared the whole counsel of God. He sees 
 around him many who have listened to his warn- 
 ings, and, through his instructions and persuasions, 
 have turned from the love of the world to the love 
 of God. He looks back to the scenes of his early 
 ministry, to the friends who have counselled him in 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 141 
 
 his difficulties, and supported him by their prayers ; 
 but they have gone before him to the world of 
 spirits. He attended them with a pastor's loye to 
 the borders of death, and cheered their departing 
 moments with the hopes and consolations of the 
 gospel. He wept with surviving friends, and per- 
 formed the last sad offices of burial. A new gen- 
 eration has risen in their places ; but they are the 
 children whom he baptized, and whom he has 
 instructed and guided in the path of life. The 
 bond of love, which united him to the fathers, 
 and which was broken in death, has been twined 
 around the hearts of the children. They loved and 
 venerated the man of God. His deep solicitude 
 for their temporal and eternal good, had filled their 
 hearts with gratitude. Under his counsels, his 
 watchfulness, and his prayers, they were trained 
 for God and heaven ; and it was their delight to 
 gladden his declining years with tokens of unwaver- 
 ing confidence and increasing love. But they, too, 
 heard the voice of God, and saw the approaching 
 messenger of death. A deep gloom gathered over 
 the church and congregation, as the hour drew near 
 when they must part with their beloved pastor. 
 Their beautiful sanctuary was filled with mourners 
 for weeks before the symbols of death were hung 
 
142 MEMOIE or DR. CODMAN. 
 
 upon its walls. Many a tear flowed, many an 
 earnest prayer was offered for the pastor's life ; and 
 a solemn pause in the eager pursuits of the world 
 attested the general sorrow. 
 
 But how was it with the pastor himself? The 
 time of his departure was at hand ; and he was 
 ready. Those holy doctrines which he had so 
 faithfully preached, and which had gathered around 
 him the fairest fruits of evangelical faith, were now 
 his trust and confidence, and the foundation of his 
 own hopes. In the midst of the severest trials of 
 his youthful ministry, when urgently pressed to yield 
 to the liberal influences of the day, he publicly de- 
 clared, " In the faith of these doctrines I desire to 
 live, and in the faith of these doctrines I hope to 
 die." And he died in the faith of them. 
 
 The closing events in the life of our departed 
 friend, are now to be briefly narrated. In the 
 month of June, 1847, he was admonished, by a 
 violent illness, that he was liable to sudden and 
 speedy death. He soon recovered partially from 
 this attack ; but the symptoms of his disease left 
 little doubt, in his mind, that his life was near its 
 close. He hoped, nevertheless, by suspending his 
 labors for a time, to recover strength for yet more 
 
MEMOIR OF DE. CODMAN. 143 
 
 service in the cause of his Master. He was able, 
 in the month of September, to attend a meeting 
 of the American Board of Commissioners for For- 
 eign Missions, at Buffalo, of which he had for 
 manj years been a member. 
 
 In a letter, of November sixth, to his friend, he 
 says : '* I returned from Buffalo in excellent health, 
 and had a pleasant journey ; but immediately after 
 my return I was seized with a severe influenza 
 and cold, the effects of which remain, in great 
 difficulty of breathing, so much so that I am obliged 
 entirely to suspend for the present the labors of 
 the pulpit. I am this morning going into the city 
 to consult Dr. Jackson." After speaking of some 
 occurrences in his family, he added : " I have 
 reason to be thankful for domestic blessings, but 
 am admonished, by present symptoms, that I may 
 be suddenly removed from them to another world. 
 O that we may be prepared for that great change 
 which awaits us." 
 
 On the third of December following, he wrote to 
 the same friend, as follows : '' Since I last wrote 
 you, I have been entirely laid aside from preaching, 
 and it is doubtful whether I shall ever be able to 
 preach again. Very laborious breathing, arising 
 from some difficulty in the heart, occasions at times 
 
144 MEMOIR OF DE. CODMAN. 
 
 great distress ; and, although my physician assures 
 me that there is no immediate danger of a fatal 
 result, I feel admonished to prepare for the event. 
 It would give me great pleasure to receive a visit 
 from you, could you spare time from other engage- 
 ments. Our old and constant friendship affords me 
 great comfort in the review, and I trust that we 
 may be prepared to renew it in a better world." 
 
 In compliance with his wishes, his old friend 
 immediately made him a visit, and passed a few 
 days with him, — the last days of their intercourse 
 on the earth. Dr. Codman was now very ill, 
 though able to walk, and occasionally to ride out. 
 It was the wish of his physician and his family, 
 that his feelings of discouragement, as to the re- 
 covery of his strength, might be counteracted, so 
 that the aid of hope might accompany his medical 
 treatment. His own judgment, however, seemed 
 to be fixed, that he was near the close of his days ; 
 and his great desire was, evidently, that he might 
 set his house in order, and obey the summons of 
 his Lord. His friend assisted him in arranging his 
 affairs, and particularly in disposing of the books 
 of his valuable library, in order that these un- 
 finished matters might no longer weigh upon his 
 mind. 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 145 
 
 He had preached for the last time, in the pulpit, 
 on the forenoon of Sunday, October 17, from the 
 text, " As for me and my house, we will serve the 
 Lord." At this time there was no want of his 
 usual energy ; but, though after this he occasionally 
 took part in the services of the sanctuary, he did 
 not again attempt the more difficult and exhausting 
 duty of preaching. His last service w^as at the 
 communion table, on the Sabbath, December 5, 
 when he dispensed the elements and offered one 
 of the prayers. In this devotional exercise, he 
 alluded with deep sensibility to the death of Mr. 
 Lemuel Withington, a member of the church, aged 
 ninety years. His emotions, on this occasion, were 
 doubtless deepened by the thought, that his own 
 departure was at hand. His first sermon, nearly 
 forty years before, was on " the gospel of Christ," 
 and his last service was the commemoration of the 
 Saviour's death. 
 
 It was a great satisfaction to Dr. Codman, that 
 the young licentiate, who assisted him on this day, 
 was one on whom he had fixed his eyes as his 
 desired successor in the ministry, and whom his 
 people seemed to regard with much favor. This 
 gentleman, soon after the decease of Dr. Codman, 
 was ordained as pastor of the church. 
 
146 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 As he rode one day, with his friend, to a distant 
 part of his parish, they stopped before the house 
 of an aged pair, the members of his church, and 
 long his friends. They came out to take once 
 more by the hand their much respected pastor. It 
 was an interview, full of admonition and instruc- 
 tion, between those who had long been intimately 
 associated in the service of God on the earth, but 
 who must have regarded themselves as all not far 
 distant from the scenes of a better and glorious 
 world. He frequently spoke of his approaching 
 death with great calmness, yet with deep humility, 
 aware of his own unworthiness, and relying on 
 " the only name under heaven " whereby he could 
 be saved. So deeply were his thoughts absorbed in 
 the contemplation of eternity, that, when looking 
 out from his dwelling where the beautiful prospect 
 extended in every direction, he said that it occa- 
 sioned him no disquietude to think of parting with 
 objects so pleasant, and with which God had so 
 long refreshed his eye. • 
 
 Soon after his friend left him, the symptoms of 
 his disease became more alarming. " On the Fri- 
 day preceding his death," says the Rev. Mr. Dyer, 
 "I was sitting by his side, when, after he had made 
 some grateful remarks respecting the intimate and 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 147 
 
 uninterrupted pleasure of our friendship, I spoke to 
 him of the precious consolations of the gospel he 
 had preached to others. He replied, * They are 
 precious, and I feel that they are enough.' I sub- 
 sequently mentioned to him an expression of the late 
 Rev. Dr. McAll, who, as a brother minister asked 
 him a few hours before his death, if he felt that 
 his hope of heaven was securely laid, replied, ' Aye^ 
 in oaths, and promises, and blood.^ As I finished 
 the sentence, he took up the two last words, and 
 clasping his hands said, with an emphasis and 
 satisfaction I shall never forget, ' and blood ! ' 
 I replied, ' The atonement is very precious.' He 
 answered, ' Oh it is, it is.^ On the following 
 Sabbath evening, I was privileged again to see 
 and pray with him. He was at the time suffering 
 greatly, and could scarcely speak ; still, as I spoke 
 to him of the sympathy of Jesus, he affectionately 
 pressed my hand, and thus signified his assent. 
 The same night, when a little relieved from pain, 
 he exclaimed, ' Bless the Lord, O my soul,' and 
 repeated several verses of the one hundred and 
 third Psalm. Subsequently, as a member of his 
 family finished the quotation of some Scripture 
 promises, unable to speak, he looked up with an 
 imploring smile for her to continue and repeat 
 
148 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 Others. And when desired, the day before his 
 death, to give some sign if he felt the Saviour 
 precious to his soul, he readily and firmly pressed 
 the inquirer's hand." 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Storrs, in a discourse at his funeral, 
 gives some notices of his last hours. *' On one 
 occasion, adverting to the public labors he loved so 
 well, he said, * I have endeavored to preach in the 
 demonstration of the Spirit,' — and there paused. 
 He soon added, * In my Father's house are many 
 mansions.' To his wife in tears, as she stood over 
 his bed of agony, he earnestly said, ' Let not your 
 heart be troubled ! You believe in God ; believe 
 in Christ. I am willing to be in God's hands.' " 
 He died in calmness, and in the confidence of 
 Christian hope, on the morning of Thursday, De- 
 cember 23, 1847, aged sixty-five years. 
 
 " On Friday morning," writes another friend, 
 *^ I learned that Dr. Codman was no more. I had 
 endeavored to prepare myself for the sorrowful 
 tidings ; but when I heard that he was gone in- 
 deed, the sad reality overpowered me, and, seeking 
 where I might weep, I entered into a chamber, and 
 wept there. The remembrances of nearly forty 
 years swept before my mind, and images of glad- 
 ness and grief, of kindness and love, of svy^eet com- 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 149 
 
 munion and hallowed hours, deepened the tide of 
 sorrow, and cast a dreary shade over the world. 
 But it was not for him I wept. Thanks be unto 
 God, he had gotten the victory. Death had no 
 more dominion over him. He was landed on that 
 blissful shore, where the conflicts of life shall 
 agitate him no more ; and the blessings he so richly 
 shared on earth, have expanded into the felicities 
 and glories of the heavenly world. 
 
 " In the afternoon, I went to the house of mourn- 
 ing. As I passed up the winding pathway, which 
 led to that dwelling w^here I had enjoyed so many 
 tokens of welcome and friendship, the signs of 
 desolation and grief were everywhere visible. It 
 was winter ; and the wild gusts of the bitter wind 
 shook the trees, and sighed among the leafless 
 branches. Silence and sadness rested on the vil- 
 lage, the church, and among the habitations of men. 
 The great master was gone. It was grief in that 
 expressive stillness, which is only marked by the 
 habiliments of death. 
 
 " I entered the chamber, where the form of the 
 departed pastor was laid. There, in its calm and 
 peaceful aspect, its manly proportions and its coun- 
 tenance serene, as in the quiet embrace of sleep, it 
 attested his victory over death. He had indeed 
 
150 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 fallen in the conflict, but his spirit had triumphed 
 over mortality, and the gloom of the grave had 
 been exchanged for the chariots of Israel and the 
 horsemen thereof. Who would have wished him 
 back to the conflicts and storms of this mortal life ? 
 Who would desire to ' revive the troubled dream 
 of life, in a sleep that was now so peaceful ? ' " 
 
 On Monday, December 27, the solemn offices 
 of burial were performed. The day was severely 
 cold ; but, in the sanctuary, the warm love of a 
 devoted people had thronged its pews and aisles 
 with sincere mourners. His friend, Dr. Storrs of 
 Braintree, preached a fervently eloquent discourse 
 from Hebrews xi. 16 : " But now they desire a bet- 
 ter country, that is, an heavenly," &c. ; after which, 
 a long procession followed his remains to the south 
 burial ground, where they were placed in a tomb 
 as a temporary place of repose. 
 
 Dr. Storrs, in his funeral discourse, has given a 
 faithful delineation of his character, and account of 
 his labors. After speaking of the wisdom and 
 heroism manifested during the ecclesiastical con- 
 troversy at the outset of his ministry, he adds : 
 " Through the whole of his remaining days, his 
 course exhibited a bright pattern of pastoral fidelity 
 in the services of the pulpit, the lecture room, the 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 151 
 
 prayer meeting, at the bedside of the sick and 
 dying, in the cottage of the poor, and the mansion 
 of the opulent 
 
 " On the broader fields of ministerial labor, his 
 calls were multiplied almost beyond a parallel. 
 Few ecclesiastical councils have been convened, 
 within a wide region around, of which he was not 
 a chosen member, and commonly the presiding 
 officer. His uniform urbanity of manners, the well 
 known tenderness of his heart, his quick discern- 
 ment of the right and the wrong, the promptness 
 with which he accepted, and the facility with which 
 he performed every duty assigned him, inspired 
 universal confidence. Few men have so rarely 
 erred in judgment, and fewer still have found their 
 decisions so justly appreciated ; while to none has 
 been more freely accorded, at all times, the high 
 praise of just and unprejudiced attention to the 
 business before him. 
 
 *' His warm devotion to the prosperity of Zion, 
 and his known liberality in the use of his ample 
 means for extending her boundaries, brought him, 
 of course, into close communion with the various 
 benevolent associations of our age and country. 
 What enterprise of benevolence has ever urged a 
 just claim on the advocacy and pecuniary support 
 
152 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 of the church, that met not a cordial response from 
 him ? What association of unquestionable character 
 enrolls not his name among its benefactors, and its 
 elected or honorary members ? And where is the 
 man, who has poured forth more freely and accept- 
 ably the strains of eloquence, and faith and prayer, 
 in the annual convocations of those who labor for 
 the world's conversion ? Of his private charities, no 
 account is kept in human records, for even his right 
 hand knew not w^hat his left hand did ; but that 
 they were abundant and free, ten thousand wit- 
 nesses on earth can testify, and the opened books 
 of heaven will hereafter declare." 
 
 As an instance of his liberality, Mr. Dyer men- 
 tions that, after the formation of the Village Church 
 in Dorchester, he provided a preacher at his own 
 expense, between one and two years, and assisted 
 in the erection of the house of worship. His whole 
 contribution to the support of an evangelical minis- 
 try in this village, and to the erection and enlarge- 
 ment of this house, during a period of five years, 
 was above three thousand and five hundred dollars. 
 
 Dr. Codman's manner in the pulpit was dignified 
 and serious. His voice was clear and impressive ; 
 and his sermons, sometimes very forcible, always 
 well arranged and perspicuous, were at times deliv- 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 153 
 
 ered in a style of remarkable pathos and eloquence. 
 He was singularly happy in the adaptation of his 
 subjects to the circumstances of his hearers. Few 
 ministers have excelled him on communion occa- 
 sions. When the love of Christ was his theme, 
 all his sensibilities were awakened ; and when he 
 gathered his flock around the table of the Lord, 
 many a disciple has exclaimed, *' How dreadful is 
 this place ; surely, this is none other than the house 
 of God, and this is the gate of heaven ! " 
 
 " It is difficult to understand," says Dr. Storrs, 
 " how our dear brother found leisure and ability to 
 meet the claims of the study and the pulpit, with 
 all these demands on his time and resources ; with 
 the additional demands of literary and theological 
 institutions on his supervision, and the numberless 
 calls of family connections and personal friends 
 from all parts of this and other lands, and a widely 
 extended correspondence of business and friend- 
 ship. Yet he failed not, from week to week, to 
 bring from his treasures things new and old ; to 
 preach instructively ' in season and out of sea- 
 son ; ' and to satisfy the wants of his own and 
 the expectations of other congregations. And the 
 secret of this lay not so much in the originality or 
 depth, as in the transparency of his thoughts ; not 
 
 20 
 
154 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 SO much in the extensiveiiess of his theological 
 researches, as in the purity of his soul's breathings ; 
 nor so much in his power of rich and diversified 
 illustration, or closely woven argument, as in the 
 scriptural simplicity and pathos of his discourses, 
 and the perfect adaptation of his style and manner 
 to his well-chosen subject." 
 
 It is probable that the usefulness of Dr. Codman 
 as a minister, was much increased by a prominent 
 trait of his character, which greatly endeared him 
 to his friends. We mean his ardent social feel- 
 ings ; his ready sympathy ; the warmth and benig- 
 nity of his heart ; the true, unaffected interest, 
 which he took in the welfare of others. His was 
 no austere dignity; though never failing in a just 
 regard to his ministerial character, yet a genial 
 glow of kindness was visible in his countenance, 
 and his feelings of sympathy and gladness have 
 mingled in many a scene of happiness, and dis- 
 pelled the gloom from many a desolate fireside. 
 He delighted to minister to the comfort of those 
 who were less favored than himself, and gathered 
 from the afflicted, those salutary lessons which 
 chastened and moderated the worldly tendencies of 
 his own prosperity. 
 
 If he possessed, in an uncommon degree, the 
 
MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 155 
 
 power of disarming prejudice and of commending 
 to others the faith which he preached, it was be- 
 cause his own life bore the fruits of goodness, and 
 because he gave evidence of perfect sincerity and 
 of honest zeal for the highest welfare of those 
 whom he addressed. That, through the efficiency 
 of the Divine Spirit, he was so successful in his 
 labors, seems to be a testimony of Heaven to his 
 faithfulness in preaching the gospel. He doubtless 
 felt much satisfaction, in his last days, in reflect- 
 ing that, after a ministry of nearly forty years, he 
 should leave his church in such a prosperous and 
 happy condition, familiar with the peculiar doctrines 
 of the gospel, reverencing the Sabbath, observing 
 the ordinances of religion, training up their children 
 in the right way, and showing, in all the methods 
 of holy living, the power of Christian principle. 
 He had taught them the duty and necessity of per- 
 severing to the end, in order that they might inherit 
 the immortal blessings which, as he hoped, he was 
 about to possess. How might he have associated, 
 in his thoughts, their unfaltering faithfulness with 
 the expansion of religion in future times on the 
 earth, from this one point of the Redeemer's Zion ; 
 with the kindling up, from this holy light, of an 
 increasing, widening splendor, from age to age, till 
 
156 MEMOIR OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 its radiance should be lost in the full millennial 
 glory ? 
 
 Whatever might have been his dear and cher- 
 ished hopes, he has gone from his much-loved field 
 of labor. He is dead ; yet he only sleepeth. He 
 w^ill awake again. In the morning of the resur- 
 rection, he and his beloved friends, and every faith- 
 ful pastor, with his people, will awake to a new 
 and blessed never-ending life. Let the people of 
 his late charge, then, and the people of every 
 faithful pastor, be persuaded to examine themselves, 
 and to determine whether they are likely to share 
 in the resurrection of the just, and to be their 
 pastor's " hope, and joy, and crown of rejoicing, 
 in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, at his 
 coming ! " 
 
EEMINISCENCES 
 
 OF THE LATE 
 
 JOHN CODMAN, D. D, 
 
 ERIEF NOTICES OF THE PROMINENT TRAITS OF HIS CHARACTER. 
 BY JOSHUA BATES, D. D. 
 
REMINISCENCES 
 
 The name of John Codman, belongs to the 
 ecclesiastical history of New England ; and will, 
 unquestionably, occupy a prominent place in that 
 history when, at some future period, it shall be 
 written by a faithful hand, and be made to embrace 
 in its records all the leading events and distin- 
 guished men connected with the organization of 
 churches in this land, and their progress to this 
 time. It is no part of my intention, however, to 
 write such a history, nor even to give a full biography 
 of the subject of these reminiscences. The former 
 of these tasks must be performed by some future his- 
 torian, who shall be able, after the results of present 
 movements and changes shall be seen, to take a 
 retrospective and comprehensive view of the whole 
 ground, with an impartial and discriminating eye ; 
 
160 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 and shall be so far removed from the exciting 
 influence of the scene, as to be able to delineate 
 characters, and record events, with a steady and 
 impartial hand. And the latter has been assigned 
 to a familiar friend, capable of doing justice to the 
 subject. 
 
 It is my purpose simply to record my own recol- 
 lections of Dr. Codman, and present the record to 
 his family and the public, with a few brief notices 
 of such distinguishing traits of his character as fell 
 within my own observation, and with such reflec- 
 tions and practical hints as are naturally suggested 
 by the narrative. I shall, therefore, refer to the 
 history of the times no further than is necessary 
 to illustrate the transactions in which he was 
 engaged, and to exhibit the prominent traits of 
 character which w^ere developed by them. 
 
 For the sake of convenient reference, however, 
 I subjoin to these prefatory remarks two chrono- 
 logical statements. 
 
 John Codman was born in Boston, August 3, 
 1782, and died at Dorchester, December 23, 1847, 
 in the sixty-fifth year of his age, and fortieth of 
 his ministry ; leaving the beloved wife of his youth 
 and six children, three sons and three daughters, 
 with a large circle of friends in this country and 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 161 
 
 in Europe, to lament his death, but admire his 
 character and cherish his memory. 
 
 " Calm resignation, patient endurance, undoubt- 
 ing confidence in the covenant-faithfulness of God," 
 we are assured, *' were the bright features of his 
 closing earthly experience." 
 
 " Blessed are the dead ivho die in the Lord.'^^ 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS OF MR. CODMAN IN COLLEGE, AND DURING THE TIME 
 OF HIS PREPARATIONS FOR THE MINISTRY. 
 
 With Mr. Codman, I had no familiar acquaint- 
 ance before his settlement in the ministry at Dor- 
 chester. I knew him, indeed, at Cambridge, where 
 we often met during the period of our co-residence 
 at that seat of learning. But as we were con- 
 nected with different classes in the University, he 
 whh the class which was graduated in 1802, and 
 I with that of 1800, our meetings were transient, 
 our personal intercourse was slight, and our ac- 
 quaintance with each other was, of course, neither 
 intimate nor familiar. I knew him only as an 
 amiable young man, and a highly respectable 
 member of one of the most distinguished classes 
 which ever received the nurture and honor of our 
 
 21 
 
162 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 venerated alma mater. I knew him, not so much 
 individually, and absolutely, as relatively ; as viewed 
 in connection with his classmates ; as a companion 
 and associate in letters with such men as Dr, Allen, 
 late President of Bowdoin College ; the Hon. J. 
 T. Austin of Boston, formerly Attorney General of 
 Massachusetts ; Dr. Crocker of Providence, R. I. ; 
 Dr. Flint of Salem ; Professor Frisbie, deceased ; 
 S. Greele, Esq. of Boston ; R. D. Harris, Esq. of 
 Boston ; Hon. S. Hoar of Concord ; J. N. Knapp, 
 Esq. of Walpole, N. H. ; Gov. Lincoln of Worces- 
 ter ; Hon. W. Minot of Boston ; Dr. Nichols of 
 Portland ; A. Ritchie, Esq. of Boston ; E. Rock- 
 wood, Esq., deceased ; aiM the late Hon. L. Salton- 
 stall of Salem. 
 
 As a scholar, my impression was that young 
 Codman held a medium rank in this highly distin- 
 guished class. And a singular fact, connected with 
 the conferring of the literary honors of the institu- 
 tion, — the fact that an honorable part was assigned 
 to him, subsequently to the public announcement 
 of the arrangements for the commencement exer- 
 cises of his class, — shows that this impression was 
 in accordance with *' the second, sober thoughts" 
 and final decision of the governors and instructors 
 of the college. 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 163 
 
 Whether he was a professor of religion or not, 
 while an under-graduate in college, I have no 
 means of ascertaining. My belief is, that he had 
 not, at that period, made a public profession, by 
 becoming a member of any organized church. He 
 did, however, as far as I had opportunity to observe, 
 maintain a high moral character, and exhibit a 
 reverential respect for religion and its institutions. 
 
 From the time of my leaving Cambridge, in 
 1800, till the time of Mr. Codman's ordination, 
 December 7th, 1808, when he became one of my 
 nearest neighbors and most intimate associates in 
 the ministry, we had no opportunity for personal 
 intercourse with each other. I did, indeed, occa- 
 sionally hear of him, and learn something of his 
 movements. I knew the fact of his engaging in 
 the study of the law, preparatory to his proposed 
 professional pursuits for life. And I heard, with 
 great interest, that the death of his father, with 
 the peculiar feelings and strong desires of that hon- 
 ored and beloved parent, expressed in his last 
 hours, had become the occasion of young Codman's 
 changing his purpose as to his professional pursuits, 
 and of his commencing the study of theology. 
 Whether he dated his hope of acceptance with 
 God, and his consecration of himself to the service 
 
164 REMINISCENCES OF DE. CODMAN. 
 
 of his Redeemer at this period, or whether this 
 was simply the time and occasion of renewed and 
 peculiar consecration and self-devotion to this ser- 
 vice, and of his adopting this new mode of glorify- 
 ing his God and Saviour, I never heard him say, 
 nor ever distinctly learned. But the fact of his 
 change of purpose and course of life, and the occa- 
 sion of the change, were known and spoken of, 
 with interest, by those who loved the cause of 
 Zion, in all the region about Boston. 
 
 Another recollected incident I state here, not on 
 account of its intrinsic importance, but because it 
 recurs to mind as a reminiscence connected with 
 the religious usages of the day, and because it fur- 
 nishes opportunity for a conservative remark on the 
 customs of our Puritan fathers, and the importance 
 of adhering to " the good old ways " of piety in 
 which they walked. On the 28th of July, 1805, 
 I preached, on exchange, in Boston ; and, as I was 
 entering the door of the church, a note was handed 
 me, of this import : *' A young man, about to cross 
 the ocean, desires the prayers of this congregation 
 to Almighty God, that he would protect and bless 
 him, and, in due time, return him in safety to his 
 friends and country." This young man, as I after- 
 ward learned, was John Codman, who sailed on 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 165 
 
 the Tuesday following, in a ship bound to Liver- 
 pool, with a view of proceeding to Edinburgh, and 
 there of pursuing studies connected with his newly 
 chosen profession. The note was read ; the prayer 
 was offered ; and the petition was granted. 
 
 This incident, as I said, may appear to some of 
 small importance ; but to him and to me, it was one 
 of pleasing recollection. It is recorded here, how- 
 ever, principally for the purpose of introducing the 
 following remark : — Our Puritan fathers made it a 
 fundamental principle of their religion to follow the 
 directions of the Scriptures, as fully and precisely 
 as possible. They made them, indeed, the rule of 
 their faith, and the guide of their lives ; embracing 
 the doctrines which they teach, without gainsaying 
 or distrust, and obeying the precepts which they 
 contain, without perversion or reluctance. Accord- 
 ingly, it was their custom to make everything, per- 
 taining to life and to godliness, a subject of prayer 
 and thanksgiving ; to acknowledge God in all their 
 ways, ask his blessing on all their pursuits, and 
 give thanks to him for all his mercies, through 
 Jesus Christ. As social beings, required to meet 
 in the name of Christ and pray for one another, 
 and believing the special promise made to those 
 who thus unite in prayer, and agree as touching 
 
166 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 the thing that they ask, they often offered prayers 
 and gave thanks, in their public assemblies, for 
 individuals and communities, by special appoint- 
 ment or particular request. In accordance with 
 this general principle and uniform practice, it was 
 customary, when any person or family, belonging 
 to a congregation, had received special blessings, 
 or were passing through severe trials, or were about 
 to commence some important enterprise, to send a 
 note to the sanctuary, requesting their fellow- 
 worshipers to unite with them, as the case might 
 be, either in prayer or thanksgiving, to him " from 
 whom all blessings flow." This custom of our 
 pious ancestors, observed by them with great rever- 
 ence, and continued, till recently, in most of our 
 evangelical churches, was surely a good custom, 
 founded on Scripture authority; and I am afraid 
 that the growing neglect of it, in these days, is 
 connected with a diminution of a proper sense of 
 dependence on the providence and grace of God. 
 I wish, therefore, that the practice could be revived, 
 and observed with all the seriousness and faith 
 which characterized the worship of former days. 
 
EEMINISCENCES OF DK. CODMAN. 167 
 
 HIS ORDINATION AND SETTLEMENT IN DORCHESTER, AND MY SUBSE- 
 QUENT FAMILIAR ACQUAINTANCE AND INTERCOURSE WITH HIM. 
 
 When Mr. Codman returned from Europe, in the 
 Spring of 1808, I heard of him as an interesting 
 and impressive preacher ; and, with great satisfac- 
 tion, I soon learned that there was a prospect of 
 his being settled in the second parish, then a newly 
 organized society in Dorchester. The prospect 
 was pleasant to me, because this parish was adja- 
 cent to the first parish in Dedham, with which I 
 had then been connected for five years, and be- 
 cause I had already become somewhat acquainted 
 in Dorchester, and deeply interested in the pros- 
 perity of this new society. Indeed, the known 
 difference of sentiment, which prevailed in the 
 parish, created an apprehension that no candidate 
 could obtain a united call of the church and people 
 to become their pastor and teacher ; or, if any one 
 should be called and settled, that the settlement 
 would soon be disturbed, and the position of the 
 incumbent be rendered one of disquiet and severe 
 trials. Mr. Codman's frankness, connected with 
 the kind manner in which he announced his senti- 
 ments, however, prevented the first of these appre- 
 
168 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 hensions, and secured an apparently harmonious 
 action of the church and the parish. But it was 
 not in the power and wisdom of man, as will be 
 seen in the sequel, to prevent the occurrence of the 
 second, and preserve peace and harmony among 
 such discordant elements. 
 
 From the time of Mr. Codman's ordination, till 
 the time of my removal to Middlebury, Vermont, in 
 1818, our acquaintance with each other was inti- 
 mate, and our social and ministerial intercourse 
 uninterrupted and confidential. 
 
 This intimate acquaintance and familiar inter- 
 course between us, commenced immediately after 
 his ordination. Our exchanges were frequent ; and 
 we both wished to have it so, that we might often 
 see each other, and have opportunity to converse 
 together on the great subjects of our professional 
 duties and high responsibilities. On my part there 
 were additional inducements, because I had become 
 acquainted with many of his people, and felt an 
 interest in their spiritual prosperity ; and especially, 
 because the people of my charge were highly grati- 
 fied, and, as I believed, greatly edified by the 
 arrangement. 
 
 But, when the difficulties in his parish, which 
 tried his wisdom and patience and firmness, for 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 169 
 
 three long years, began to appear, I saw him still 
 more frequently than before ; and had opportunity 
 to observe more minutely, and mark with more 
 accuracy, the prominent traits of his character. 
 Especially, when called to sit by his side during the 
 long session of the memorable Dorchester Eccle- 
 siastical Council, and to see his meekness, fortitude 
 and self-possession, under accusations cruel and un- 
 founded ; and to observe with what forbearance he 
 spoke of his revilers, and with what composure and 
 success he vindicated his character and justified his 
 ministerial course, I had opportunity to learn * what 
 spirit he was of,' and discover the discriminating 
 traits of his character, as they were thus fully 
 developed. 
 
 That, however, which gave me the best oppor- 
 tunity to know him as a preacher of the gospel, * a 
 scribe well-instructed unto the kingd m of heaven,' 
 a man of high social qualities, and a Christian of 
 deep experience and warm-hearted piety, was our 
 union, together with Dr. Gile of Milton, in what 
 may not improperly be denominated a Special 
 Association. For eight or nine years, we three 
 maintained such an association ; visiting each other 
 (often with our wives, always indeed when practi- 
 cable) once every two weeks, dining together at 
 
170 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 each other's houses, and in succession preaching 
 each other's preparatory lectures. The arrange- 
 ment was one of deep interest, furnishing opportu- 
 nity for sweet Christian and ministerial intercourse 
 and mutual improvement. Of this delightful and 
 profitable association, the memory is precious. 
 Three of the members, Mrs. Bates, Dr. Gile and 
 Dr. Codman, are now gone, but not forgotten. 
 The latter, who died December 23, 1847, lived 
 to write for the Boston Recorder, a biographical 
 sketch of the former, who died February 7, 1 826 ; 
 and to preach at the funeral of Dr. Gile, who died 
 October 16, 1836. 
 
 Perhaps it may be thought, that I should have 
 omitted the record of this reminiscence, as inap- 
 posite in this connection ; but it is full of interest 
 to myself, and I doubt not to the two other surviv- 
 ing associates and companions of the deceased. 
 And I could not omit it here, without concealing 
 the ground on which the credibility, of many of the 
 following statements of facts and notices of charac- 
 ter, must depend ; especially with those who had 
 no personal acquaintance with Mr. Codman. Be- 
 sides, I was unwilling, while recording my recollec- 
 tions of one deceased and beloved ministerial friend, 
 to omit the name of another, so intimately and 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 171 
 
 endearinglj associated with ours, as that of the 
 late Rev. Samuel Gile. He was, indeed, a dear 
 friend, possessing a lovely spirit, eminently a man 
 of prayer, and a faithful minister of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 When I was called away from Dedham, and be- 
 came connected with Middlebury College, my per- 
 sonal intercourse with Mr. Codman was necessarily 
 interrupted and greatly diminished. Still we were 
 permitted to hold correspondence by letter, and 
 frequently to see each other ' face to face.' Twice 
 he visited me at Middlebury ; and in my frequent 
 visits to Massachusetts, during my residence in 
 Vermont, I never failed to visit him and spend a 
 portion of the time allotted, at his friendly and 
 hospitable mansion. On my return to the active 
 duties of the ministry, in our native State, he con- 
 sented to preach at my installation at Dudley, just 
 forty years from the time of my ordination at 
 Dedham, and thirty-five from the time of his induc- 
 tion into the pastoral ofiice in Dorchester. Nor 
 did our friendly and confidential intercourse cease, 
 till his death. Most of the reminiscences and no- 
 tices of character which I have to present, however, 
 must be drawn from our ten years' intimate in- 
 tercourse, between 1808 and 1818. During this 
 
172 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 period, as already stated, I had opportunity to see 
 him and hear him, and converse with him often, 
 and under circumstances fitted to exhibit his char- 
 acter in ail possible attitudes, and in the clearest 
 and strongest points of view. 
 
 STATE OF THE COXGKEGATIOXAL CHURCHES AND MINISTRY, IN BOSTON 
 AND THE VICINITY, AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE NINETEENTH 
 CENTURY. 
 
 I should now proceed to exhibit the traits of 
 character and characteristics of mind, which these 
 opportunities of intercourse enabled me to discover 
 in my deceased and lamented friend; — but the 
 fact, that so many of these characteristics were 
 developed, and so many of these traits formed or 
 matured by the trials through which he was called 
 to pass, during the first three years of his minis- 
 try, and especially during the time of the session 
 of that great and long protracted ecclesiastical 
 council, held at Dorchester, in October and No- 
 vember, of 1811, seems to require of me a brief 
 statement of my recollections, of the scenes and 
 circumstances connected with those trials, and of 
 the proceedings and results of that council. Of 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 173 
 
 the twelve ministers, who constituted the clerical 
 part of the council, no one now survives ; and the 
 same, as far as mj knowledge extends, may be 
 said of the delegates who sat and acted in council 
 with their respective pastors, with the exception 
 of John Punchard, Esq., of Salem, now in the 
 ninetieth jear of his age. Of the four advocates 
 of the parties before the council, I only remain to 
 tell the story, and to speak, as a living witness, 
 of the character and conduct of Mr. Codman, while 
 under the pressure of such crushing cares and over- 
 whelming responsibilities as he, then a young man, 
 was called to endure. 
 
 Nor can I render the narrative of these facts and 
 proceedings intelligible, without briefly adverting to 
 the state of the Congregational churches and the 
 character of the Congregational ministry, at that 
 period, in Boston and the vicinity. Such a refer- 
 ence seems to be absolutely necessary, to a correct 
 understanding of the Dorchester controversy, since 
 the whole difficulty, involved in that controversy, 
 grew out of the peculiar condition of the churches 
 and the ministry in that region, — a condition which 
 imposed on Mr. Codman, as he believed, the duty 
 of pursuing the course which he adopted, and which 
 involved him in severe trials, and resulted in effects 
 
174 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 of momentous consequence to the cause of evan- 
 "jelical relioion. 
 
 Originally, the Congregational churches in and 
 about Boston, and indeed every where in New 
 England, were strictly Puritan — Puritan in doctrine 
 and Puritan in practice. Like the Puritans whom 
 they left behind them in England, when they came 
 to this country, they professed their faith in the 
 plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, and re- 
 ceived them as their rule of faith, and their guide 
 in life. Of course, they observed the same rules 
 of organization, and forms of worship, on both 
 sides of the Atlantic, and agreed substantially in 
 the same articles of faith. As far as Congrega- 
 tionalism admits of any authoritative standard, as 
 an explanation and summary formula of Scripture 
 doctrines and duties, they adopted the same stand- 
 ard. In the year 1648, the elders and messengers 
 of the Congregational churches of Massachusetts 
 assembled at Cambridge, and sanctioned the West- 
 minster Assembly's Shorter Catechism, as in their 
 view a correct summary of the doctrines and duties 
 of Christianity. This summary, which had been 
 adopted by the General Assembly of the Presby- 
 terian church of Scotland in 1647, subsequently 
 by the Puritans of England and those of Connec- 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 175 
 
 ticut at Sajbrook, and more recently by the sev- 
 eral branches of the Presbyterian church in the 
 United States, as an authoritative standard of faith, 
 became such therefore, as far as united action could 
 render it so, to the Congregational churches of 
 New England. For it was unanimously sanctioned, 
 not only by the Synod of 1648, at Cambridge, 
 but afterward, by an authority of equal weight, at 
 Boston itself, in 1680. 
 
 Although, therefore, the principles of union among 
 the Congregational churches are truly republican, 
 leaving every church free and independent in form- 
 ing its own articles of association ; bound by no 
 authority but that of Christ, and no book of disci- 
 pline but the Bible ; yet, for a long time, all the 
 Congregational churches in the region of Boston, 
 as well as all the churches which assumed that 
 name, in all parts of New England, acknowledged 
 the advisory rules and sanctioned the ecclesiastical 
 decisions of the Synod of 1648, at Cambridge, or 
 of that subsequently held at Saybrook. For they 
 continued, everywhere, to use the Assembly's Shor- 
 ter Catechism as their approved symbol of faith and 
 bond of union ; to teach it to their children, and 
 to select their ministers according to its true spirit ; 
 choosing such, and such only, for their pastors and 
 
176 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 teachers, as thej believed would preach, substan- 
 tially, in accordance with its teachings. 
 
 But, in process of time, a departure from the 
 faith and practice of * the fathers ' took place, — 
 gradually, indeed, and sometimes covertly, but 
 really and substantially affecting the character of the 
 churches and the ministry, — so that, at the close 
 of the eighteenth and the commencement of the 
 nineteenth century, it came to pass that the churches 
 of Boston and the vicinity, and of some other parts 
 of New England, were essentially different from 
 what they had been in the time of the Cottons, 
 and Wilsons, and Nortons, and Mathers, of olden 
 time. They had come to be churches of a mixed 
 character, both in faith and practice ; and their 
 pastors, instead of being united in sentiment as 
 formerly, were men of discordant views, differing 
 from each other by every variety of opinion which 
 the records of faith and error can furnish. 
 
 The process by which this declension from the 
 faith of ' the fathers ' came over these Congrega- 
 tional churchesj and the causes which conspired to 
 produce it, I need not attempt to specify. The 
 low state of vital and practical religion through the 
 whole country, with the prevalence of error and 
 infidelity in the community at large, seems, indeed, 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 177 
 
 to have been the immediate and prominent cause 
 of this departure from the primitive Puritan faith 
 in the churches. A pure church could not live and 
 breathe, and maintain its soundness of faith and 
 healthful vigor, in an atmosphere so impure. 
 
 Nor need I speak of the more remote causes of 
 declension in the faith and soundness of these 
 churches ; those causes which produced this imme- 
 diate cause, or nearest antecedent, of church cor- 
 ruption. Some of them might be found in the 
 infidel philosophy which led to the French revolu- 
 tion of 1790, and which found its way across the 
 Atlantic in the writings of Voltaire for the learned, 
 and Paine for the illiterate ; and, through the me- 
 dium of political sympathy, obtained a lodgment 
 in the American mind. Some of them might be 
 discovered in the perverting and degrading influ- 
 ence of the sensuous philosophy and gross material- 
 ism diffused through the writings of Dr. Priestley, 
 and other speculative writers of that period, who 
 claimed the Christian name, and yet denied the 
 plenary inspiration and infallible authority of the 
 Christian Scriptures. And some of them might, 
 unquestionably, be traced back to the influence of 
 the war of the American revolution on the princi- 
 ples and habits of American society, and, of course, 
 
 23 
 
178 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 by sympathy and necessary intercourse, on the 
 church itself. 
 
 But whatever may have been the causes, imme- 
 diate or remote, the state of religion at that period 
 was exceedingly low in all the northern portions 
 of our country ; and especially in that portion of 
 it, concerning which I am now writing. The 
 Congregational churches in the vicinity of Boston 
 were feeble, and their members few in number. 
 Few came to the solemn feasts of Christianity; 
 and what rendered the case worse was, that those 
 few were of a mixed character, and of various and 
 heterogeneous sentiments ; destroying the power of 
 Christian discipline and diminishing the salutary 
 influence of Christian example. In some cases, 
 persons were admitted to church-fellowship without 
 any examination ; and in many of the churches 
 there was scarcely any formula of union, or barrier 
 against the intrusion of the thoughtless and im- 
 penitent into ' the holy of holies,' in the Christian 
 sanctuary. The consequence was, that men of 
 loose opinions and doubtful characters, whenever 
 they chose, from any worldly consideration, to 
 make the application, could find a ready admit- 
 tance to some acknowledged Congregational church. 
 Hence persons of all grades of sentiment, from the 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 179 
 
 highest point of ultra-Calvinism to the lowest point 
 of Arminianism, — men who adhered to the Puritan 
 faith and rigid practice of the fathers of New 
 England, and men who scarcely acknowledged 
 the Christian Sabbath as a day of holy rest, or 
 prayer as an essential Christian duty, — men who 
 walked circumspectly in the midst of a perverse 
 generation, and men who mingled with an un- 
 believing world in all their vain amusements and 
 follies, — men of habitual seriousness, who daily 
 sought the grace of God as their hope of salvation, 
 and men who despised and even ridiculed this 
 seriousness and reliance on the grace of God, 
 were sometimes found in the same church ; and 
 notwithstanding their diversity of sentiment and 
 character, meeting together at the same consecrated 
 table of the Lord. 
 
 This was the state of the Congregational churches, 
 with few exceptions, at this period, through all the 
 region (and in some cases beyond that region) 
 which embraced the churches connected with the 
 Boston Association of Congregational ministers. 
 And the state of the ministry itself was not much 
 better. The Scripture adage might with great 
 propriety be applied to the case : " Like people, 
 like priests." For, before the separation, which 
 
180 REMINISCENCES OF DE. CODMAN. 
 
 took place soon after the ecclesiastical council in 
 Dorchester, that Association embraced all the 
 ministers who chose to call themselves Conp'ega- 
 tionalists, in Boston and most of the adjacent 
 towns. Hence this numerous body, like the 
 churches with which they were connected, con- 
 sisted of men of various theological views, from 
 the most rigid followers of Calvin to the lowest 
 grade of Socinians. 
 
 In this state of things, it was difficult to conduct 
 ecclesiastical business, and regulate ministerial ex- 
 changes, not only within the limits of the Boston 
 Association, but in all the surrounding region. 
 No ecclesiastical council, called even for the simple 
 purpose of ordination, could act harmoniously and 
 with satisfaction to all parties. The different 
 views of the members frequently caused jealousies, 
 discussions, unpleasant delays, and great dissatis- 
 faction. Some desired no examination of the 
 candidate, as to sentiment and experience, but his 
 own voluntary statement. Some were unwilling to 
 go, or suffer others to go, in their inquiries, beyond 
 certificates of moral character and church-fellowship. 
 It was even contended by some, that when a coun- 
 cil was called to introduce a man into the ministry 
 ^nd ordain him as a pastor and teacher, their whole 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 181 
 
 business was to ascertain whether he had been so 
 called to the work, and had so answered the call, as 
 to lay the foundation of an ecclesiastical relation and 
 a legal contract ; and then to sanction the relation 
 and confirm the contract. The consequence was, 
 that those ministers who heeded the apostolic direc- 
 tion, "to lay hands suddenly on no man," were 
 sometimes not permitted to make the requisite in- 
 quiries to satisfy their minds whether the candidate 
 did or did not possess the required qualifications for 
 a Christian bishop. Hence divisions sometimes 
 ensued ; at least, great delay was occasioned, and 
 often great offence given. 
 
 But this difficulty, great as it was, did not con- 
 stitute the greatest trial growing out of the diver- 
 sity of sentiment which then prevailed in the Con- 
 gregational churches, and among Congregational 
 ministers. The regulation of ministerial exchanges, 
 consistently with a good conscience, and the pres- 
 ervation of peace in the parishes and good-will 
 among their pastors, was far more difficult. It was, 
 indeed, almost impossible for a minister, who enter- 
 tained the sentiments of the Puritans, to maintain 
 expected ministerial intercourse, and especially to 
 regulate his exchanges, without either violating 
 the rules of courtesy, or acting inconsistently with 
 
182 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 the plainest dictates of duty. Under existing cir- 
 cumstances, however, ministers of these sentiments 
 felt themselves obliged to meet this difficulty, and 
 by various devices attempt to overcome it. They 
 professed, or at least were expected, to exchange 
 with all neighboring ministers, promiscuously, with- 
 out regard to their known sentiments, or manner of 
 preaching. To counteract the evil effects of such 
 exchanges among their own people, they sometimes 
 publicly controverted the doctrines which, as they 
 learned, had been preached in their pulpits ; and in 
 some extreme cases, where their own sentiments 
 had been controverted and even caricatured, they 
 exerted all their ingenuity to avoid another ex- 
 change, and thus to prevent a repetition of the 
 injury. But I believe, and indeed had occasion to 
 know, that this was a subject of great trial ; and to 
 feel that it involved an inconsistency of profession 
 and practice, often requiring a refusal to exchange, 
 where the true reason could not be honestly and 
 frankly given, without violating the courtesies of 
 social life, and even seeming to assume dictatorial 
 authority. 
 
 By many, therefore, it was thought desirable that 
 an ecclesiastical separation should take place ; so 
 that those who held to the doctrines of the Puritans, 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 183 
 
 and those who had widely departed from their faith, 
 should no longer be included under the same de- 
 nomination ; or, at least, that the custom of inter- 
 changing pulpit services by those ministers, whose 
 religious views were irreconcilable with unity of 
 action, and whose preaching, of course, was calcu- 
 lated to counteract each other's labors, should be 
 discontinued. Most of the decidedly evangelical 
 ministers, not only in the region of Boston, but 
 throughout New England, were evidently desirous 
 of the separation, and ready to embrace the first 
 opportunity, which should fairly present itself, of 
 making the attempt and thus getting rid of the 
 oppressive and perplexing custom of promiscuous 
 exchanges. 
 
 OKIGIN AND CAUSES Or THE OPPOSITIOX TO ME. CODMAN, BY A PAET 
 OF HIS PARISH. 
 
 When Mr. Codman returned from Europe, pre- 
 pared to enter on the work of the ministry, he 
 found the state of the Congregational churches, and 
 the relation of their ministers, as described above ; 
 and he seems early to have formed the resolution 
 of keeping himself free from the entanglement and 
 
184 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 perplexity of promiscuous exchanges. Accordingly 
 he intimated his intention, in the most delicate 
 manner, to some of his confidential friends. He 
 did not mean, he said, to denounce or condemn 
 others ; but feeling his obligation to preach to the 
 people of his charge what seemed to him to be 
 the true gospel, he could not be instrumental of 
 introducing into his pulpit any one who seemed 
 to him to preach what an Apostle had denominated 
 * another gospel.' 
 
 When called, therefore, to settle in Dorchester, 
 he acted consistently with these views, and with 
 reference to this fixed determination. He did not, 
 it is true, publicly and in a formal manner declare 
 his purpose of limiting his circle of exchanges ; 
 because he thought such a declaration would be 
 presumptuous and offensive. Nor did he lay down 
 any precise rules for the regulation of exchanges 
 even for himself; because he thought it most safe 
 and convenient to apply the general principle only 
 so far as called for, and as particular practical cases 
 should arise. Any other course, he thought, would 
 be denunciatory. Besides, he viewed the regulation 
 of exchanges as a matter of personal convenience, 
 to be controlled by the judgment of every minister 
 for himself — a right for the exercise of which he 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 185 
 
 alone is responsible to his own Master. But he 
 did adopt means, in the fullest and most explicit 
 manner, to acquaint the church and society in 
 Dorchester with his religious sentiments ; and thus 
 gave them an opportunity to reconsider their vote 
 of invitation. So frank was he on this subject, and 
 so desirous of guarding against all misapprehension, 
 as to request them to act again on the subject of 
 the call, with his explicit communication before 
 them. This he did, because it was understood that 
 persons of different religious sentiments belonged 
 to the parish ; and this, he thought, was all he 
 could do, to guard against future difficulty. 
 
 But notwithstanding this explicit and frank 
 communication, the call was renewed, and the 
 included request, to substitute Watts's Hymns for 
 those of Belknap, complied with. He felt himself, 
 therefore, authorized to accept their invitation ; and 
 did accordingly accept it, in the hope that, with the 
 blessing of Heaven, he should be permitted in peace 
 to preach the gospel of peace, and carry out his 
 own principles, in the exercise of his acknowledged 
 right, according to the Congregational Platform. 
 In this, however, he was disappointed. Complaints, 
 in a very few weeks after his ordination, began to 
 be made against him ; and within a year an organ- 
 
 S4 
 
186 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 ized opposition was formed, apparently determined 
 to drive him from from his position. Of course, 
 every kind of effort was made, by a few active and 
 influential leaders, to increase the number of the 
 disaffected, till a majority of legal, or apparently 
 legal, voters in the parish was obtained. Then 
 commenced a course of measures of annoyance, 
 which finally ended in the defeat of the plan of the 
 opposition, and the triumph of the cause and prin- 
 ciples which Mr. Codman had so boldly espoused 
 and so firmly and perseveringly defended. 
 
 The exciting cause of this opposition seems not 
 to have been well understood, especially at a dis- 
 tance from the scene of action. The subject of 
 exchanges was, in my apprehension, merely inci- 
 dental and subservient to the true cause. It was, 
 however, an incident of great moment in its con- 
 sequences ; and it led to the establishment of a 
 principle of great practical utility in the Congrega- 
 tional churches, throughout the Commonwealth of 
 Massachusetts, and even in other portions of the 
 country, where this form of ecclesiastical organiza- 
 tion exists. It was made, at last, by the continual 
 pressure of an influence beyond the limits of the 
 parish, the ostensible ground of the whole opposition, 
 and thus led to a discussion and final decision of 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 187 
 
 the question of ministerial rights and duties, in 
 regulating pulpit exchanges — a decision which has 
 relieved the subject from embarrassment, we hope, 
 forever ; and produced a line of separation between 
 men of discordant and incongruous views, clearly 
 marked and easily followed. And although some 
 inconvenience has arisen from the separation, in 
 occasionally dividing and weakening small societies, 
 the general effect has been happy ; giving peace, 
 where there had been nothing but contention ; 
 and leaving those who could not agree to act and 
 worship together, to agree to differ — to separate 
 and act according to their respective views and 
 wishes. 
 
 But, as intimated, the cause of the opposition to 
 Mr. Codman was, originally, very far from this 
 subject of exchanges, as those who were near 
 enough to see its rise and observe its progress well 
 knew. To us it was perfectly evident that the 
 pungent preaching, the full and clear exhibition 
 of the humbling doctrines of the gospel, with the 
 practical bearing always given to them, and the 
 application of them to the hearts and consciences 
 of the hearers, was the first great moving cause 
 of the opposition. It was manifest that this was 
 the exciting cause, because the first complaints 
 
188 KEMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 made against Mr. Codman were confined to this 
 subject. These complaints, whether made directly 
 to him or to others about him, all had reference to 
 his preaching ; and especially to its directness and 
 forcible applications. I add this last phrase, be- 
 cause I had opportunity to learn that this was the 
 real ground of offence. Indeed, men will gener- 
 ally bear the abstract truth, if you present it as a 
 mere abstraction, without any direct application of 
 it to them; if you suffer their consciences to re- 
 main quiet and undisturbed, while they neglect its 
 requirements. But Mr. Codman's preaching was 
 peculiarly pungent, and his applications generally 
 direct ; and what rendered his preaching more 
 offensive, at that time and in that region, was, that 
 his practice was consistent with it, and therefore 
 full of rebuke and admonition. 
 
 An incident occurred on the very evening of his 
 ordination, which intimated to him what he might 
 expect from a portion of his parishioners. They 
 planned what they denominated an ordination ball, 
 and towards evening they sent him a formal note, 
 couched indeed in polite terms, inviting him to 
 attend and participate in the 'innocent amusement.' 
 His answer, of course, was prompt and decisive ; 
 and though it was intended to be civil and kind, 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 189 
 
 it gave great offence. This little incident, as he 
 stated to me, exceedingly tried his feelings, and 
 filled him with fearful apprehensions of a coming 
 difficulty. For myself, I never entertained a doubt 
 that the invitation was designed to try and perplex 
 him, and that it constituted the first link in the 
 chain of measures which was ultimately thrown 
 around him, involving him in great trials, — a chain 
 which could have been broken only by the hand of 
 a giant. 
 
 That portion of his parish who commenced the 
 opposition were a gay people, exceedingly fond of 
 amusements ; and there can be no doubt, that they 
 determined to oppose everything which interfered 
 with their favorite indulgences. Hence their oppo- 
 sition to week-day meetings and extra-lectures, of 
 which they early complained, and on account of 
 which they finally presented, to an ecclesiastical 
 council, a formal charge. Hence, too, they began 
 early to complain of his preaching so much on 
 human depravity, the guilt and consequences of sin, 
 the doctrine of the atonement, and the necessity 
 of fiuth, repentance and regeneration. Indeed, as 
 he stated to me at the time, one of the first visits 
 of expostulation which he received from a com- 
 plaining parishioner, related to his preaching on the 
 
190 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 experimental subject of humiliation before God, in 
 view of the entire depravity of the unrenewed 
 heart, and the consequent self-condemnation of the 
 sinner, when his depravity and guilt are discovered 
 by an enlightened understanding, and felt by an 
 awakened conscience. The discourse complained 
 of was founded on these words, ascribed to Job : 
 " But now mine eye seeth thee ; wherefore I abhor 
 myself, and repent in dust and ashes." The com- 
 plaint was heard with patience, and I doubt not 
 answered with meekness. But when the com- 
 plainant was shown that his objection applied 
 more directly against the text itself, than against 
 anything said in the course of the illustration or 
 application, the explanation gave no satisfaction, 
 but seemed rather to aggravate the spirit of com- 
 plaint and strengthen the feeling of opposition. 
 
 These causes, therefore, — the subjects of his 
 preaching, the manner of his preaching, the fre- 
 quency and urgent application of his preaching, 
 rather than the fact that he neglected to exchange 
 w^ith some of the Boston ministers, — were most 
 evidently the original causes and lay at the foun- 
 dation of the opposition. The course which he 
 adopted in regulating his pulpit-exchanges, as a 
 plausible ground of complaint, seems to have been 
 
EEMINISCENCES OF DE. CODMAN. 191 
 
 with his opposers an after-thought, probably sug- 
 gested from without. But however originated, it 
 was subsequently made the principal subject of 
 complaint ; and became, as incidentally admitted, 
 in the course of correspondence, by the committee 
 of the opposition, the ostensible reason for wishing 
 and vehemently urging a dissolution of his pastoral 
 relation to the people of his charge. 
 
 But whatever may have been the cause, or the 
 concurrent causes, which led to the opposition, 
 it was to him an occasion of severe and long- 
 protracted trials ; — trials, however, which were 
 sanctified to him, and which resulted in the 
 establishment of the principles for which he con- 
 tended, and, as he had the satisfaction of believing, 
 in the promotion of the cause to which he had 
 devoted himself and all his energies — the cause 
 of truth, the conversion of sinners, the elevation 
 and purity of the church, the salvation of men 
 and the glory of God. 
 
 THE PEOGKESS OF THE OPPOSITION AND HISTORY OF THE COXTRO- 
 VEESY.— THE CALLING OF THE FIRST ECCLESIASTICAL COUNCIL. 
 
 The cause or combined causes of the opposition 
 to Mr. Codman, whatever they were, and with 
 
192 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 whatever motives they moved the actors in this 
 drama, began to operate, as we have seen, and 
 to show their disturbing power, soon after his 
 ordination. The first complaint which w^as heard 
 m the vicinity of Dorchester, like that first made to 
 him personally, was against his doctrinal preaching, 
 with his earnest manner and directness of personal 
 application. The next was against his nmch 
 preaching and his multiplying religious meetings ; 
 though for this complaint there was no other 
 foundation, than the fact that he gave a stated 
 weekly-lecture on Tuesday, and held an occasional 
 family-meeting, or prayer-meeting and conference, 
 in some remote part of the parish. Several other 
 complaints of a similar character, — all, however, 
 springing from the same source and intimately 
 connected with these, — were originated and spread 
 abroad, long before his restricted system of ex- 
 changes was made the rallying-point of opposition. 
 
 The first step in legal form, for the purpose 
 of attempting to remove Mr. Codman from his 
 ministerial position, which it had become evident 
 the opposition were determined, if possible, to 
 accomplish, was taken on the nineteenth of April, 
 1810, when a parish meeting was called for this 
 purpose, in accordance with a petition of the 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 193 
 
 leaders. But it appeared that, notwithstanding the 
 unwearied efforts of the malcontents for many 
 months to gain over partisans, they had not yet 
 strength enough to effect their object ; for the prop- 
 osition involved in the first article of the warrant, 
 requiring Mr. Cod man to exchange promiscuously^ 
 was rejected by a negative vote of ffty-two to 
 thirty-four. Another article, providing for the re- 
 substitution of Belknap's for Watts's Psalms and 
 Hymns, was dismissed. And instead of prohibit- 
 ing the opening of the meeting-house for lectures, 
 as was proposed by another article, it was voted, 
 '' that the meeting-house, in future, as it respects 
 its use for lectures, be under the control of the 
 Rev. Mr. Codman." 
 
 But, though thus completely defeated, the oppo- 
 sition did not relax their efforts. They soon rallied, 
 and presented themselves in a new attitude, and 
 commenced a new mode of warfare. In August 
 following, there appeared (with what views and for 
 what purpose none could doubt) an advertisement 
 in the Columbian Centinel of Boston, offering for 
 sale " thirty-eight pews in the Rev. Mr. Codman's 
 meeting-house, and three horse-sheds.'^^ By means 
 like this, and influences from without and within, 
 the opposition was at length increased, so as to 
 
 25 
 
194 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 raise, in the minds of the leaders, the hope of 
 obtaining a majority in a parish meeting. And, 
 strange as it may seem to some, the manoeuvres 
 practiced had been such as to secure that object. 
 For at a parish meeting called for the purpose, 
 and held on the 8th of October, 1810, it was 
 voted, that " the Rev. Mr. Codman be requested 
 to exchange with the ministers who compose the 
 Boston Association " ; and a committee was ap- 
 pointed to communicate this vote to Mr. Codman, 
 and report his answer at an adjourned meeting. 
 At such an adjourned meeting, they did accordingly 
 report his explicit answer : " That he could not 
 pledge himself to exchange with any man or any 
 body of men whatever." 
 
 At this meeting, which seems to have been a 
 comparatively small one, a new expedient was 
 adopted, calculated and evidently designed to 
 embarrass and perplex Mr. Codman, and if pos- 
 sible, by increasing his already multiplied labors, 
 to drive him to despair. A committee was 
 chosen to write to the ministers in the several 
 towns, with whom Mr. Codman had been in the 
 habit of exchanging, requesting them not to preach 
 in his pulpit any more, till the difficulties in the 
 parish were removed. Accordingly such letters 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 195 
 
 were written to eight clergymen in the vicinity ; 
 not excepting those members of the Boston 
 Association with whom he had exchanged, and 
 with whom, however inconsistent it may seem, 
 he had just been requested by the opposition to 
 exchange. 
 
 In this stage of his trials, when it might seem, 
 from the comparatively small number of his friends 
 who attended and voted at the last parish meeting, 
 that they were discouraged or frightened, and that 
 he was about to be forsaken by them and left to 
 be overwhelmed by the growing opposition, he 
 received support and encouragement in a way 
 altogether unexpected. Two addresses were pre- 
 sented to him, about the same time, one signed 
 by seventy-one male members of his parish, the 
 other by one hundred and seventy-nine female 
 members ; and what gave peculiar value to these 
 addresses, in his view, was, that these signers 
 included nearly all the members of his church. 
 In these communications his friends, both male 
 and female, entirely approve of his independent 
 course, strongly commend his manner of preach- 
 ing, bear witness to his fidelity and success in 
 the ministry, urge him not to forsake them in 
 their trials, and pledge their continued support 
 
196 EEMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 and their united prajers, that he may find pro- 
 tection under the blessing of Heaven. 
 
 Though, as I had every reason to believe, he 
 had not entertained a thought of yielding his 
 right to regulate his pulpit exchanges, or of giving 
 up his efforts for the cause of truth and what he 
 esteemed the essential doctrines of the gospel, 
 yet these addresses, coming at such a critical 
 moment, and containing such pledges of affection 
 and assurances of continued support, did unques- 
 tionably afiibrd him consolation and encouragement 
 under his heavy trials and pressing cares and 
 labors. Nor was it of small moment to him, that 
 he had the sympathy and prayers of many of his 
 brethren in the ministry. Especially, as he de- 
 clared to me, did he feel himself encouraged and 
 supported by the firm course pursued by the pro- 
 scribed ministers in the vicinity. For most of 
 them expressly refused to submit to the dictation 
 of assumed authority ; and two of them w^rote 
 letters, giving their reasons for the refusal, with 
 an appropriate rebuke. 
 
 In the meantime, however, the opposition did 
 not in the least abate their zeal, diminish their 
 efforts, or fail to exert their ingenuity in con- 
 triving new expedients of annoyance, Accordingly 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 197 
 
 they took effectual measures to prevent several 
 persons, who attended on the ministry of Mr. 
 Codman, from becoming regular members and 
 legal voters in the incorporated society. In con- 
 nection with this act of oppression, there appeared 
 another advertisement in two public newspapers 
 in Boston, offering for sale sixty-nine pews, with 
 the following significant and offensive words ap- 
 pended : *' Together with all the right, title and 
 interest, the proprietors of the above pews have 
 in the Rev. Mr. Codman." 
 
 It would seem that, at this period, there were 
 some apprehensions, — though I believe without 
 foundation, — that Mr. Codman might be induced, 
 by these continued annoyances, to think it con- 
 sistent with duty to consult his own peace — not to 
 say safety — and ask a dismission from his parish ; 
 and being thus *' persecuted in one city, to flee 
 to another." For on the 22d of April, 1811, 
 he received another address of his friends, prin- 
 cipally male members of his church, — an address 
 signed by Benjamin Hitchborn, Stephen Badlam, 
 James Baker, and fifty-four others, — expressing 
 their sympathy with him in his trials, and declaring 
 " that they saw nothing to justify the origin or 
 continuance of the existing evils." They express 
 
198 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 their earnest *' desire of seeing the unhappy division 
 healed." But they add, " We cannot believe your 
 removal from us w^ould produce this effect ; we 
 hope, therefore, that you will not think of taking 
 such a step." To this, they subjoin the following 
 pledge of affection and support : " While we make 
 our fervent supplications to Heaven for your comfort 
 and direction under all your trials, you will rest 
 assured of our esteem and affection, and of our 
 determination to support you as our pastor, so 
 long as you continue to sustain your present 
 character as a minister of the gospel, and give 
 no other occasion of complaint than that which 
 is alleged against you by those who now wish 
 to dissolve the compact, so recently, solemnly and 
 unanimously made between you and the people 
 of your charge." 
 
 The opposition, however, nothing daunted by 
 their previous discomfitures, and abating nothing 
 of their zeal in the cause which they had espoused, 
 called another parish meeting, on the 24th of June, 
 1811. At this meeting, the business seems to have 
 proceeded rapidly and without debate. For Mr. 
 Codman's friends, generally, absented themselves 
 from the meeting, or forbore to take any active 
 part in it ; probably having resolved to act by 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 199 
 
 themselves, as they subsequently did, in supporting 
 Mr. Cod man in whatever legal and ecclesiastical 
 course he should choose to pursue. A committee, 
 all professed and determined opposers of evangelical 
 sentiment, and several of them acknowledged Uni- 
 versalists, was chosen, " to request that a separation 
 take place between Mr. Codman and the society ; " 
 *' but should he not comply with the request, to 
 propose to him to join in calling a mutual ecclesi- 
 asti cal council ; " and in case of his not acceding 
 to either of the above propositions, " to proceed 
 immediately to the choice of an ex-parte council." 
 
 To the committee who communicated these 
 votes of the parish, Mr. Codman promptly replied, 
 that while he lamented the divisions in the parish, 
 he could not hope to see them healed by complying 
 with the first proposition. But he declared his 
 readiness (if the demand should be insisted on) to 
 unite with them in calling a mutual council. He, 
 however, expressed a wish to have the business of 
 making the preparatory arrangements conducted in 
 writing. On this he finally insisted, as the only 
 method of guarding against misapprehension and 
 misrepresentation. He likewise claimed the right 
 of having all the complaints and charges, which 
 they intended to lay before the proposed council. 
 
200 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 fully and definitely furnished, before the issuing 
 of the letters missive, or the designation of the 
 churches to be invited to constitute said council. 
 The discussion of these points, and especially of 
 the latter, consumed many months ; and the cor- 
 respondence was conducted with much diplomatic 
 skill, and, on Mr. Codman's part, with great 
 courtesy, kindness, and yet firmness of purpose. 
 
 The church, as a body, resolved to take no 
 part in calling this proposed council, except so 
 far as to agree to aid their pastor by their sym- 
 pathies and their prayers ; and finally, if necessary, 
 to appoint an advocate to appear before the council, 
 when called, and vindicate their rights. They did, 
 indeed, as in duty bound, attend to the complaints 
 made against their pastor by the members of the 
 opposition, — seven in number, — who belonged to 
 their body. These complaints were presented, 
 examined, and finally dismissed, as altogether 
 unfounded or futile, in a church meeting held 
 September 18, 1811. To this meeting, — or rather 
 to a committee of the church, who reported at 
 this meeting, — Mr. Codman presented a full state- 
 ment of his views and feelings on the whole 
 subject, and most triumphantly vindicated himself 
 against all the charges and complaints of the 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 201 
 
 aggrieved brethren. At least, the committee of 
 the church so considered the subject, and so pre- 
 sented it in their report ; and the church, by 
 adopting the report, expressed their full satisfaction 
 with the course which their pastor had pursued, 
 and with the justificatory statement which he 
 had made. Accordingly they declined taking any 
 part in calling a council to examine what they 
 viewed as unfounded charges and unreasonable 
 complaints. 
 
 Mr. Codman, however, felt himself compelled, 
 lest an ex-parte council should be called, to unite 
 with the committee of the parish and the com- 
 plaining members of the church in calling a mutual 
 council, as soon as they should comply with the 
 principal condition named by him, and furnish him 
 with their charges, definitely stated and properly 
 tabled. 
 
 At length, this point was so far yielded by the 
 committee, as to furnish all the articles of com- 
 plaint which they could then make out, or to use 
 their own expression, "as had then transpired." 
 Accordingly, a council was agreed upon, to consist 
 of the usual representatives, a pastor and delegate, 
 from each of twelve churches ; six to be nominated 
 by the committee, and six by Mr. Codman, 
 
 25 
 
202 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 PROCEEDINGS AND RESULT OF THE FIRST COUNCIL, WITH REMARKS 
 ON THE CHARACTER OF THE MEMBERS. 
 
 The representatives of the churches designated, 
 as stated above, met at Dorchester according to 
 invitation bj letters missive, on Tuesday, October 
 30, 1811; consisting of the follovi^ing pastors and 
 delegates, viz : 
 
 From the church ( Rev. Thomas Prentiss, D. D. 
 in Medfield, ( Artemas Woodward, Delegate. 
 
 Hatfield, 
 
 i Rev. Joseph Lyman, D. D. 
 ( Isaac Maltby, Delegate. 
 
 _ _ ( Rev. John Reed, D. D. 
 
 Bndgewater, . . | g^^^^^^ j^^^^^^^ Delegate. 
 
 i Rev. Richard R. Eliot. 
 Watertown, . . . | j^^^ Moses Coolidge, Delegate. 
 
 f Rev. William Greenouoh. 
 \ Dea. Joseph Adams, Delegate. 
 
 Newton, . 
 Dedham, 
 Worcester, 
 Weston, . 
 Worcester, 
 
 Charlestown, • • ] j 
 
 ( Rev. Nathaniel Thayer. 
 Lancaster, . . . . | Ebenezer Torry, Delegate. 
 
 ( Rev. SAaiuEL Worcester, D. D. 
 galem, .,.,.. | Jqhn Punchard, Delegate. 
 
 ( Rev. Thomas Thacher. 
 
 • ' \ Dea. John Richards, Delegate. 
 
 ( Rev. Aaron Bancroft, D. D. 
 
 • • ( Joseph Allen, Delegate. 
 
 i Rev. Samuel Kendall, D. D. 
 
 • • ( Nathan Hagar, Delegate. 
 
 i Rev. Samuel Austin, D. D. 
 
 • • ( Moses N. Child, Delegate. 
 
 Rev. Jedidiah Morse, D. D. 
 EREMiAH EvARTs, Delegate. 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 203 
 
 The council was organized by choosing the Rev. 
 Dr. Prentiss, moderator, and the Rev. Mr. Thayer 
 and the Rev. Dr. Worcester, scribes. 
 
 After prayer by the moderator, the parties were 
 admitted by vote to appear before the council and 
 make their communications. By request, the follow- 
 ing gentlemen were allowed to appear as advocates, 
 viz : for the complainants, Benjamin Parsons, Esq. 
 and the Hon. Samuel Dexter ; for the church, 
 though not directly a party in the contest, yet 
 as having interests at stake in the issue, Daniel 
 Davis, Esq., Solicitor-General of the Common- 
 wealth of Massachusetts ; and for Mr. Codman, 
 as his friend and adviser, the Rev. Joshua Bates, 
 of Dedham. 
 
 The business before the council was introduced 
 by a speech of Mr. Parsons, the junior advocate for 
 the parish, who presented the following proposition 
 for the decision of the council, with the articles 
 of charge and complaint of the parish committee, 
 as they had been furnished to Mr. Codman, viz : 
 
 " Whether, under existing circumstances, it is 
 not expedient that your pastoral relation to this 
 society should be dissolved : 
 
 '' 1st. Because of the great disappointment that a 
 
204 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 respectable number of your church and a majority 
 of your society have experienced, at your not 
 exchanging ministerial labors with the Rev. clergy 
 composing the Boston Association, generally ; more 
 especially those that were present and performed at 
 the dedication of the meeting-house, and at the 
 organization of the church, and those that were 
 particularly concerned and assisted in your ordina- 
 tion ; which the parish had every reason to expect, 
 from your intimations, both antecedent and subse- 
 quent to your settlement. 
 
 " 2d. Because, though we would not deny to a 
 minister all discretion in the choice of those with 
 w^hom he changes pulpits, yet you have, in our 
 opinion, gone in this respect to such an improper 
 and unwarrantable extreme, as in effect to make 
 us a separate religious society ; cutting us off from 
 that intercourse with the greater part of those 
 Christian societies (and of our own denomination) 
 with which we have been on terms of friendship 
 and communion. 
 
 " 3d. Because we conceive that the lectures and 
 religious meetings which you appoint, or encourage, 
 are so frequent, and held at such times and places, 
 as that they tend rather to disorder and the inter- 
 ruption of domestic union, comfort and duties, than 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 205 
 
 to the promotion of the social virtues and genuine 
 religion. 
 
 "4th. Because of your unfeeling and unnatural 
 conduct, to prevent the neighbors and friends of 
 Mr. Thomas Crehore from attending the funeral 
 of his son, by urging several of them personally 
 to attend your lecture, and requesting them to call 
 on your friends to do likewise ; also, threatening 
 to forsake them, in case of refusal. 
 
 "5th. Because you personally, or by your instiga- 
 tion, circulated cards in Rev. Mr. Harris's parish re- 
 specting the Catechism, cautioning them to beware 
 of innovation ; undoubtedly meaning for them to 
 guard against their Rev. Pastor, who had previously 
 introduced Dr. Watts's Catechism, agreeably to the 
 printed directions of the school committee, of which 
 you are a member. 
 
 " 6th. Because of your overbearing conduct, in 
 neglect of the wishes of a majority of the parish, 
 in admitting into the pulpit a number of min- 
 isters, whom the parish at a legal meeting had 
 requested not to preach therein until their diffi- 
 culties had subsided ; also your endeavoring to pre- 
 vent the customary tolling of the bell, for a funeral, 
 as an interference with your lecture. 
 
 " 7th. Because of your disrespectful observations 
 
206 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 towards some of your fathers and brethren in the 
 ministry, whom we believe sustain unimpeachable 
 characters, both as men and Christians. 
 
 " 8th. Finally, because we conceive, that while 
 your ministerial relation to us shall continue, there 
 will be no prospect of the restoration of that 
 harmony, peace and brotherly love, which have 
 been so unhappily interrupted, and which we 
 ardently wish may soon return." 
 
 Mr. Parsons then presented and read the charges 
 of the aggrieved brethren, which had been pre- 
 sented to the church, examined, and dismissed as 
 entirely unfounded. They need not be stated here, 
 however, as they are substantially the same with 
 those of the parish committee, adding only two 
 items of charge ; one, the very common charge of 
 "deception," and the other for refusing, as alleged, 
 to attend to the prescribed form of Christian dis- 
 cipline, when some of them intended to take the 
 first and second steps with him. 
 
 Mr. Parsons then proceeded to call witnesses and 
 read papers, with the view of supporting these 
 charges and justifying these complaints ; but with 
 what success, the sequel will show. When he had 
 presented his proofs and closed his pleadings, Mr. 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DE. CODMAN. 207 
 
 Codman commenced his defence. He commenced 
 with a few simple and appropriate remarks on the 
 peculiar and trying situation in which he was 
 placed. He had not, he said, intended to call for 
 the assistance of any one to plead his cause ; but 
 it had been his purpose to leave the result to the 
 wisdom of the council without pleadings. And 
 though his church had claimed the right to advocate 
 their own interests, he had till the very day before 
 asked no one to plead his cause ; and he had only 
 been induced to ask his friend and brother, who 
 now sat by his side, to be present, and assist 
 him if necessary in reading the voluminous papers, 
 which must be presented to the council, and make 
 such remarks as might seem necessary to show their 
 connection and bearing. As to himself, he said, he 
 should do no more than present, and, if able, read 
 those papers. He should introduce no witnesses 
 to rebut the testimony of the many witnesses who 
 had been called upon the stand ; nor say anything, 
 by way of recrimination, against his disaffected 
 parishioners. After this brief introduction, he 
 proceeded to read the papers which related to 
 his call and settlement in Dorchester ; his decla- 
 ration of faith before the ordaining council ; the 
 complaints of his disaffected parishioners, and the 
 
208 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 whole correspondence between him and them ; 
 together with his letter of defence to the church, 
 answering the complaints of the aggrieved brethren, 
 and the whole correspondence between him and the 
 committee of the parish, till the time of the calling 
 of the council. All this he was able to do 
 without assistance ; and having done this, he sat 
 down in perfect calmness, waiting patiently the 
 final issue. 
 
 These proceedings, on the part of the complaint 
 and defence, had occupied the attention of the 
 council from Tuesday till Friday afternoon, when, 
 at four o'clock, Mr. Solicitor Davis, as advocate of 
 the church and defender of the legal rights of the 
 minority of the parish, commenced his plea. His 
 argument was able, lucid, and effective. He 
 examined the whole ground ; and showed that 
 the course of proceedings against Mr. Codman 
 had been illegal and oppressive ; and he argued 
 most conclusively, that an attempt by the mal- 
 contents thus to take advantage of their own 
 wrong doings, to induce Mr. Codman to leave his 
 church under oppression, and without any prospect 
 of future peace and harmonious re-settlement of the 
 gospel ministry among them, was an encroachment 
 on the rights of his clients. To this single point 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 209 
 
 he confined his argument; and to me, it seemed, 
 with great propriety and entire success. 
 
 Next in course, came the remarks of Mr. Cod- 
 man's friend, occupying an hour on Friday evening 
 and two hours on Saturday morning. Of these 
 remarks it does not become me to say much. I 
 may say, however, without impropriety, that it 
 seemed an easy task so to exhibit the character of 
 the complaints of the opposition, and so to explain 
 the testimony of the witnesses, as to sweep away 
 all the charges, implying anything wrong, alleged 
 against Mr. Codman ; and leave his character, if 
 not perfectly blameless and untarnished, as near 
 the standard of perfection as falls to the lot of 
 man. And, as to the question of dismission for 
 no fault of his own, while he was exercising an 
 acknowledged right, and in the least offensive 
 manner consistent with the claims of conscience, 
 merely because others had created difficulty and 
 division in the parish, and were now seeking 
 occasion to take advantage of their own wrong, 
 to secure their object and deprive the church 
 of the preached gospel, I need only say, that it 
 seemed to me a plain question, easily determined ; 
 and I have no doubt that it was made so to 
 appear to all candid and unprejudiced minds. 
 
 37 
 
210 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 Mr. Dexter's speech followed, commencing oni 
 Saturday at eleven o'clock, and closing at a quarter 
 past two. Of this speech, which closed the public 
 discussion before the council, I could say much ; 
 and I most sincerely wish that it had been the prac- 
 tice then, as it is now, by the aid of stenography, 
 to secure to the public and to posterity such 
 splendid productions. It was, indeed, one of the 
 most eloquent speeches of that truly eloquent man ; 
 whose language was always pure, chaste, strong 
 and dignified ; and, as a cotemporary said of it, 
 " sufficiently correct for the press." He began 
 with great modesty, evidently disappointed in the 
 result of the examination of witnesses, and feeling 
 the weakness of his cause. But according to his 
 professional habits, he proceeded to manifest his 
 faithfulness to his clients, by making the best of a 
 bad cause. In doing this, however, he showed 
 great fairness and candor. He gave up, at once, 
 nearly all the charges against Mr. Codman, as 
 questionable in view of the evidence produced ; or, 
 if true, as unimportant to the issue. He suffered 
 himself to make no insinuations against the min- 
 isterial and Christian character of Mr. Codman* 
 On the contrary, he admitted all that had been 
 claimed for him by his friends, that he was an 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN, 211 
 
 exemplary, devoted, able and faithful minister of 
 Jesus Christ. But on the general subject of charitj 
 and liberality of sentiment, his eloquence burst 
 forth like a torrent, apparently about to sweep 
 everything before it. It is true, all who heard 
 him did not feel the force of the argument in 
 application to the case in hand ; and some may 
 have thought that it was not quite consistent with 
 the admissions which his candor and courtesy had 
 compelled him to make. But it was eloquent and 
 imposing, and seemed to give high satisfaction 
 to his employers. All, indeed, saw and admired 
 the beauty and grandeur of the illustrations of 
 his principal argument in favor of indiscriminate 
 pulpit exchanges and the mingling of all sorts of 
 preaching, drawn from the variety and harmony 
 of nature, — especially from the eccentricity and 
 apparent confusion of the motions of the heavenly 
 bodies, resulting in perfect order, and manifesting 
 unity of design, displaying the beauty of variety 
 and yet producing uniformity and peace and har- 
 mony, swelling to a universal chorus the accordant 
 notes of the " music of the spheres." He closed his 
 splendid argument w^ith a most brilliant peroration. 
 And in the midst of this dazzling light the cause 
 was committed to the council. 
 
212 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 Thus ended the public hearing and discussion 
 of one of the most exciting and truly interesting 
 causes, which ever agitated the public mind in 
 New England. The council then adjourned, to 
 meet again for private deliberation and decision 
 on the Monday following. They did accordingly 
 meet, and continued their daily sessions and delib- 
 erations, till Thursday the 7th of November, when 
 their decision, technically called their result, was 
 published. 
 
 From this result I make the following extracts,' 
 viz : 
 
 " Upon the several articles of charge exhibited against the 
 Rev. Mr. Codman, the council, in the course of their proceed- 
 ings, passed as follows : 
 
 " Voted, 1. That the charge of infentinnal deception, as 
 stated in the first specification of the aggrieved brethren, has 
 not been supported. 
 
 " 2. That the charge of intentional deception, as stated in 
 the second specification of the same article, has not been sup- 
 ported. 
 
 " 3. That the charge of having violated an express rule of 
 Christ, in refusing an aggrieved brother an opportunity to tell 
 his grievances, as stated in the fourth article of the aggrieved 
 brethren, has not been supported; although it appears that the 
 Rev. Mr. Codman and brother Field misunderstood each other 
 in the attempt to take the first step. 
 
 ** 4. That the charge of unfeeling and unnatural conduct, 
 3.S stated in the third article of the parish, is not supported; 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 213 
 
 as it appears that the interference of the Rev. Mr. Codman, 
 in the tender obsequies of a funeral, was made under peculiar 
 circumstances ; and that his subsequent explanations ought to 
 be considered as satisfactory. 
 
 *' 5. That the circulation of a card by the Rev. Mr. Codman, 
 in the town of Dorchester, alluded to in the fourth article of 
 the charges of the parish, was an indiscreet and improper act, 
 allhovgh it is not proved that there teas an evil or unchristian 
 design in the transaction. 
 
 " 6. That as the parties who brought forward articles third 
 of the aggrieved brethren, and sixth of the parish, deemed 
 them unimportant, this council consider them as virtually 
 withdrawn. 
 
 "The following motion was then submitted to the con- 
 sideration of the council ; 
 
 '' ' That in the opinion of this council, the aggrieved 
 brethren, and the majority of this parish, have just cause of 
 complaint against the Rev. Mr. Codman for having neglected 
 to exchange ministerial labors with the ministers of the Boston 
 Association, generally, as presented in the second article of 
 the aggrieved brethren, and in the first article of the com- 
 mittee of the parish.' " 
 
 On this motion the council were equally divided ; 
 closing their result with the following advice : 
 
 " This council, at the conclusion of our result, feel it to 
 be our duty to declare, that we have, as we trust, attended 
 with patience and impartiality to the statements, evidence and 
 pleas, which have been presented to us by the parties in this 
 controversy, and, though unable to decide on the last question 
 which came before us, yet we deeply sympathize with the 
 
214 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 pastor, church and congregation, under their present unhappy 
 divisions ; and unitedly recommend to them ' the things 
 which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify 
 another.' " 
 
 Thus ended the first great Ecclesiastical Council 
 of Dorchester; and it was hoped that the result 
 would put an end to the contention, and that the 
 leading members of the opposition would either 
 become reconciled and give up the contest, under 
 the united and conciliatory advice of the council, 
 or peaceably withdraw from the society, which 
 was a poll-parish, and take measures to connect 
 themselves again with the first parish. This was 
 expected ; because their case was seen to be 
 desperate. For the council had acquitted Mr. 
 Codman of every charge brought against him, 
 except one, and that a slight indiscretion ; and in 
 mitigation of this charge they add, *' though it is 
 not proved that there was an evil or unchristian 
 design in the transaction." Indeed, whoever reads 
 Mr. Codman's explanation of the affair, made to 
 his church, will fully agree with the council, in 
 acquitting him of all moral blame in the case, and 
 doubt the propriety of calling it " an indiscreet 
 and improper act," even with the mitigating and 
 exculpating clause subjoined. What could the 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DH. CODMAN. 215 
 
 opposition expect to obtain, after having been 
 proved in the wrong, at every point, by the de- 
 cision of the council on the investigation of all 
 their multiplied and reiterated charges against their 
 pastor ? It is true that on the question of expe- 
 diency, in relation to Mr. Codman's dismission, the 
 council were equally divided ; and, therefore, no 
 positive decision was made. But here the ina- 
 bility to decide the question positively, operated of 
 necessity precisely as would a negative decision. 
 It left Mr. Codman in full standing in his original 
 position as pastor of the church and minister of 
 the parish, possessing all the rights and under all 
 the obligations which belong to this high relation ; 
 and what is more, left him with a character 
 unimpeached and proved to be unimpeachable. 
 Indeed, it is wonderful, and was at the time 
 viewed as an unexampled case, that he came out 
 of the fiery trial so free from injury — that he had 
 been kept for three years so free from imprudent 
 words and acts, amid such high provocations and 
 continual annoyances. He, in his humility, attrib- 
 uted the fact to the restraining grace of God, 
 and to his kind providence in surrounding him 
 with faithful friends ; and especially in placing by 
 his side that wise and judicious counsellor, Deacon 
 
216 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 Badlam, whom he always consulted in all his 
 emergencies, and whose advice he generally found 
 it safe to follow. 
 
 In view of the result of the council, therefore, and 
 in view of all the circumstances in which the result 
 placed Mr. Codman and the disaffected members 
 of his parish, it was hoped that the controversy 
 would cease, and that he might be left to pursue 
 his course of ministerial labors unmolested. But 
 in this, as will appear in the sequel, he and his 
 friends were doomed to be disappointed. 
 
 Before I proceed, however, with the history of 
 the opposition to Mr. Codman, it seems desirable 
 that some further account should be given of the 
 character and proceedings of the council. In order 
 to meet this demand, and supply this desideratum, 
 I remark, that the council was constituted by select- 
 ing the most prominent ministers of the time. The 
 parties seem to have looked over all the churches 
 in Massachusetts, and to have nominated, each for 
 itself, those whose pastors they deemed among the 
 most influential and most evidently disposed to 
 sympathize with them in their respective views. 
 Probably there was much correspondence and con- 
 sultation on the subject. Certainly it was one 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 217 
 
 of the most dignified bodies of the kind, which 
 I was ever permitted to behold ; and I believe it 
 was so viewed by all who knew the men ; and 
 the same remark may be extended generally, to 
 the lay members as well as to their pastors. It 
 was evident, indeed, that the churches which were 
 requested to take part in forming this council, 
 took care to select their respective delegates, to 
 accompany their pastors, from among their most 
 able and experienced members. 
 
 It will be seen therefore at once, that the 
 decision of such a council, where the decision was 
 unanimous or nearly so, would have great weight. 
 And this was the fact, as it regarded all the 
 charges which had any bearing on Mr. Cod man's 
 character as a Christian minister. The consequence 
 to him was, to give him an elevated standing before 
 the Christian community ; and so far to disarm the 
 enemies of what he accounted the truth, and the 
 disaffected members of his parish generally, as to 
 silence the tongue of slander. Henceforth, there- 
 fore, he had no charges to meet, nor any slanderous 
 reports to contradict. The opposition were obliged 
 to resort to other means, in their farther attempt 
 to drive him from his post. 
 
218 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 But it may be asked, if this coancil was com- 
 posed of men of such standing and character, and 
 if they were really so fair and impartial, as to 
 agree in acquitting Mr. Codman of all the charges 
 against him which were calculated to injure his 
 character, how came it to pass that they were 
 divided so equally, and so apparently by party lines, 
 upon the great practical question of dismission ? 
 How can this be reconciled with the supposition 
 of fairness, impartiality, or even sincerity and an 
 independent judgment ? 
 
 I am desirous of explaining this, a^ far as 
 possible. For I had a high respect for most of 
 the members of that council, and especially those 
 whom I best knew. They were all my seniors ; 
 and, though some of them differed from me in 
 religious sentiments, I viewed them as honorable 
 and upright men. I had no apprehension, indeed, 
 that any of them would designedly do Mr. Codman 
 an injury by their decision. And this high opinion 
 of their integrity was fully supported by their 
 agreement in exculpating him from every charge 
 of moral or Christian delinquency. But the ques- 
 tion upon which the division took place, was viewed 
 at that period, especially by what was called the 
 liberal party, as a question of expediency, merely ; 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 219 
 
 and the judgment of each man, in this case, seems 
 to have been formed in view of what he considered 
 as expedient, and calculated to produce the best 
 effect ; and this, of course, must have depended 
 principally on his religious sentiments and the 
 importance which he attached to the prevalence 
 of those views. This I believe was the true ground 
 of the division ; at least, the true cause of the 
 action of those members of the council who were 
 nominated by the committee of the parish, and 
 who were probably known, even before their 
 appointment, to entertain these so-called liberal 
 views, on the general subject. Indeed, we have 
 on record evidence to justify this candid suppo- 
 sition. The arguments used in the secret session 
 of the council, as stated at the time, by one of 
 the most accurate reporters and distinguished mem- 
 bers, abundantly proves this. And so important 
 does this statement appear, to complete the history 
 of the case, that I should be glad to see it re- 
 published entire, as printed in the ' Panoplist,' a 
 periodical of the times. I can here, however, 
 introduce a short extract only, from the close of 
 the article, which bears honorable testimony to 
 the character of the council, and shows the can- 
 dor and impartiality of the writer : " Though the 
 
220 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 council was not so happy as to decide the con- 
 troversy, the discussions were carried on, in gen- 
 eral, with good temper, and apparent good will ; 
 and when the council was dissolved, the members 
 separated with many expressions of tenderness and 
 respect." 
 
 I add simply, that this testimony corroborates, 
 in my mind, the opinion which I had formed of 
 the fair characters of the members of the council, 
 and seems to me to establish the theory, by which 
 I have attempted to account for their equal division 
 on the great question of expediency before them. 
 They differed in their action on the question, be- 
 cause they differed in their apprehensions of the 
 probable consequences of the result; and this differ- 
 ence depended on their respective religious views 
 and sympathies. 
 
 THE EFFECTS OF THE RESULT OF THE FIRST COUNCIL, AND THE 
 CONTINUANCE OF THE CONTROVERSY TILL THE CALLING OF THE 
 SECOND. 
 
 When the result of the council was published, 
 as previously stated, there was a prevailing hope 
 that the controversy would cease ; that the leading 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 221 
 
 members of the opposition would by agreement 
 withdraw, and either return to the first parish or 
 form a new society, or at least remain quiet under 
 their defeat. But, in this expectation, all who en- 
 tertained it were doomed to be disappointed. For 
 scarcely had three weeks elapsed before the oppo- 
 sition raised its head again, presenting a bolder 
 front, and a more determined countenance of defi- 
 ance.^ On the 28th of November, at a parish 
 
 * For myself, however, I had little reason to hope for so happy a 
 result. I had evidence, indeed, from the resentment shown to me 
 personally, for the part which I had been called to take before the 
 council, as Mr. Cod man's friend, that the spirit of opposition to Mr. 
 Codman was not subdued. A few days after the session of the coun- 
 cil, I received an anonymous letter, purporting (I presume falsely) to 
 have been written by female members of the society, in language of 
 unmeasured reproach, and accompanied with a significant token of 
 disrespect. 
 
 In this connection, perhaps, I ought to state a fact, which may have 
 been the provoking occasion of the preceding transaction. About 
 the same time I received a substantial present, with a kind note, from 
 a committee of ladies from Dorchester. The present consisted of a 
 silver tea-set, each piece bearing the following inscription : 
 
 From the Ladies of .the Eev. Mr. Codman's Society in Dorchester, 
 
 TO THE Eev. Mr. Bates, 
 
 As A Testimony of their gratitude and esteem, 
 
 Nov. 1811. 
 
222 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 meeting called for the purpose, after a long pre- 
 amble, it was 
 
 Voted, That * * * be a commitee, with full power and 
 authority to appoint and agree with the Rev. Mr. Codman, in 
 choosing a mutual ecclesiastical council ; or, in case the Rev. 
 Mr. Codman refuses to join and agree with them in choosing 
 such council, forthwith to appoint an ex-parte ecclesiastical 
 council, to take into consideration the complaints against the 
 Rev. Mr. Codman, on account of his having refused and neg- 
 lected, contrary to the expectation and wishes of the parish, to 
 exchange ministerial labors with most of the Reverend clergy 
 of the Boston Association of ministers ; and to take in view 
 the present unhappy state and situation of the parish, and to 
 give their advice or result, whether it is expedient or necessary 
 that the Rev. Mr. Codman should be dismissed from his minis- 
 terial and pastoral office in said parish, or that he should be 
 advised to ask a dismission, and that the parish should be re- 
 quested to grant the same upon just and honorable terms. 
 
 Thus it appeared that the spirit of the oppo- 
 sition, though it had been checked for a moment 
 bv the result and advice of the council, had lost 
 nothing in power or zeal. On the contrary, it was 
 evident that, nourished from some secret source, it 
 was actually increasing in both these respects, and 
 gathering strength and courage for a more vigorous 
 and determined onset. 
 
 It may perhaps at this day, when the cir- 
 cumstances of the case can be but imperfectly 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 223 
 
 known, be asked, why Mr. Codman did not at 
 once withdraw from the scene of trial, and avoid 
 the gathering storm which seemed ready to burst 
 with overwhelming fury upon his devoted head? 
 He certainly could have done it with apparent 
 advantage to himself, to his personal security 
 and happiness. The council had acquitted him 
 of the faults charged against him, and left him 
 with an untarnished reputation, and even an ele- 
 vated character ; and he could unquestionably have 
 retired and found a place of useful settlement 
 and peaceful labor, in almost any portion of the 
 Christian church. Why, then, it may be inquired, 
 did he not ask a dismission and give up the con- 
 test; and thus secure his own peace and happiness? 
 In all ordinary cases, under similar trials, such a 
 course seems to be prudent. But in this case the 
 interests of all the churches were thought to be 
 deeply involved. He seemed, not in his own 
 opinion only, but in the judgment of many of his 
 friends and advisers, to be placed in circumstances 
 of peculiar responsibility, and called to suffer loss 
 and endure persecution for Christ's sake and the 
 cause of evangelical truth and piety. Besides this 
 general consideration of duty, growing out of the 
 peculiar relations which he sustained, and in which 
 
224 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 the interests of all the churches were involved, 
 there was one which directly appealed to the heart 
 of Christian friendship and covenant-obligation. 
 His own beloved church, with whom he had entered 
 into covenant-engagements, were in danger of being 
 left, if he should flee, as sheep without a shepherd, 
 and of being scattered on the dark mountains. 
 Their pledges of affection and their appeals to his 
 heart had been frequently and urgently made ; 
 and now they had become irresistible to a heart 
 of Christian sensibility. If it be asked, then, 
 why he did not seek his own peace and quiet, 
 and at once leave his church and people, when 
 thus perseveringly opposed and persecuted, the 
 answer may be found in these two high consider- 
 ations of duty and affection. Whoever reads the 
 report of a committee of the church, to whom 
 the reiterated charges of the aggrieved brethren, 
 who acted with the opposition, was referred, — 
 a report presented and unanimously adopted De- 
 cember 12, 1811, as published in the proceedings, 
 page 116, will find an answer to this inquiry, which 
 must afford satisfaction to every candid, intelligent 
 Christian. 
 
 In consequence of the decisive action of the 
 church in adopting this report, attempts were again 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 225 
 
 made to purchase the pews belonging to the 
 malcontents in the parish, and induce them to 
 withdraw in peace. But it was all in vain. 
 Accordingly, another diplomatic correspondence 
 ensued, terminating at last in the agreement to 
 call another mutual ecclesiastical council. 
 
 THE SECOND COUNCIL.— PROCEEDINGS AND RESULT.— SUBSEQUENT DIF- 
 nCULTIES, TILL THE MALCONTENTS WITHDREW FROM THE PARISH. 
 
 The second council, by agreement of the par- 
 ties, — Mr. Codman and the church on the one hand, 
 and the parish committee with the seven aggrieved 
 church members on the other, — met at Dorchester 
 May 12, 1812, and was organized by the choice 
 of Dr. Lathrop, as moderator, and of Dr. Worcester 
 and Mr. Thayer, as scribes. After a session of 
 two days, the following motion was proposed, dis- 
 cussed and acted on by the council, viz : 
 
 " In the opinion of this council, under existing 
 circumstances, it is expedient that the minis- 
 terial and pastoral relation between the Rev. Mr. 
 Codman and the second parish in Dorchester be 
 dissolved." 
 
 29 
 
226 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 What was said in the secret session of the 
 council was, as far as I know, never fully made 
 public. It was reported, however, that the motion 
 embracing the preceding proposition was based 
 on the question of exchanges, in connection with 
 the divided state of the parish. But whatever the 
 arguments were on the one side and the other, 
 the result was what all expected, who knew the 
 sympathies of the members. On taking the ques- 
 tion, the ministers and delegates from churches 
 selected by the committee of the parish, all voted 
 in the affirmative ; and the ministers and delegates 
 from the churches selected by Mr. Codman and his 
 church, all voted in the negative. Of course it 
 devolved on Dr. Lathrop, the moderator and umpire 
 according to the agreement of the parties, to decide 
 the question. He accordingly gave his vote, which 
 was found to be in the negative. But he added 
 an indefinite recommendation to Mr. Codman to 
 " open a more free and liberal intercourse with 
 his ministerial brethren." Whether the opposition 
 would have submitted to the decision, if this expla- 
 nation of his vote by the moderator had been 
 withheld, is questionable; indeed, improbable. But 
 the explanation, or rather appended condition, fur- 
 nished to them the occasion of continued discus- 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 227 
 
 sion and complaint, and perhaps of hope, that they 
 should ultimately succeed in driving Mr. Codman 
 from his post, and in triumphing over the church. 
 
 Mr. Codman, however, declared his acquiescence 
 in the decision of the council, and his determination 
 to follow the advice of the venerable moderator, as 
 far as he conscientiously could; and, as he supposed, 
 according to its true spirit and intended meaning. 
 To his confidential friends he said, that there were 
 several ministers in the vicinity with whom he had 
 never exchanged, with whom, however, he was 
 ready to make the arrangement ; and with whom 
 he should have long ago exchanged, if they had 
 made the application, or if he had found it con- 
 venient to exchange. 
 
 The opposition, however, was not dead, and could 
 not rest. In about two months after the decision 
 of the council, the parish committee opened the 
 controversy again, by directing a letter to Mr. 
 Codman, requiring a categorical answer to the 
 question, whether or not he intended to exchange, 
 and that indiscriminately, with twelve ministers 
 of the Boston Association whom they named, and 
 with whom he had never exchanged. To this 
 application Mr. Codman, with his usual promptness, 
 decision and courtesy, returned for answer, " that 
 
228 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 he should endeavor to comply with the true spirit 
 and meaning of the result of the last council ; that 
 the right of regulating his exchanges was admitted 
 to be in him ; that the council could not have 
 intended, by admitting the advice of the modera- 
 tor as a part of their result, that he should bind 
 himself by any pledge, as to exchanging with 
 individuals ; that he should endeavor to preach at 
 home, as much as possible ; and that, when he did 
 exchange, he should consult the feelings and wishes 
 of his people in general." 
 
 This reply seems to have confounded the oppo- 
 sition, and restrained their action, whatever it was 
 intended to be, for several weeks. In the mean 
 time Mr. Codman exchanged with two out of the 
 twelve ministers named by the parish committee. 
 But this act of condescension, so far from allaying 
 the spirit of opposition, seems only to have inflamed 
 it, and driven the restless combination, or rather 
 their leaders, to acts of desperation and self- 
 destruction. For on the 30th of September, about 
 four months from the time of the meeting of the 
 second council, a number of individuals claiming 
 to act for the majority of the parish, addressed a 
 letter to Mr. Codman, repeating their demand for 
 indiscriminate exchanges, and complaining, notwith- 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 229 
 
 Standing the fact just stated, " of the infrequency 
 of his exchanges." " Are one or two stars," they 
 strangely ask, in language evidently borrowed from 
 Mr. Dexter's eloquent speech before the first council 
 — " are one or two stars, though of the first magni- 
 tude, to content us for the light which might be 
 derived from all the planets of our system, revolving 
 in regular succession ? " Still Mr. Codman treated 
 his opposers with kindness and courtesy. In reply 
 to this language of reproach, he refers the writers 
 to his last preceding letter, and states the fact that 
 he had already " opened a more free and liberal 
 intercourse with his ministerial brethren, and should 
 continue to do so, as far as time and circumstances 
 would admit." 
 
 The parish difficulties were now rapidly ap- 
 proaching a crisis ; and the actors in this comic- 
 tragedy rushing forward to the catastrophe. On 
 the 26th of October, forty-six disaffected members 
 of the parish wrote again to Mr. Codman, declaring 
 that nothing but a separation would restore tran- 
 quillity to the church and society, urging him 
 to ask a dismission, and intimating, in the most 
 expressive terms, that it was too late to think 
 of any conciliation by means of exchanges. Mr. 
 Codman replied promptly and explicitly, that he 
 
230 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 had made up his mind not to ask a dismission. 
 His letter, however, which was dated November 
 12, 1812, breathed a spirit of benevolence in 
 regard to his opposers, and expressed a strong 
 desire still to promote their spiritual good. 
 
 But there seems to have been, on their part, no 
 reciprocation of these expressions of kind and 
 benevolent feelings. For on the 24th of the same 
 month a parish meeting was held, in which, by a 
 vote of fifty-five to forty-five, however irregular 
 and illegal, Mr. Codman was declared to be dis- 
 missed. 
 
 This illegal proceeding was followed by an act of 
 outrage which has no parallel in modern, civilized 
 Christendom. It was known to his opposers, that 
 Mr. Codman had engaged to exchange on the next 
 Sabbath with one of the twelve members of the 
 Boston Association, whom they had named to him, 
 and with all of whom they had endeavored to com- 
 pel him to exchange. Having induced this gentle- 
 man to. excuse himself to Mr. Codman for refusing 
 to fulfill his engagement, they procured a dismissed 
 minister from abroad, who was to preach for them 
 as soon as they had succeeded in their determina- 
 tion of excluding Mr. Codman from the pulpit. It 
 was a bold attempt to accomplish, by direct viola- 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 231 
 
 tion of law, what they had failed to do under cover 
 and in accordance with the forms of law. 
 
 Mr. Codman heard of the arrangement, and took 
 every prudent measure to prevent the outrage. But 
 he knew what would be the legal effect of allowing 
 them to take and keep peaceable possession of his 
 pulpit ; and he was not to be intimidated by threats 
 of violence, nor induced to neglect the duty of 
 meeting his flock in the sanctuary. 
 
 Accordingly Mr. Codman went to the house of 
 worship rather earlier than usual on Sabbath morn- 
 ing ; and the scene which followed is thus described 
 and left on record by a cotemporary : 
 
 " When he entered, he found eight sturdy men posted on 
 the pulpit stairs, four on each side of the pulpit, in such a 
 manner as to obstruct the passage entirely. Mr. Codman was 
 determined to do all in his power to maintain his rights. 
 He advanced, therefore, in his way to the pulpit, till he 
 crowded hard against the bodies of the rioters ; and, finding 
 in them no disposition to yield, he turned into the seat under 
 the pulpit, and soon after began public worship. In the mean 
 time, he had expressly demanded admission into the pulpit ; 
 and one of his friends, senior deacon of the church, and a 
 magistrate of the county, made a suitable declaration, and 
 ordered the rioters to desist from their unlawful purposes. 
 All this had no effect ; and the agitation of the assembly was 
 now considerable. When Mr. Codman began public worship, 
 all became quiet, and the exercises were unusually solemn 
 
232 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 and affecting. In the midst of the first prayer, the redoubtable 
 preacher for the parish committee made his appearance ; and 
 his guard of honor opened and gave him entrance into the 
 pulpit. There he staid during the remainder of the services ; 
 and, strange as it may seem, he made no further disturbance 
 till Mr. Codman had pronounced the blessing; unless it be, 
 that he discovered sundry symptoms of uneasiness, and appeared 
 anxious, as the audience shrewdly imagined, to find some gap, 
 or break, into which he might thrust the commencement of 
 his services. But no such gap, or break, was he able to find, 
 and he made no noise or other disturbance. 
 
 " When Mr. Codman had dismissed the assembly, he stepped 
 forward into the middle of the house, addressed the said 
 preacher by name, expressed surprise at such an intrusion, 
 and forbade his preaching in that place. The magistrate, to 
 whom we have alluded, confirmed the statement of Mr. 
 Codman, and declared such an intrusion to be a violation of 
 all law, order and propriety. Several others urged the same 
 thing. 
 
 " The preacher replied, in substance, that he did not wish 
 to do any thing contrary to the peace of the parish, (not he, 
 good peaceable soul, not he,) but he must proceed. The 
 magistrate then made proclamation, that all the friends of 
 law, order and decency, would be expected to retire. They 
 retired accordingly, and the preacher was left to address a 
 comparatively empty house. He went through with his 
 exercises, had a very short intermission, and was nearly 
 through his second sermon, when Mr. Codman and his friends 
 assembled for worship in the afternoon. It seems that the 
 redoubtable preacher was quite a legal character, as he could 
 tell, at the first blush, how the Supreme Court would decide 
 Mr. Codman's controversy ; and, being such a legal character, 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 233 
 
 he well knew that possession was a great point in the law. 
 He therefore wisely determined to keep possession of the 
 pulpit during his short intermission. The refreshment, which 
 was afforded him, he took without leaving the house. After 
 the completion of his services, he and his hearers retired, 
 and Mr. Codman ascended the pulpit, and preached as usual. 
 The preacher of the parish committee had forty-eight hearers 
 on the lower floor of the house, at his afternoon service ; 
 Mr. Codman had two hundred and twenty. The proportion 
 in the gallery was probably not very different. Mr. Codman 
 preached in the forenoon from these words : Casting all your 
 care vpori him ; for he carcth for you. And in the afternoon 
 ^rova— Father forgive them; for they know not lohat the.y do. 
 Though his sermons had no allusion, not the slightest, to the 
 parish troubles, they were thought to apply admirably. 
 
 " Though the preacher of the parish committee was a liber I 
 man, and though Mr. Codman's oppnsers were all, all liberal 
 men, yet it does not follow that all other liberal men were 
 willing to go with them to such a pitch of extravagance. 
 This was very far from being the case. Their proceedings, 
 on this Sabbath, were condemned by men of all parties; and 
 by none more feelingly than by distinguished persons in the 
 liberal party. Some of these persons advised to an immediate 
 prosecution of the intruding preacher for a trespass ; and all 
 saw, that these riotous proceedings had removed every plausible 
 covering of the designs and characters of Mr. Codman's prin- 
 cipal opposers in the parish. When some of these opposers 
 came into Boston, on Monday morning, they found the current 
 so strong and overwhelming against them, that they were in- 
 duced to offer terms of compromise, on that very day, which 
 were ultimately accepted, and which secured the meeting- 
 house to Mr. Codman and his friends, and to himself the 
 
 30 
 
234 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 perfect right of exchanging ministerial labors according to his 
 own sense of duty and propriety." 
 
 The terms of the compromise need not be stated 
 here. It is sufficient for our purpose to remark, 
 that they were substantially the same with those 
 which had been twice offered to the disaffected 
 members of the society. Mr. Codman and his 
 friends agreed to purchase, and did purchase, the 
 pews of all who chose to sell them, at the cost, 
 they agreeing to withdraw from the parish, and 
 binding themselves not thereafter to interfere with 
 its proceedings. 
 
 Thus ended the mighty struggle ; and thus the 
 cause of truth and right obtained a triumph, which 
 gave a check to the prevailing errors of the times, 
 and led to such a disruption of an unnatural 
 alliance between men of antagonistic sentiments, 
 as has given peace generally to the evangelical 
 churches of New England. At least the result 
 was a state of peace in Dorchester, and prosperity 
 to the church of the Redeemer. Within a very 
 short period the second parish in Dorchester was 
 increased, all the pews were occupied, and the 
 congregation became larger than it had ever been. 
 Mr. Codman was blessed with a growing and har- 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 235 
 
 monious church, and enjoyed a long and successful 
 and happy ministry. 
 
 In confirmation and illustration of the preceding 
 remark, I adduce the following extracts from an 
 anniversary sermon, preached by Dr. Codman, 
 December 7, 1845, — thirty-seven years from the 
 time of his ordination, and three before his decease : 
 
 " Thirty-three years have now passed since our new organ- 
 ization ; and we have reason to bless God and be thankful, for 
 the peace and rest and edification we have enjoyed during that 
 period. A gradual increase has been made both to the church 
 and congregation ; and, notwithstanding the secession from our 
 society, the loss has been more than supplied. A flourishing 
 church, of the same faith and order with ourselves, now exists 
 in the south part of the town, which owes its origin to the 
 success with which the Lord has been pleased to bless this 
 society." — '* The history of the Second Church in Dorchester 
 will form an important part of the ecclesiastical history of New 
 England. The views here maintained, of ministerial exchanges, 
 led to the first stand that was taken in the great controversy, 
 that afterwards agitated the churches on the subject of Unita- 
 rianism. Had your pastor been driven from his post, it would 
 have been the signal for an attack upon many of his brethren 
 who sympathized with him in his religious opinions. He felt 
 that he was not acting for himself alone, but for others ; he 
 felt that he was acting for a cause that was infinitely dearer 
 to him than any personal consideration — the cauae of Christ. 
 It was this consciousness that supported him under all his trials ; 
 that animated him under all the opposition and persecution 
 he had to meet, and enabled him to persevere in the course 
 
236 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 he had undertaken. I have often looked back with astonishment 
 upon that period." — *' Surely, it was God who sustained me. If 
 the Lord had not been on our side, we may now say, — ' If it 
 had not been the Lord, who was on our side ; when men rose 
 up against us, then they had swallowed us up quick, when their 
 wrath was kindled against us.' " 
 
 Thus am I brought to the conduding part of 
 this memorial ; — to the notices which, at the begin- 
 ning, I promised to give of Dr. Codman's promi- 
 nent traits of character, — traits exhibited, and, in 
 a great measure formed, during his severe trials. 
 And the notices w^hich I am about to give, are 
 the result of my own observation, during the long 
 and intimate intercourse which I was permitted to 
 hold with him. 
 
 DR. CODMAN'S NATURAL AND SOCIAL QUALITIES. 
 
 I begin with a brief description of him, viewed 
 simply as a man ; directing my remarks, under this 
 head, to his personal appearance and to his natural 
 and social qualities. When he was a young man, 
 he was neither remarkably slender, nor the reverse ; 
 but rather of a middle size, as well as common 
 stature. His countepiance was fair and florid ; and 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 237 
 
 his face, though remarkable for nothing as to form 
 or features, exce}3t the prominence of his forehead, 
 exhibited much of that indescribable meanino:, 
 which in the language of poetry constitutes " the 
 human face divine " — much of strength and dignity, 
 mingled with mildness and benevolence. As he 
 advanced in life, he became somewhat corpulent ; 
 not so much so, however, as to prevent his contin- 
 ued activity and vigor, both of body and mind. 
 
 His social qualities were of the highest order. 
 He was always cheerful and affable ; attractive to 
 the young, communicative and respectful to the 
 aged, and agreeable to all with whom he was called 
 to associate. He was, indeed, of that sanguine 
 temperament which, with a cultivated intellect and 
 a kind heart, never fails to produce the highest style 
 of companionship. 
 
 I said he was always cheerful. When I come to 
 speak of him as a Christian, I shall have occasion to 
 remark, that there was another element of character, 
 mingled with this, which produced in him that 
 equanimity and complacency which are the peculiar 
 fruits of sanctified cheerfulness. But I subjoin 
 here, that cheerfulness in him as a natural quality, 
 was of a much higher cast than that which falls 
 to the ordinary lot even of well-ordered minds. 
 
238 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 There was an ingredient in his constitutional tem- 
 perament which gave him a peculiar fondness for 
 social life, and often elevated his cheerfulness to 
 exhilaration of spirits, and set him free from the 
 restraints of dull formality. He was indeed truly 
 courteous, and, in the best sense of the term, 
 polite. He was always happy in his manner of 
 meeting and entertaining his visitors and guests, 
 precise and courtly in giving or receiving introduc- 
 tion to strangers, as well as easy in all his inter- 
 course with his friends ; never, in these respects, 
 transgressing the most rigid rules of conventional 
 decorum. Brought up, from childhood, in polished 
 society, improved by foreign travel and intercourse 
 with some of the most refined portions of the most 
 civilized nations in the world, possessing a quick 
 discernment of fitness and propriety, and thus being 
 able to render all these external advantages sub- 
 servient to an original tact, the want of which no 
 education can supply, he was everywhere accounted 
 a gentleman ; and he seldom, if ever, made a 
 mistake in the freest and most unrestrained con- 
 versation, or a false movement, even in mixed 
 company, so as to try the feelings of the most 
 delicate and refined, or give offence to the most 
 fastidious. Still he seemed always to be free from 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 239 
 
 restraint in his social intercourse ; and his cheer- 
 fulness was often relaxed into playfulness, and 
 sometimes into hearty laughter. 
 
 He was fond of wit, and even of delicate and 
 well-timed sarcasm. He could enjoy the one and 
 smile at the other, though their shafts were suc- 
 cessfully aimed at his own head. I am persuaded, 
 that his buoyancy of spirit and cheerfulness of 
 temper, which he often indulged to a high degree 
 of exhilaration, added very much to his health 
 and personal enjoyment, to his attractiveness as a 
 companion, and to his influence and usefulness in 
 society. John Locke long ago made the remark, 
 that " man is the only laughing animal on the 
 earth;" and he seems to have made it not only 
 with a view of distinguishing man from the lower 
 animals, but for the purpose of showing his eleva- 
 tion in the scale of being. Indeed, without a fair 
 proportion of this element in his nature, and a due 
 cultivation and proper exercise of it in social life, 
 no man can be a pleasant companion, or a very 
 attractive and useful member of society. A high 
 degree of cheerfulness, such as Dr. Codman pos- 
 sessed, duly regulated and properly indulged, as 
 to time, place and circumstance, always free from 
 gross and vulgar hilarity, is certainly a gift of no 
 
240 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 ordinary value. Where it exists, it exerts a salu- 
 tary and elevating influence on every other element 
 of character, which qualifies man for personal en- 
 joyment and pleasant companionship. 
 
 Another natural quality or element of Dr. Cod- 
 man's character, which occurs to my mind, and 
 which was fully developed and eminently prominent, 
 in the time of his severe trials, was the harmonious 
 combination of the two qualities denoted by the 
 terms fortitude and courage. He was prompt to 
 decide, and bold to execute what he undertook ; 
 but there was no rashness in his courage. He 
 was firm and steadfast in purpose, pursuing his 
 prescribed course with untiring perseverance and 
 indomitable patience. Yet there was nothing like 
 obstinacy in his fortitude. This combination of 
 courage and fortitude, viewed as one complex quality 
 of mind, was in him unquestionably modified and 
 controlled by religious principle. But I speak of it 
 here, as a natural quality, which would have given 
 him distinction among men of the world, even if 
 it had not been sanctified by divine grace. 
 
 Had he been called to command a ship, and had 
 that ship been brought into collision with another, 
 and ready to sink amid the raging waves and thick 
 darkness of a stormy night, it would have kept 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 241 
 
 him in a state of composure and perfect self-con- 
 trol, with promptitude and energy, devising and 
 employing the fittest means to save the vessel and 
 her crew^. If he had been called to fight his coun- 
 try's battles, it w^ould have sustained him in the 
 hour of danger, and led him, undismayed, ' even to 
 the cannon's mouth.' For his v^^as that natural, 
 or, as sometimes denominated, moral courage, 
 which, combining with it innate fortitude, never 
 allows the nerves to tremble, or the muscles to be 
 relaxed, or the purpose, once formed, to fail through 
 timid inaction. 
 
 Had he not possessed this high quality, sanctified 
 as it was in him by divine grace, he never could 
 have sustained the shock and endured the trials 
 which came upon him in the early part of his 
 ministry ; nor w^ould he have dared to take the 
 course which he did, or have been able to pursue 
 it, as he did, to the accomplishment of his purpose, 
 amid the threats and reproaches of enemies on the 
 one hand, and the timid counsels of not a few of 
 his friends, on the other. But while he did not 
 despise the latter, nor disregard the former, his 
 courage and fortitude enabled him to remain steadr 
 fast in his deliberately formed purpose, and constant 
 in pursuing the course which h^ had carefully prer 
 
242 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 scribed for himself. To me, he seemed never to 
 waver in mind or relax his energy of active pur- 
 suit, from the beginning to the end of the mighty 
 struggle. And though he did not adopt the precise 
 language of John Foster, because it savors too 
 much of a spirit of boasting, jet his conduct an- 
 swered to the description which that eminent 
 writer gives of a man of decision and strength of 
 character, where he says : " Without harshness or 
 violence, he will continue every moment to effect 
 some part of his design, coolly replying to each 
 ungracious look and indignant voice, ' I am sorry 
 to oppose you. I am not unfriendly to you, while 
 thus persisting in what excites your di pleasure. 
 It would please me to have your approbation and 
 concurrence ; and I think I should have them, if 
 you would seriously consider my reasons. But, 
 meanwhile, I am superior to opinion ; I am not to 
 be intimidated by reproaches, nor would your favor 
 and applause be any reward for the sacrifice of my 
 object. It is enough for me, that I stand approved 
 to my own conscience, in the sight of Heaven. It 
 is enough that I can appeal, with confidence, to the 
 highest authority in the universe ! ' " 
 
 Thus am I brought to the notice of another 
 natural quality possessed by Dr. Codman, — a 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 243 
 
 quality which may seem, to some, almost incon- 
 sistent with the one last named, — I mean that of 
 strong sympathy with the afflicted^ and tender 
 compassion for the suffering. Though a stern 
 advocate for justice, always firm to his purpose, 
 and even rigid in self-government, ' he could feel 
 for others' woe ; ' and he was prompt to act, 
 wherever his arm could reach the distressed, or 
 his voice be heard by the afflicted. This natural 
 quality was indeed in him, like the others already 
 named, a sanctified feeling ; and, in most of its 
 manifestations, it was intimately connected and 
 inseparably blended with religious principle, thus 
 constituting Christian charity. Still, however, 
 there was in him a natural and original sensibility 
 of a high order ; which, being sanctified by divine 
 grace, gave activity and energy to the principles 
 of Christian benevolence. Indeed, all his benevo- 
 lent acts were modified and regulated by Christian 
 principle. He never gave alms from impulse, nor 
 from motives of ostentation ; but always by rule, 
 and in the best manner to secure the proper end 
 of giving. This trait, however, properly belongs 
 to his Christian character. I shall, therefore, defer 
 the particular remarks which I have to make on 
 it, till I come to the notice of him as a Christian. 
 
244 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 But there is one branch of his Christian character, 
 so dependent on original sympathy and high social 
 qualities, as to deserve a passing notice in this 
 connection. I mean his hospitality, his abounding 
 hospitality to his brethren in the ministry. His 
 ample patrimony and his favorable position enabled 
 him to exercise this office of a Christian bishop, 
 more frequently and more largely, than probably 
 ever fell to the lot of any other minister in New 
 England. And he did exercise it in the highest 
 and best style of Christian hospitality. Ministers 
 of the gospel from all parts of our own country, 
 clergymen from foreign lands, and missionaries of 
 the cross from the ends of the earth, visited his 
 hospitable mansion ; and were always cordially 
 received and generously entertained. Indeed, as 
 has been said in another case, ' Hospitality stood 
 at his door;' and, it may be added, beckoned to 
 the passing pilgrim, and especially to the heralds 
 of salvation, to come in, to sup and lodge ; ^ to 
 bless and be blessed.' 
 
 One other original quality, I may add, he pos- 
 sessed in an eminent degree ; a natural frankness 
 which, united with Christian principle, forbade all 
 deception and duplicity. And even without that 
 sanctifying influence, it would have been difficult 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 245 
 
 for him to practice the deceiver's art. So open 
 and frank was he, in declaring his religious senti- 
 ments before his settlement in Dorchester, that 
 some have supposed this uncalled-for disclosure was 
 one exciting cause of the opposition with which 
 he had to contend ; that it awakened a jealousy 
 in the enemies of the truth, and caused them to 
 put the most unfavorable construction on the 
 language of rebuke which subsequently fell from 
 his lips. But however this may have been, it 
 certainly gave him an enviable advantage in the 
 contest. For an appeal to the fact of this frank 
 and full disclosure, enabled him to meet his revilers 
 with boldness, to confound them in the presence 
 of their sympathizing friends, to refute their un- 
 founded charges to the entire satisfaction of all 
 unbiassed minds ; and lead a council, divided in 
 religious opinions, to agree in acquitting him of 
 every charge implying duplicity or moral wrong. 
 I remember how his opposers quailed, when the 
 argument in vindication of his course, founded 
 on this fact, was triumphantly placed before the 
 council, and its force admitted by their own prin- 
 cipal advocate ; when that candid advocate said, in 
 substance, " All these complaints and charges can 
 be disposed of in five minutes, if he will now yield 
 
246 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 the point with regard to exchanges ; if he will 
 agree to exchange henceforth with all the ministers 
 of the Boston Association, indiscriminately." Yes, 
 frankness in him was a natural quality ; and, being 
 sanctified by divine grace, it became a brilliant and 
 glorious virtue ; a virtue, rendered more brilliant 
 by the trials through which he was called to pass ; 
 as a precious stone shines the brighter, the more 
 severe the friction to which it is subjected. 
 
 INTELLECTUAL QUALITIES AND LITERARY ATTAINMENTS. 
 
 In speaking of Dr. Codman as a scholar, I may 
 without impropriety repeat the remark, made con- 
 cerning him as an undergraduate, and say that 
 he held, in this respect, among his brethren in 
 the ministry, as among his classmates in college, 
 a highly respectable rank. In mere secular litera- 
 ture, ancient or modern. Dr. Codman never sought 
 distinction. Though he possessed one of the 
 best private libraries in the country, it consisted 
 principally of books on theology. Besides, his 
 multiplied cares and trials, which came upon him 
 soon after his settlement in the ministry, together 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 247 
 
 with his weekly parochial duties and direct prepa- 
 rations for the pulpit, left him very little time for 
 general reading and mere literary and scientific 
 pursuits. Nor had he much more leisure for 
 these purposes, after his parochial trials were 
 over. For these very trials, patiently endured and 
 happily terminated, had given him notoriety, and 
 secured to him a reputation for wisdom and con- 
 sistency of character, and thus thrown upon him 
 an unusual portion of the care of the surrounding 
 churches. Such, too, was his local situation and 
 domestic establishment, with his ample fortune and 
 kind social disposition, as to bring to his home 
 visitors in great numbers ; and thus many of his 
 appropriated hours for study were interrupted. 
 These causes, too, operated to call him often from 
 home, as a member of ecclesiastical councils, or 
 as an active associate in most of the prominent 
 benevolent societies in our country. But, with all 
 these interruptions and hinderances, his acquisitions 
 of knowledge were highly respectable ; at least, of 
 that knowledge which had a direct bearing on his 
 profession, or which could be rendered subservient 
 to the great business of a minister's life. 
 
 He acquired knowledge with great facility, re- 
 tained it with great tenacity, and was able to adapt 
 
248 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 and apply it to useful purposes with great skill and 
 efficiency. All his perceptive powers were strong 
 and active ; so that wherever he was, in company 
 or alone, at home or traveling abroad, he found 
 himself at school, learning something for future 
 use, making observations and acquiring useful 
 knowledge. This was true of him, with regard 
 to all practical subjects. But it was peculiarly 
 evident, with reference to practical and experi- 
 mental religion. He possessed a knowledge of 
 spiritual things, ready, definite and precise, which 
 can be accounted for only on the principle that 
 " spiritual things are spiritually discerned." Of 
 these he seemed, to those who heard him preach, 
 — as a discriminating lady once said to me, — to 
 know more than others who possessed equal means 
 and equally favorable opportunities for acquisition ; 
 certainly more than most of his best-instructed 
 brethren. At least, his Christian knowledge, being 
 added to a strong faith, partook largely of the nature 
 of that knowledge which is experimental ; which 
 is felt in the heart, as well as seen in the under- 
 standing ; and thus, when imparted, warming the 
 souls of others into spiritual life, while shedding 
 light upon their path to heaven. 
 
 Dr. Codman possessed great versatility of intel- 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 249 
 
 lectual capacity. He was able to take a general 
 view of all subjects; and gather something, adapted 
 to his purpose, from all sources. His powers of 
 observation, as before stated, were strong and 
 active ; and his memory was ready and retentive. 
 But his powers of discrimination and quick dis- 
 cernment were peculiarly noticeable. He seemed 
 to see the conclusion in a logical deduction, with- 
 out the labor or delay of the ordinary process of 
 ratiocination. Hence he was noted for what has 
 been called common sense — that is, rapid reason- 
 ing, or judging correctly with little effort of com- 
 parison. He rarely made a mistake in his moral 
 judgment, even where his opinion was necessarily 
 formed without much deliberation. There was 
 something in this rapid action of his mind, like 
 instinct or intuition ; and I might, perhaps, ascribe 
 the result to an original and delicate taste. In some 
 modern analyses of mind, this faculty has been 
 denominated aesthetic, or that instinctive power 
 which discovers at once those relations of fitness 
 and adaptation on which the pleasant emotions of 
 beauty depend, without regard to their truth or 
 moral excellence ; — by which men discover the 
 beautiful and agreeable in form, color, sound, 
 and motion, without any direct regard to moral 
 
 32 
 
250 BEMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 qualities — to truth or error, right or wrong. To 
 me, however, the term taste seems to express the 
 whole idea, in the most definite manner. Indeed, 
 there was no quality of his mind more prominent 
 than that of taste, in the largest and best sense 
 of the term. He possessed a good degree of poetic 
 imagination. But his taste forjudging the works of 
 imagination far outstripped his genius for their exe- 
 cution. Of the best poets in the English language 
 he was peculiarly fond ; and he could point out 
 their faults, as well as their excellences, apparently 
 without the labor of criticism ; certainly without 
 the necessity of applying the technical rules of 
 the rhetorician and professional critic. 
 
 DR. cod:man's christian character and spiritual attainments. 
 
 To exhibit Dr. Codman as a Christian and a 
 man of deep and eminent piety, it is scarcely 
 necessary for me to add anything to what has 
 been made apparent in the records of the pre- 
 ceding reminiscences. His natural qualities, — his 
 intellectual and moral powers, with his distinguished 
 social accomplishments, — were all modified by the 
 grace of God ; and, by prayer and meditation, 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DE. CODMAN. 251 
 
 brought under the control of a steady regard to 
 the glory of God. 
 
 Of his habits of devotion, as secret and hidden 
 exercises of the soul, I cannot speak. Nor can 
 any one with propriety do it, without recurring to 
 the records of his experience made by his own 
 hand ; and such a delicate task belongs only to a 
 confidential biographer. It is no part of the office 
 of one who writes merely from his own memory 
 and personal observations, and records his own 
 reminiscences, his recollections, as they exist in his 
 own mind, and are formed from materials furnished 
 by his own previous observations. 
 
 Dr. Codman, I can truly remark, however, as I 
 had occasion to know, was " a man of prayer " — 
 habitual, fervent, persevering prayer. Though of 
 his closet devotion I cannot speak, yet of those 
 of the family and the pulpit I might say much. 
 For I had opportunity, both in my own family and 
 in his, in my own pulpit and in others, to unite 
 with him while he conducted the services of social 
 worship, and to observe their simplicity, directness, 
 humble confidence and fervor of spirit. In these 
 respects, his devotional exercises were always 
 distinguishable from those formal, cold, preaching 
 prayers, which too often, in the place of social 
 
252 REMINISCENCES OE DR. CODMAN. 
 
 worship, fall like lead upon the ear of man ; while, 
 as we have reason to fear, thej never reach, and 
 were never designed to reach, the ear of the 
 Almighty ; — from those prayers, which are evi- 
 dently studied to please men, and are sometimes 
 spoken of as eloquent prayers — which are not 
 offered, even, with the expectation of pleasing 
 God, drawing down the blessing of Heaven, and 
 procuring a spiritual '' refreshing from the presence 
 of the Lord." Such as these, were not the social 
 prayers offered by Dr. Codman. He was always 
 serious in his devotional exercises, humble in 
 confession, direct and earnest in petition, devout 
 and full of expressive emotion in strains of adoration 
 and thanksgiving ; and thus he carried along with 
 him the pious sympathies and holy aspirations of 
 every pious soul within the sound of his voice. 
 
 But in these remarks, I perceive that I am only 
 expressing my own views, according to my own 
 taste ; and giving nothing more than my own im- 
 pressions on the subject of Dr. Codman's personal 
 piety and the character of his devotional perform- 
 ances. Of course, such statements cannot furnish 
 conclusive evidence to those who never had the 
 privilege of uniting with him in acts of social 
 worship, and the opportunity of judging for them- 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 253 
 
 selves. There is, however, one view of the subject, 
 as it fell within my observation, which may give 
 strength to the evidence of simple testimony, and 
 enable those, who never saw or heard him, to judge 
 for themselves ; provided only, that they have some 
 analogous experience, connected with a delicate 
 taste in spiritual things. I allude to the ease with 
 which he referred all events, as they occurred, to 
 the providence of God, and the readiness with 
 which his mind was brought into a state of elevated 
 devotion. This general fact was so obvious, as 
 to be observed by all who knew him ; and to its 
 truth a multitude of witnesses, still living, might 
 be called to testify. He seems to have had the 
 fear of God so constantly before his eyes, and the 
 love of God so largely shed abroad in his heart, 
 as never to have been unprepared to enter into 
 the holy exercises of devotion, with his whole 
 soul. Not with more readiness and certainty 
 does the naturalist trace a newly discovered stream 
 to its source, than he referred every blessing to 
 the Source of all good, and every event to the 
 providence of God. 
 
 I recollect an incident, which happily exhibits 
 and beautifully illustrates this tendency of his mind. 
 Or rather, I remember his account of it, soon after 
 
254 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 its occurrence, with his statement of the feelings 
 which it excited in his bosom, and the train of 
 thought to which it led him. During the height 
 of his parochial trials, when he was beset with 
 difficulties, and oppressed with anxiety for the 
 result of the contest in which he was engaged, 
 and when there was a strong apprehension in the 
 minds of some of his friends that he would be 
 induced to retire and seek repose in some other 
 field of labor, — one afternoon, as he sat in his study, 
 it was announced to him that a large company of 
 little children, in order of procession, were slowly 
 and silently approaching his house. Not knowing 
 what had brought them there, and not suspecting 
 with what intent they had come, he rose and hastily 
 met them at the door, and, — no doubt in his usual 
 kind and happy manner, — saluted them. But, as 
 he stated to me, he was surprised and completely 
 overwhelmed by the declaration of one after another, 
 and finally all, with united voice, that they had come 
 to entreat their dear and beloved pastor not to leave 
 them, the lambs of the flock, and their afflicted 
 parents, as sheep without a shepherd. Said he, as 
 he related the incident, " Though I at once sup- 
 posed that they had been sent by their parents, I 
 could not help referring the whole to the providence 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 255 
 
 of God." "Nothing," he added, "could have ope- 
 rated more powerfully to cheer my drooping spirits, 
 and animate my hopes of final success, than this 
 simple incident. I thought I saw the hand of God 
 in it, and felt encouraged to buckle on my armor 
 anew for the contest. I remembered," continued 
 he, " that even our blessed Saviour expressed his 
 approbation when little children saluted him, with 
 their hosannas, in the temple ; and silenced the 
 objections of unbelief by referring the objectors 
 to the prophetic language of the Psalmist : ' Out 
 of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou 
 ordained strength, because of thine enemies.' Yes, 
 I thought, if the blessed Saviour, in his state of 
 humiliation and trials on earth, was pleased with 
 the hosannas of little children, how much more 
 should his humble ministers draw instruction from 
 such favorable indications of Divine Providence as 
 had thus been exhibited to me; — if the Great 
 Shepherd was pleased when little children came 
 to him, and even when in the arms of faith they 
 were brought to him for a blessing, how should 
 his under-shepherds rejoice, when they can secure 
 the affection and confidence of the children and 
 youth of their parish ; and how should they take 
 encouragement to labor to bring these lambs of 
 
256 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 the flock into the fold of the Great Shepherd and 
 Bishop of souls ! Yes, I seemed to hear him say 
 unto me, as he said to Simon Peter : ' Lovest thou 
 me ? — Feed my sheep ! — Feed my lambs ! ' " 
 
 This habit of referring all events and occur- 
 rences to the providence of God, led him to look 
 to the Spirit of God for direction and support in all 
 circumstances. It exerted a modifying influence 
 on all his powers and faculties, and gave direction 
 to all his propensities and pursuits. 
 
 His religion, as before intimated, modified his 
 natural cheerfulness, and directed his exuberant 
 flow of animal spirits ; so that he could be serious, 
 while cheerful ; and easily glide from the glee of 
 friendly greetings to the solemn exercises of social 
 worship ; and without any forced effort, or apparent 
 constraint, hold sweet converse with Christian 
 friends one moment, and the next be employed 
 in leading the devotional exercises of the pious, 
 in high and holy communion with the Father, and 
 the Son, under the evident influences of the Holy 
 Spirit. Though this remark may, in a measure, be 
 true of all eminently pious men, it was certainly 
 applicable to him, in a high degree and peculiar 
 sense. There was in his social conversation and 
 devotional exercises, a peculiar appropriateness to 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 257 
 
 time, place, and circumstances — a striking fitness 
 and precise adaptation, resulting from natural taste, 
 sanctified by divine grace. 
 
 His natural courage and innate fortitude were 
 likewise modified and regulated by the same 
 purifying and controlling influence. His fixed 
 religious principles prevented his courage from 
 running into rashness, and his fortitude from sink- 
 ing into obstinacy. Thus, where duty called, no 
 obstruction could shake his resolution, or turn him 
 from his determined course. But, where expe- 
 diency only was involved, "a little child might lead 
 him." 
 
 So too his compassion, and all the tender sympa- 
 thies of his nature, took their cast from his religion, 
 and were sanctified and directed by its principles. 
 His benevolence was truly a Christian benevolence. 
 Though he had the means of doing much in the 
 cause of benevolence, and actually did much, yet 
 he never did it from motives of ostentation, or 
 under the influence of excited feeling. What he 
 gave, was given after due deliberation. He divided 
 his charities among individual objects and benevo- 
 lent associations, after strict inquiry concerning 
 their comparative merits and importance ; and thus, 
 while he gave much and frequently, he always 
 
 33 
 
258 REMINISCENCES OE DR. CODMAN. 
 
 gave according to his own carefully formed and 
 discriminating judgment. His benevolence w^as 
 far removed from that profuse and indiscriminate 
 liberality, which always sounds a trumpet before 
 it, that it may attract the notice and secure the 
 applause of the world ; while it fails to obtain the 
 approbation of God, and often accomplishes but 
 little for the relief and benefit of suffering humanity. 
 Thus he distributed his bounties, especially for the 
 purposes of diffusing the know^ledge of salvation 
 and promoting the conversion of the world, with a 
 liberal but judicious hand. For, in the language 
 of the sermon preached by Dr. Storrs at his funeral, 
 we may ask, ''What enterprise of benevolence has 
 ever urged a just claim on the advocacy and pecu- 
 niary support of the church, that met not with a 
 cordial response from him ? What association of 
 unquestionable character enrolls not his name among 
 Its benefactors and its elected or honorary officers?" 
 Yes, he gave much, " cheerfully and of a willing 
 mind." While he rejected many imposing claims, 
 and was thought by some, who knew not his 
 motives and principles of action, to be too cautious 
 on the subject^ he readily and* cheerfully aided, 
 according to his views of their importance, all 
 those objects of benevolence which commended 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 259 
 
 themselves to his deliberate judgment. He once 
 said to me, *' that it was one of the most difficult 
 questions of duty which he had to decide, when 
 to give, and when to withhold his hand from 
 giving, — when he should bestow unsolicited, and 
 when he should refuse to grant the requests even 
 of the most importunate applicant for charity." 
 Indeed, I had opportunity to know that he often 
 gave, unasked. More than one instance of this 
 Christian " forwardness " fell within my own 
 observation. One case I may mention, without 
 impropriety. Once, when engaged in soliciting aid 
 for a public and well known cause of benevolence, 
 I met him in the streets of Boston ; and before 
 I had presented the claim to him, or made the 
 request, he kindly anticipated the application by 
 proffering a generous donation. To give unasked, 
 I believe, was his general practice ; where he had 
 a full knowledge of the case. For he remembered 
 that " the Lord loveth a cheerful giver ; " and he 
 loved to act under the influence of this high and 
 holy principle. 
 
 Thus all his natural qualities and social sympa- 
 thies, being sanctified by divine grace, and brought 
 under the control of Christian principle, produced 
 a highly finished moral, social, and Christian 
 
260 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 character — a character of great symmetry and 
 beauty, exhibiting an example worthy of imitation 
 in all the relations of life. 
 
 MIXISTEKIAL CHARACTEE, AS A PEEACHEE AND A PASTOR. 
 
 The various qualities of heart and intellect 
 combined, which I have ascribed to Dr. Codman, 
 constituted him, under the special call and dis- 
 tinguishing grace of God, *' a good minister of 
 Jesus Christ." 
 
 As a preacher he was solemn, impressive, and, 
 where prejudice had not been awakened, attractive 
 to all classes of people ; and always and everywhere 
 popular with those who concurred with him in 
 theological sentiment. This fact of his general 
 popularity arose, partly from his manner of writing 
 — from the style of his composition and the 
 character of his sermons ; and partly from his 
 manner of delivery — his pulpit eloquence. 
 
 His style was simple, neat, and perspicuous. 
 There was no affectation about it, and no appear- 
 ance of labored effort to embellish it, and crowd 
 it with ornament. What he had to say, he said in 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 261 
 
 plain Saxon words, with little transposition and 
 great directness. Yet, even in his most hasty 
 compositions, there was no want of ornament, nor, 
 for purposes of illustration and impression, any 
 deficiency of allusion to the analogies of nature 
 and art. He generally wrote rapidly, for his ser- 
 mons were usually written at large ; and amidst 
 his multiplied cares and pressing calls of duty, he 
 had but a short period allowed him for his direct 
 preparations for the pulpit. Hence simplicity of 
 thought, natural arrangement of words, with an easy 
 and unconstrained introduction of apt illustrations, 
 gave his style much of its beauty and attractive- 
 ness. But more of its excellency depended on 
 that instinctive taste, which was so prominent 
 among the natural characteristics of his mind. 
 This enabled him to give a peculiar appropriate- 
 ness to his discourses, and impart a directness to 
 their applications, always suited to the occasion, 
 and sometimes giving them great force and pun- 
 gency. 
 
 His delivery, too, corresponded perfectly with 
 the character of the style in which his discourses 
 were written. That, likewise, was simple and 
 peculiarly natural. He used much gesture ; but 
 it was always easy, and adapted to the subject 
 
262 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 and the occasion. It never appeared studied or 
 constrained ; but always seemed to grow out of 
 his subject, and to be prompted by the emotions 
 of his own soul. 
 
 He rarely spoke extemporaneously in the pulpit ; 
 and yet his manner very nearly resembled that of 
 the most gifted extemporaneous speakers. When 
 he first returned from Scotland, he preached alto- 
 gether memoriter. But it was perceived by a friend 
 and hinted to him, indeed he soon discovered 
 himself, that the effort of recollection often damped 
 the ardor of his feelings, influenced unfavorably 
 the modulation of his voice, and diminished the 
 animation and impressiveness of his utterance. 
 He accordingly discontinued the practice of com- 
 mitting his discourses to memory ; and henceforth 
 depended on spontaneous recollection, with an 
 occasional glance of the eye on his fully-written 
 manuscript. 
 
 Thus his style of writing and happy manner of 
 delivering his discourses, rendered his preaching 
 attractive and impressive. There was, however, 
 one quality of his preaching, connected both with 
 the style of his writing and the manner of his 
 speaking, which I hardly know how to describe — 
 a quality, without which all preaching is cold. 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 263 
 
 formal, and comparatively inefficient — a quality, 
 indeed, or rather a gift bestowed, in measure, on 
 all good preachers of the word of God ; but on 
 him in an eminent degree, I mean that power 
 which enables the preacher " to hide himself be- 
 hind his subject," and bring the souls of his hearers 
 into a condition to sympathize with his own soul, 
 and into communion with Him who is the end 
 of the law and the substance of the gospel which 
 he preaches; — that power, exhibited both in writ- 
 ing and speaking on the great themes of Chris- 
 tianity, which compels the hearers to feel that the 
 preacher is " serious in a serious cause " — that he 
 believes what he says, loves what he believes, 
 and feels experimentally and obeys practically, 
 what he thus loves, believes and commends to 
 others; — that power which shows the preacher's 
 inmost thoughts and deepest emotions, and gives 
 him a mysterious control over the thoughts and 
 emotions of his hearers — which brings out his 
 w^hole soul, absorbed in his holy subject, and 
 absorbing, with it, all kindred souls. This quality, 
 whatever called, this power, however obtained, this 
 "unction from the Holy One," Dr. Codman pos- 
 sessed, as it seemed to me, in an eminent degree ; 
 and, added to his other qualities, it made him an 
 
264 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 attractive and highly acceptable preacher to all who 
 loved the truth that he preached.* 
 
 The other branch of Dr. Codman's ministerial 
 character, his character as a pastor, was not, in 
 point of excellence, behind that which he possessed 
 as a teacher of the law of God, and a preacher of 
 the gospel of Christ. Among the people of his 
 charge, — at least among those who reciprocated 
 his kindness, encouraged his familiarity, and finally 
 adhered to his parish, — he was a familiar friend, a 
 kind father, a faithful shepherd. I have sometimes 
 thought, that, if three or four of the leading men 
 of the opposition in his parish had been absent from 
 the place for six months after his ordination ; and if 
 the parish itself had been isolated and kept from 
 surrounding influences during the same period, 
 his kind and affectionate manner and his general 
 
 * It was this quality in his preaching, which was probably the 
 means of building up his society so soon after his opponents with- 
 drew from it. The same thing, unquestionably, served to attract to 
 his house of worship, so confctantly, those men of taste and piety, 
 who made Dorchester their place of summer residence. I remember 
 a remark of the late Daniel Webster, which has a delicate bearing 
 on this point, as stated to me by Mr. Codman, soon after : " Sir," 
 said he, " I have become a temporary inhabitant of Dorchester ,* 
 and while I reside here, I wish to be considered as your parishioner ; 
 and in one respect you will find me a good parishioner — always in 
 my place at church every Sabbath — both parts of the day." 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 265 
 
 deportment, in his pastoral visits, would have won 
 the affections and secured the attachment of many 
 of those, who were finally drawn into the opposition, 
 so that they could never have been led astray by 
 all the arts of intrigue and allurement which might 
 have been subsequently practiced, and brought to 
 bear upon them. But however that might have 
 been, those persons who remained in connection 
 Math his church, as well as those who, subsequently 
 to the separation, became members of his parish, 
 manifested peculiar attachment to him, as their 
 pastor and friend. He was, indeed, a faithful and 
 affectionate pastor ; visiting all his flock, and watch- 
 ing over them in love. Especially was he noted 
 for his kindness and attention to the poor and 
 afflicted, to whom he diligently ministered, both in 
 things temporal and spiritual. 
 
 AN OBJECTION TO THE CONSISTENCY OF DR. CODMAN'S MINISTERIAL 
 INTERCOURSE, ANSWERED. 
 
 Thus have I finished the notices, which I pro- 
 posed to give, of the prominent traits and peculiar 
 characteristics of mind, as observed by me, in 
 
 34 
 
266 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 Dr. Codman ; and, especially, as displayed by him 
 during the period of my most familiar intercourse 
 with him. I should now close the record with a 
 single reflection on the whole scene of reminis- 
 cences as it lies together before my memory ; but 
 an apprehended difficulty, in some honest and 
 inquisitive minds, seems to demand of me a pass- 
 ing remark, by way of explanation, and in answer 
 to a plausible objection sometimes made against the 
 consistency of Dr. Codman's ministerial intercourse. 
 It has been asked, " with what propriety he could 
 apply, as he did, to Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Channing 
 to preach his ordination sermon. If he could not 
 conscientiously admit a Unitarian into his pulpit, 
 on exchange, why did he introduce a leader of that 
 denomination, as the preacher to himself and his 
 people, on an occasion so solemn as that of his own 
 public consecration to the work of the ministry ? " 
 The question has been often asked, and especially 
 by persons residing at a distance from the scene, 
 and not acquainted with the history of the rise and 
 progress of that denomination in New England. 
 
 At the time of Dr. Codman's ordination, there 
 was no known and acknowledged Unitarian min- 
 ister in Boston, or its vicinity, except Dr. Freeman; 
 and he was not a Congregationalist, but a lay- 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 267 
 
 ordained minister of a society, originally connected 
 with the English Episcopal church, and still at this 
 day retaining the modified forms and liturgy of that 
 church. The Congregational churches and their 
 ministers were none of them publicly known to be 
 Unitarian ; certainly none of them claimed the 
 name. Mr. Channing was then a young man, 
 recently settled, as a Congregational minister, over 
 a Congregational society. He was, too, among the 
 most serious and solemn preachers of the day. 
 Whenever he appeared in the pulpit, '' he spoke 
 like a dying man to dying men " — he preached 
 as if he felt a deep conviction of sin, and a fearful 
 apprehension of a coming judgment. No one in 
 all that region, as I well remember — for I often 
 heard him at the "Thursday lecture" — preached 
 with more solemnity, or more directness of applica- 
 tion, on the guilt of sin, the depravity of human 
 nature, the danger of impenitent sinners, the 
 holiness and spirituality of the divine law, the 
 glories of the divine character, and the riches of 
 redeeming grace. So solemnly and tenderly did 
 he preach on these and kindred subjects, and so 
 forcibly and pungently did he apply them to his 
 hearers, that some of his people, it was said, began 
 to be alarmed under the apprehension that he would 
 
268 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 come out, as they expressed their fears, " a rigid 
 Hopkinsian." Such, indeed, was his preaching, 
 and such was his conversation, that the most serious 
 portion of the community was attracted for a time 
 to his church and his study. For myself, I can 
 truly say, (for we entered upon the work of the 
 ministry nearly at the same time,) that there was 
 no minister in the vicinity whom I more loved 
 to hear, or with whom I more delighted to hold 
 familiar ministerial intercourse. Such intercourse 
 we held for several years, with confidence and 
 satisfaction on my part, and apparently on his. 
 This intercourse continued, with repeated exchanges 
 of pulpits and friendly discussions in our studies, 
 till, as I had occasion to observe, the general 
 current of his theological views was changed. 
 And with this observed change of his sentiments, 
 there was an evident modification of his feelings, 
 and a marked falling away from the former solemn 
 style and manner of his preaching. 
 
 When Mr. Codman invited him to preach at his 
 ordination, Mr. Channing had not passed under 
 the modifying influence of " the new philosophy." 
 Indeed, I have no doubt that whoever is permitted 
 to read his manuscript sermons, written in the 
 early part of his ministry, will find them differing 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 269 
 
 essentially from those discourses which constitute 
 his published works. 
 
 As a vindication of Mr. Codman against the 
 charge of inconsistency, let it be remembered, 
 then, that his ordination took place before the 
 public development of American Unitarianism — 
 certainly before Dr. Channing was thought to be 
 inclined to that theory of religion. Indeed, the 
 Dorchester ordination sermon, though not very 
 discriminating in theological sentiment, is full of 
 those solemn appeals and statements, which the 
 author never would have made after he had been 
 trained in the school, had imbibed the spirit and 
 become accustomed to the language, of controversy 
 — after he had exercised all his powers in con- 
 tending with Stuart and Worcester — certainly not, 
 after he had preached his noted Baltimore and 
 New York sermons.* 
 
 * I perceive that my recollections on the subject of this change in 
 Dr. Channing's preaching, and the development of American Unita- 
 rianism, perfectly harmonizes with those of Samuel Greely, Esq., of 
 Boston, for many years a deacon in the same church, of which Dr. 
 Channing was pastor. In his speech before the Unitarian Conven- 
 tion, recently held in Baltimore, where one of these sermons was 
 preached thirty-three years ago, he says, referring to this discourse : 
 " It was the earliest, open and bold avowal, before clergy and laity, of 
 the distinctive peculiarities of the Unitarian faith." 
 
270 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 It has been said that Dr. Channing's mind, 
 towards the close of life, reverted to his early 
 theological sentiments, and that the feelings ex- 
 hibited in his early preaching were revived. As 
 proof of this, the close of his last published dis- 
 course, delivered at Lenox just before his death, 
 has been referred to. But I understand that his 
 most intimate friends deny the alleged fact, and 
 explain away the adduced proof. I have no means 
 of settling the question. Nor would its decision 
 have any direct bearing on the subject under 
 contemplation. I have said, or rather written 
 enough, I trust, to vindicate Mr. Codman from 
 the charge of inconsistency, in selecting the pastor 
 of the church, where his surviving parent, with her 
 family, then attended public worship, to preach his 
 ordination-sermon. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 I close these reminiscences with the remark 
 with which I commenced, that the name of John 
 Codman belongs to the ecclesiastical history of 
 New England. For the work which he performed 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 271 
 
 for the Congregational churches of his country 
 has inseparably connected his name with their 
 prosperity, and will carry it down, covered with 
 honor, to future ages. It was indeed a great and 
 good work; difficult of execution, and requiring 
 a peculiar instrumentality. Its magnitude and 
 importance can scarcely be estimated by any, who 
 are ignorant of the state of the Congregational 
 churches, before the separation took place. Nor 
 is it less difficult for such persons to appreciate, 
 or even to perceive the beneficial effects, which 
 have resulted from it. I believe, however, that 
 both parties, both the orthodox and the liberal, as 
 they have been sometimes denominated, admit that 
 the separation has, on the whole, been beneficial ; 
 especially in its influence on the cause of peace 
 and social intercourse. I am confident, indeed, 
 that those who constitute the Orthodox portion of 
 the Congregational churches, generally, if not 
 universally, are glad of the change, and fully satis- 
 fied that the cause of religion has been promoted 
 by it. They think that the churches with which 
 they are connected, since the change took place, 
 are in a more flourishing condition — much revived 
 in their spiritual character, more harmonious in 
 benevolent action, exerting a higher and better 
 
272 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 discipline over their respective members, and even 
 increasing in number. They, who can look back 
 to the time of the separation and remember the 
 state of things which then prevailed, see, in the 
 present peace and prosperity of our Zion, much 
 to induce them to rejoice that the separation was 
 made. In Boston and the vicinity; through the 
 Commonwealth of Massachusetts ; in all parts of 
 New England ; indeed, wherever the Congrega- 
 tional organization of Christian churches exists, 
 they discover more unity, peace, spirituality, and 
 efficient Christian action, than these churches ever 
 exhibited, while they remained in that mixed state, 
 described in a former part of these reminiscences. 
 
 They look, for example, at Boston ; and instead 
 of seeing, what might be seen fifty years ago, 
 churches nominally Congregational, with a few 
 members, and those of various sentiments, — senti- 
 ments so antagonistic as to produce division in 
 feeling, neutralize all benevolent action, and destroy 
 all efficient discipline, — they now behold a large 
 number of Congregational churches, agreeing in 
 sentiment and united in action ; built upon the 
 same Apostolical foundation ; contending earnestly 
 for '* the faith once delivered to the saints " ; 
 exercising over their respective members, and over 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 273 
 
 each other, a watchful care and a sahitary discipline; 
 laboring together to promote the cause of religion at 
 home, and to send the gospel to the far distant 
 nations of the earth ; and thus obeying the last 
 command of the Head of the church, and fulfilling 
 the purpose for which he established a church and 
 directed his followers to act under some well- 
 adapted and efficient organization. 
 
 Thus great and good was the work, performed 
 by Dr. Codman for the Congregational churches ; 
 and no one, after contemplating the severe trials 
 through which he was compelled to pass, in 
 accomplishing it, can fail to perceive that it was 
 a work of great difficulty. It is doubtful whether 
 there was any other minister, possessing such 
 qualifications, and surrounded by such favorable 
 circumstances of location, wealth and friends, in 
 all the region, as to have been able to accomplish 
 it with success. But God seems to have raised 
 him up for the express purpose, and furnished 
 him with all the means and facilities for the arduous 
 work ; — to have given him his birth at the proper 
 time and in the proper place ; to have endowed 
 him with the best-adapted talents ; and so to 
 have controlled the course of his education, and 
 ordered all the circumstances of his settlement 
 
274 REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 
 
 in the ministry, as best to qualify him for the 
 work, and enable him to accomplish it in the best 
 manner. 
 
 I do not mean to say that there were not, at 
 the time, other ministers as good and as great as 
 Dr. Codman. But there were none who possessed 
 all the requisite talents and qualifications which 
 were united in him, and who were surrounded 
 with all the favorable circumstances of location, of 
 friendship, and of wealth, which came to his aid. 
 Nor do I intend to intimate, that he labored 
 alone — that he was the only instrument employed 
 by Heaven, to produce this ecclesiastical sepa- 
 ration, so important to the peace and prosperity 
 of the Congregational churches of this country. 
 But certainly he took the lead in the work, 
 and was the most prominent instrument in its 
 accomplishment. 
 
 Well, therefore, may it be said, that the name 
 of John Codman belongs to the ecclesiastical 
 history of New England, and deserves a prominent 
 place among the distinguished ministers of the 
 Congregational churches. Well may all the friends 
 of the peace, purity and order of these churches, 
 rejoice and bless God, that he raised him up at 
 the appropriate time, placed him in the most 
 
REMINISCENCES OF DR. CODMAN. 275 
 
 favorable situation, qualified him for the work, 
 sustained him under his severe trials, aided him 
 him in his arduous labors, and crow^ned his efforts 
 with success. 
 
SERMONS 
 
SEEMON I 
 
 THE PERSON OF CHRIST. 
 
 REVELATION xxir. 16. 
 
 I AM THE ROOT AXD THE OFFSPRING OF DAVID, AND THE BRIGHT AND 
 MORNING STAR. 
 
 To meditate upon Christ, is the delight of the 
 Christian. To select suitable subjects for such 
 meditation is no difficult matter; for the Bible is 
 full of Christ, from Genesis to Revelation. The 
 most ancient of sacred historians, in his account of 
 the creation of the world, directs our attention to 
 the seed of the woman, who was to repair the 
 ruins of the fall. The Prophets loved to prophesy 
 of the Child that was to be born, of the Son that 
 was to be given, and to describe the glories of his 
 kingdom in the latter daj. The Angels ushered 
 the new-born Infant into the world with songs of 
 celestial harmony. The Evangelists and Apostles 
 recorded, with inspired faithfulness, the minutest 
 
280 SERMON I. 
 
 actions of his life, and the precious truths that fell 
 from his lips. 
 
 The appearance of the promised Messiah in our 
 world was an event of unspeakable importance to 
 our race, upon which hung our immortal and eternal 
 destiny. It is not surprising that the most intense 
 curiosity should have been excited with regard to 
 the true person and real character of the Messiah. 
 Some entertained one opinion, and some another. 
 Some thought that he was John the Baptist, some 
 Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the Prophets ; 
 and some few, including the Apostle Peter, thought 
 that he was the Christ, the Son of the living God. 
 This last opinion the Saviour himself pronounced 
 correct, and accompanied his decision with a special 
 blessing upon him who expressed it. " And Jesus 
 answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, 
 Simon Bar-jona, for flesh and blood hath not re- 
 vealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in 
 heaven. And I say also unto thee, Thou art Peter, 
 and upon this rock I will build my church, and the 
 gates of hell shall not prevail against it." 
 
 As in the time of the Saviour, so in our day, 
 different and opposite opinions are entertained of 
 the person of Christ. Some regard him as equal 
 with the Father, and some as inferior to him, pos- 
 
THE PERSON OF CHRIST. 281 
 
 sessing only delegated authority. That there are 
 difficulties attending this important subject, will 
 not be denied. Some passages of Scripture, taken 
 separately, seem to teach one doctrine, and some 
 another. But we are not to judge of any doctrine 
 by a few disjointed and separate texts, but by 
 comparing Scripture with Scripture. And especially 
 with regard to the person of Christ, — the subject 
 which has occasioned so much controversy in the 
 Christian world, — we ought to be exceedingly 
 careful not to form hasty and undigested opinions, 
 but prayerfully and humbly to consult the whole of 
 the sacred oracle, in the Old as well as in the New 
 Testament, trusting in the guidance of Him who 
 hath said, " If any man do the will of my Father 
 in heaven, he shall know of the doctrine, whether 
 it be of God." 
 
 But principally are we to look for the most 
 satisfactory information on this important subject, 
 to our Lord Jesus Christ himself. Surely he is 
 the very best authority. When he condescends to 
 speak of his own nature and person, every mouth 
 should be stopped, and the most implicit credence 
 given to his declarations. This he has done, very 
 clearly and fully, in several parts of that most 
 interesting and remarkable book, called the Reve- 
 
282 SERMON I. 
 
 lation of Saint John. In the commencement of it, 
 he declares himself to be ' the Alpha and Omega, 
 the first and the last, the beginning and the ending, 
 which is, and which was, and which is to come, 
 the Almighty ; ' and in the close of the same book, 
 he repeats this declaration, and in addition to it 
 affirms, in the words of the text, *' I am the Root 
 and the Offspring of David, and the bright and 
 morning Star." 
 
 The first part of our subject tends to reconcile 
 many, and some apparently opposite views of the 
 person of Christ. The Messiah is sometimes 
 spoken of as the Mighty God, and sometimes as 
 a new-born infant. He is represented as an object 
 of contempt and abhorrence, and at the same time 
 as universally admired and adored. Sometimes he 
 is said to live forever, and sometimes to die on the 
 cross. He is called the Lord, and yet the Son — 
 the Root and the Offspring of David. Nothing 
 can be conceived more opposite than the characters 
 which were thus represented as combined in the 
 person of the Messiah. But the Pharisees noticed 
 only those passages which flattered their pride, and 
 raised their expectations of temporal grandeur. 
 Our Lord, therefore, often directed their attention 
 to their own prophecies, which described the 
 
THE PERSON OF CHRIST. 283 
 
 Messiah in a more humiliating view. The miracles 
 of Jesus had given abundant evidence of his divine 
 mission. On account of them, therefore, the Jews 
 were bound to believe in him. His humiliation 
 was as clearly foretold as his power and glory; and 
 the accomplishment of it, in his outward state, was 
 an additional reason for their acceptance of him as 
 their Saviour. A due attention to the Scriptures 
 which they professed to understand and explain, 
 would have led them to a discovery of this truth. 
 Hence our Lord, on a particular occasion, solicitous 
 not merely to confound, but to convert and save 
 them, said unto them, " What think ye of Christ, 
 whose son is he ?" They said unto him, "The son 
 of David." So far they correctly answered the 
 question. But our Lord proposed a difficulty arising 
 out of this answer, which they could not so readily 
 solve. " He said unto them, How then doth David 
 in spirit call him Lord, saying. The Lord said unto 
 my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make 
 thine enemies thy footstool. If David then call him 
 Lord, how is he his son ? " This question they 
 could not answer, without admitting the claims of 
 Jesus to be the Son of God as well as the son of 
 David, without acknowledging that our Lord united 
 in one person the two natures of God and man. 
 
284 SERMON I. 
 
 This hypothesis would have explained at once the 
 difficulty. But this they could not admit, without 
 acknowledging our Lord's divinity. The language 
 of our text explains the difficulty. '' I am the Root 
 and the Offspring of David." On the supposition 
 that Christ possesses two natures, the difficulty 
 vanishes. As man^ he may be called the son of 
 David ; and as God, David may, with the strictest 
 propriety, call him Lord. The importance of this 
 distinction in speaking of Christ is very great. It 
 tends to remove many difficulties which, upon any 
 other scheme, would be insuperable. For instance, 
 in one part of the Bible, our Lord informs us that 
 he and his Father are one. In another place, he 
 says, "My Father is greater than I." The Apostle, 
 in speaking of Christ, says, "Who being in the 
 form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal 
 with God ; " and our Lord is frequently repre- 
 sented as a man subject to human infirmities — 
 a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. 
 
 Now if we admit not the distinction of the two 
 natures of Jesus Christ, these passages certainly 
 contradict each other; but upon the supposition 
 that two natures are united in the same person, 
 they are immediately reconciled. In his divine 
 nature, Christ and the Father are one. In his 
 
THE PERSON OF CHRIST. 285 
 
 human nature and mediatorial character, the Son 
 is inferior to the Father. As the second person 
 in the Godhead, it was no robbery for Christ to 
 claim equality with the Father ; but in his human 
 nature, it became him to be made in all things 
 like unto his brethren. Indeed, the denial of the 
 two natures of Jesus Christ is the fruitful source 
 of all the errors respecting the person of Christ, 
 which prevail among us. Their advocates produce 
 all those texts which apply to Christ's human 
 nature and mediatorial character, and which ive 
 acknowledge represent him as inferior to the 
 Father ; and they endeavor to explain away those 
 texts which relate to his divine nature and pre- 
 existent state. In this way, they perplex many 
 minds with painful and distressing doubts with 
 regard to one of the most important doctrines of 
 Christianity. 
 
 But let it ever be remembered, that the Lord 
 Jesus Christ unites in one person the two natures 
 of God and man. He is both the Root and 
 the Offspring of David. The importance of this 
 doctrine will appear, if we consider that both the 
 glory of Christ and the salvation of men are con- 
 nected with it. On the union of the divine and 
 human natures, the sufficiency of Christ, as a 
 
286 SERMON I. 
 
 Saviour, depends. If he were a mere creature, his 
 obedience could not merit any thing for us. All 
 that he could do would be nothing more than his 
 bounden duty ; and after all, he would be only an 
 unprofitable servant, neither would his sufferings 
 have made any atonement for our sins. There is 
 no proportion whatever, between the sufferings 
 of one creature for a time, and the sufferings of 
 myriads of creatures to all eternity. As sin is an 
 infinite evil, and exposes the sinner to an infinite 
 punishment, nothing short of an infinite atonement 
 could save him from destruction. An infinite 
 atonement could not be made by a finite being. 
 Nor is there any such distance between the highest 
 and lowest of creatures, but that they must be 
 equally unable to take away the sins of a ruined 
 world. 
 
 Now, were it not for the divine nature of Christ, 
 united with his human nature, he could not have 
 made a sufficient atonement ; and consequently the 
 whole race of man must have remained forever 
 miserable. Besides, were it not for the blessed 
 union of the two natures in our Redeemer, his 
 intercession would be utterly unavailing in our 
 behalf. It is the sufficiency of his atonement to 
 satisfy the demands of law and justice, that forms 
 
THE PERSON OF CHRIST. 287 
 
 the basis of his intercession. Let that foundation 
 be sapped, bj a denial of his Godhead, and the 
 whole superstructure must fall at once. On the 
 other hand, if he be God, as well as man, his 
 obedience, his sufferings, and his intercession, are 
 exactly such as God's honor and man's necessities 
 required. 
 
 But the importance of this subject will appear, 
 if we consider, that on a knowledge of this union 
 of the two natures in Jesus Christ, our salvation 
 depends. Without such a view of Christ, we can 
 form no just idea of his character. As we should 
 be wholly ignorant of our own nature, if we 
 supposed we were destitute of souls, so should 
 we be of Christ's nature, if we were unmindful 
 of his divinity ; for it is his divinity which gives such 
 a value and efficacy to his sufferings. Were his 
 nature not divine, we should never be encouraged 
 to approach him as our Saviour. Who that felt 
 the burden of sin, — its evil, its bitterness, and its 
 plague, — would ever think of applying to a creature 
 for relief? Our dependence upon a creature must 
 be limited ; for, if it were unlimited^ instead of 
 saving us, it would only subject us to God's heavy 
 displeasure, who will not suffer us to offer to a 
 creature the homage due only to the Creator. 
 
288 SERMON I. 
 
 But to obtain salvation, we must love Him, in 
 whom we trust, supremely, and depend upon his 
 merits, entirely. This we could not do, if Jesus 
 Christ were a created being, without incurring the 
 guilt of idolatry and blasphemy. If we think of 
 Christ only as a creature, our knowledge of him, 
 to say the least, would be confused, our gratitude 
 feeble, and our dependence vain. How important 
 then is it, that we should have correct views of the 
 Saviour as the Root and the Offspring of David, 
 as God and man mysteriously united in one person. 
 For want of this scriptural view of the person of 
 the Saviour, how many have defective views of the 
 whole plan of salvation. We speak not now of the 
 heathen who never heard of Christ, for they cannot 
 believe on him of whom they have not heard ; but 
 we speak of those who hear of Jesus from Sabbath 
 to Sabbath, but who see no beauty in him that they 
 should desire him ; who live under the light of the 
 gospel, but whose eyes are blinded by the god of 
 this world. 
 
 It is enough to make a Christian weep, if he 
 has any sensibility, to behold so many immortals, 
 whose souls are as precious as his own, unmind- 
 ful of the Saviour's excellence and inattentive to 
 his gracious invitation. Shall the Root and the 
 
THE PERSON OF CHRIST. 289 
 
 Offspring of David make an atonement for sin, to 
 raise us to glory, and is it possible, that the very 
 creatures for whom this stupendous sacrifice was 
 made should treat it with indifference, and refuse 
 to be saved by such precious blood ! If angels 
 rejoice in the salvation of one single sinner, surely 
 they must weep, if such holy beings can shed a 
 tear, to see so many thousands of precious souls 
 preferring death to life, and hell to heaven. Even 
 among those who do think occasionally of a Saviour, 
 it is painful to reflect on the number who entertain 
 low, mean, unworthy thoughts of his glorious person. 
 How many deny his divinity, and consider him only 
 as a good man, a great prophet, and an inspired 
 teacher. We cannot think too highly of the Son 
 of God. We can never exalt the Saviour too high, 
 nor debase the sinner too low. We need not be 
 afraid of offending Christ by thinking too highly 
 of him ; but there is infinite danger of incurring 
 his displeasure by unworthy thoughts of his personal 
 character. He is the Root and the Offspring of 
 David, and the bright and morning Star. 
 
 Having dwelt so long on the first part of the text, 
 but little time remains to consider the beautiful 
 metaphor by which our Lord represents himself to 
 the Apostle John — the bright and inorning Star, 
 
 37 
 
290 SERMON I. 
 
 the Divine teacher, who hath knowledge and truth 
 in himself; who, like the morning star, dispels the 
 clouds of night, and ushers in the light of day. 
 ' He is the true light, which lighteth every man 
 that cometh into the world. He is the glory 
 of his people Israel, and a light to enlighten the 
 Gentiles.' 
 
 Did our time permit, we might dwell upon the 
 beautiful parable in the text. As the morning star 
 is distinguished from other planets and stars, as the 
 harbinger of approaching day, so the Lord Jesus 
 Christ is the harbinger of great joy to all nations. 
 How joyful was the period when the Dayspring 
 from on high first visited our dark and guilty world ! 
 'The people that sat in darkness saw a great light, 
 and to them who sat in the valley of the shadow of 
 death, did light break forth.' The coming of Christ 
 was the fulfilling of God's gracious promise unto 
 the fathers, and the blessed manifestation of God's 
 rich favor and good will to men. 
 
 But we must forbear. We can only express our 
 gratitude to God for placing this bright and morning 
 Star in the moral firmament, to be a light to those 
 who sit in darkness, and to guide our feet into the 
 way of peace. What a blessing is it, that in this 
 dark and gloomy world we have a bright and 
 
THE PERSON OF CHRIST. 291 
 
 morning Star to illuminate the darkness, and to 
 direct us on the way to happiness and heaven. 
 What encouragement under all the trials and 
 vicissitudes of life, that we can turn our eye 
 upwards, and behold its celestial light, shedding 
 its bright and cheering beams upon our pathway, 
 and animating us with the prospect of a brighter 
 day. 
 
 Let us then be exhorted to look unto Jesus, in 
 all times of our trouble, temptation and trial ; and 
 when we discern his presence with an eye of faith, 
 we may hail it as the harbinger of peace and 
 comfort. And in that hour, when all earthly con- 
 solations fail, when the darkness of the grave seems 
 ready to cover us with its gloomy shroud, how 
 transporting is the glimpse which the dying believer 
 takes of the bright and morning Star, the sure 
 precursor of that glorious, eternal day, which awaits 
 him in the world of spirits. Then, as his dying 
 eye is fixed upon its mild and steady light, he 
 may depart in peace, with the assured hope of a 
 brighter day, a glorious resurrection, and a happy 
 immortality. 
 
 Christian friends ! We have been meditating 
 upon Christ as the Root and the Offspring of 
 
292 SERMON I. 
 
 David — the bright and morning Star. What 
 theme can be more appropriate to the solemnities 
 of a sacramental occasion ? With what holy awe, 
 with what fervent love, with what devout adora- 
 tion should we behold an Incarnate God, as he is 
 evidently set forth crucified before us ! 
 
 Were it not for the views we entertain of the 
 two natures of the Saviour, were it not that he 
 is God-man, the ordinance we are now to observe 
 would be a cold, unmeaning rite. We are assem- 
 bled together to commemorate the death, not of a 
 mere martyr, but the vicarious sufferings of the Son 
 of God. In this sacred ordinance, we remember 
 the Root and the Offspring of David — the Son 
 of David, and David's Lord. As the Offspring 
 of David, he died on the cross ; as David's Lord, 
 his sufferings received a value which has rendered 
 them efficacious to the salvation of all who believe 
 on his name. 
 
 Approach, then, ye humble disciples of Jesus — 
 ye who are not ashamed of your Master — ye who 
 believe in the mystery of his incarnation — ye who 
 desire to imitate his holy example, and to im- 
 bibe his blessed spirit. For you this feast was 
 instituted. You will welcome its return with 
 heartfelt joy and gratitude. You will gather around 
 
THE PERSON OF CHRIST. 293 
 
 this table, and renewedly pledge your allegiance 
 to the best of Masters ; and may the Root and 
 Offspring of David meet you at his table, and arise 
 in each of your hearts as the bright and morning 
 Star. Amen. 
 
SERMON II 
 
 ON PRAYER 
 
 MATTHEW VI. 5, 6. 
 
 AND WHEN THOIT PRAYEST, THOU SHALT NOT BE AS THE HYPOCRITES ARE : 
 FOR THEY LOVE TO PRAY STANDING IN THE SYNAGOGUES, AND IN THE 
 CORNERS OF THE STREETS, THAT THEY MAY BE SEEN OF MEN. VERILY, I 
 SAY UNTO YOU, THEY HAVE THEIR REWARD. BUT THOU, WHEN THOU 
 PRAYEST, ENTER INTO THY CLOSET, AND WHEN THOU HAST SHUT THY 
 DOOR, PRAY TO THY FATHER WHICH 13 IN SECRET; AND THY FATHER, 
 WHICH SEETH IN SECRET, SHALL REWARD THEE OPENLY. 
 
 Prayer is the very life of religion. It is the 
 thermometer, if I may so express myself, of the 
 soul. In proportion to its lively exercise, its sincere 
 desires and fervent aspirations, may be determined 
 the degree of grace that exists in the soul. Prayer 
 is the Christian's breath. A body, from which the 
 breath has departed, may as well be said to live 
 and move and have a being, as an individual, who 
 is an utter stranger to prayer, can be said to have 
 a spiritual existence. It is prayer that connects 
 
ON PRAYER. 295 
 
 the soul, while in this probationary state, with the 
 heavenly world. By prayer, man holds communion 
 with his Maker, rises above this lower world, and 
 has a foretaste of joys yet to be revealed. In 
 answer to prayer, God bows the heavens and comes 
 down and dwells with man. He bends from his 
 lofty throne, and listens to the breathing of a pious 
 soul. His ear, which is forever saluted with the 
 angelic choir, hymning adoration and praise, is open 
 also to the sighing of a broken and contrite heart ; 
 and the prayers of his elect, in this lower world, 
 are continually ascending, in one cloud of incense, 
 before his holy seat. Prayer too is the weapon, 
 with which the Christian fights all his battles, and 
 by which he overcomes all his foes of earth and 
 hell. It is a precious instrument in the Christian's 
 armory. The moment it begins to rust, his enemies 
 begin to triumph. Like the best and choicest 
 metals, it brightens with use, and improves by time. 
 Prayer, also, is the bond of Christian union. It 
 binds the disciples of the Lamb together, though 
 separated by seas and mountains. It levels all 
 distinctions, and, at one throne of grace, unites 
 the rich and poor, the high and low, the bond 
 and free. 
 
 A duty so important, we may well suppose 
 
296 SERMON II. 
 
 would engage the attention of the great Teacher 
 of mankind, who came into the world to atone 
 for sin, and open a way of access to the mercy- 
 seat. It was he alone who could make the sin- 
 ner's prayer acceptable ; for it is the very essence 
 of acceptable prayer, that it should be offered in 
 a Redeemer's name, and be perfumed with the 
 incense of a Saviour's merits. If any one was 
 authorized to instruct the world respecting the 
 duty of prayer, it was the Author of the text ; 
 for, in addition to his being divinely appointed 
 to teach mankind, he was a bright example of 
 the duties he taught, and of none more remarkably, 
 than of that enjoined in the text. Jesus Christ, 
 in his human nature, was eminently a man of 
 prayer. He spent whole days and nights in the 
 exercise of this sublime and delightful employment. 
 How often do we read of his retiring, even from 
 his disciples, for secret prayer. When exhausted 
 by wearied nature, they sunk into the arms of 
 sleep, their divine Master was maintaining inter- 
 course with his Father by earnest prayer. Who 
 then so well qualified to discourse on this subject, 
 as he who was the brightest example that ever 
 shone, of earnestness and fervency in prayer ? 
 I will not spend time in proving that prayer is 
 
ON PRAYER. 297 
 
 a duty ; because I will not suppose that there is an 
 individual in the congregation who will deny it. 
 But, though all will assent to the necessity and 
 importance of prayer, I fear there are few who 
 realize it so deeply, as to make it their meat and 
 their drink. It may therefore be useful to consider 
 its necessity and importance. 
 
 The necessity and importance of prayer may be 
 urged, perhaps sufficiently, from this consideration 
 alone, — that God has been pleased to establish a 
 connection between the request on our part, and 
 the bestowment of his favors. After enumerating 
 a number of blessings which he had in store for 
 ancient Israel, he says, " I will yet for this be 
 inquired of by the house of Israel to do it for 
 them." He may, it is true, and he sometimes 
 does bestow his favors unasked ; but this is not 
 his usual method of operation. When he sees 
 best to depart from this method, it is with a view 
 to display the sovereignty of his grace. But these 
 instances are so rare, that it would be folly and 
 madness in the extreme, to expect the blessing 
 without first seeking it in prayer. If, then, our 
 blessings, temporal and spiritual, must flow to us 
 through this medium, we cannot but acknowledge 
 the necessity and importance of the duty of prayer. 
 
298 SERMON II. 
 
 But to perform this duty merely from this motive, 
 from the expectation of what we are to receive, 
 would be selfishness, altogether inconsistent with 
 the disinterested spirit of the gospel. The child 
 of God does not pray merely with a view to have 
 his petition granted, any more than we breathe 
 merely with a view to live. Prayer is something 
 more than a bare petition for favors desired. It is 
 the holy aspiration of a holy soul in addressing a 
 holy God ; and without this there can be no real, 
 acceptable prayer. We may desire any temporal 
 blessing, and ask it of God ; but unless in so doing 
 our souls are drawn out in holy desires, unless we 
 ask in the name of Christ, and pray in the Spirit, 
 the petition cannot be considered a prayer ; it cer- 
 tainly is not the prayer of faith, and we cannot 
 expect an answer. 
 
 But the necessity and importance of prayer may 
 be farther urged, from the consideration that it is 
 absolutely essential to the existence of the divine 
 life. There can be no life of God in the soul 
 without prayer. There can be no communion 
 with God and with Christ, no fellowship with the 
 saints, no intercourse with heaven. Prayer is the 
 key, that opens the door of holy communion. It 
 is the wing, that raises the soul from earth to 
 
ON PllAYEK. 299 
 
 heaven. It is the carrier between the lower and 
 the upper worlds. To prayer we are indebted for 
 all that holy joy, for all those happy frames, for all 
 those heavenly anticipations which constitute the 
 Christian's song in the house of his pilgrimage, 
 and which form a pleasing contrast, and more than 
 equal balance, to those distressing feelings, those 
 gloomy thoughts, and those anxious forebodings 
 which every Christian has, in a greater or less 
 degree, to encounter in struggling with his cor- 
 ruptions, and in passing through an enemy's country 
 to his heavenly home. 
 
 The Saviour cautions his disciples against hypoc- 
 risy in the discharge of this solemn and important 
 duty. There is nothing more offensive to God, 
 and more disgusting to every serious mind, than 
 hypocrisy in religion, especially in the duty of 
 prayer, which, of all other duties, seems to require 
 sincerity and truth. 
 
 When we consider that the Being whom we 
 profess to address in prayer seeth the heart, and 
 is acquainted with every latent motive, however 
 studiously it may be concealed from men, it seems 
 in the highest degree astonishing, that any should 
 be so presumptuous as to attempt to deceive an 
 omniscient God and to mock the Searcher of 
 
300 SERMON II. 
 
 hearts. The persons to whom the Saviour alludes 
 by the appellation, hypocrites, were the Scribes 
 and Pharisees, whose hypocritical conduct was 
 frequently the subject of his severe reprehension 
 and cutting reproof. They were remarkable for 
 their long prayers and sanctified appearance, while 
 they devoured widows' houses, and indulged in all 
 manner of secret wickedness. Such characters, 
 however, are not peculiar to the Jewish nation, 
 nor to the times in which the gospel was written. 
 They exist now, and will exist, as long as the 
 hearts of men remain unrenewed by divine grace. 
 There are now, no doubt, to be found among 
 us, hypocrites who love to pray standing in the 
 synagogues or places of public worship, that they 
 may be seen of men. 'Verily,' says the Saviour, 
 ' they have their reward.' That is, they have what 
 they desire, the esteem of their fellow-creatures, 
 upon whose credulity they impose ; but they have 
 none from Him who seeth not as man seeth, and 
 who will render to every man according to his 
 work. But let no one suppose, — from this caution 
 of the Saviour's not to imitate the hypocrites, who 
 love to pray standing in the synagogues, — that all 
 public prayers and public exercises of religion are 
 to be avoided. This is evidently not the meaning 
 
ON PRAYER. 301 
 
 of the Saviour. He was very far from discouraging 
 the public worship of God ; on the contrary, he 
 recommended it both by precept and example. 
 He himself sacredly observed the public religious 
 institutions of his country, and attended with his 
 countrymen the synagogue on the Sabbath day. 
 " It is of private prayer only," says Bishop Porteus, 
 "that our Lord is here speaking; and the hypocrites 
 whom he condemns were those ostentatious Jews 
 who performed their devotions, which ought to 
 have been confined to the closet, in the synagogues, 
 and even in the public streets, that they might 
 be noticed and applauded for their extraordinary 
 piety and sanctity. But this reproof could not 
 possibly mean to extend to public devotions in 
 places of worship. This is evident, from the corners 
 of streets being mentioned ; for these are places 
 in which public devotions are never performed." 
 All that the Saviour intended was, to condemn the 
 motive by which hypocrites are actuated — that they 
 may he seen of men. And this motive, so far as 
 it prevails in our public assemblies, is certainly 
 to be condemned. Be careful then, my hearers, 
 when you engage in religious exercises in public, 
 that you be influenced by a sense of duty to God, 
 and not by a desire to he seen and heard of 7nen. 
 
302 SERMON II. 
 
 Especially should ministers of the gospel, whose 
 office it is to appear in public, guard against 
 spiritual pride. Thej, more than other men, are 
 in danger of splitting on this rock upon which so 
 many have foundered. Let private Christians also, 
 as well as ministers, suffer a word of exhortation. 
 If God has given you gifts, beware lest your gifts 
 prove your ruin. There is reason to fear that many 
 private Christians, who possess remarkable gifts in 
 prayer, have been greatly injured by the ill-judged 
 praise of their brethren, and have insensibly been 
 influenced by the motive of being heard of men. 
 No objection can be raised from our text to meet- 
 ings for public prayer, provided they are conducted 
 in a proper manner, and provided those who engage 
 in public exercises are not influenced by the motive 
 of being seen and heard of men. 
 
 Our Lord, however, takes this opportunity of 
 urging upon his disciples the all-important and 
 essential duty of secret prayer, without which all 
 public prayer will be vain, and worse than in 
 vain. — But thou, when thou prayest, enter 
 
 INTO THY CLOSET, AND WHEN THOU HAST SHUT 
 THY DOOR, PRAY TO THY FATHER WHICH IS IN 
 SECRET ; AND THY FATHER, WHICH SEETH IN SECRET, 
 SHALL REWARD THEE OPENLY. 
 
ON PRAYER. 303 
 
 On the duty of secret prayer, too much cannot 
 be said. It is perhaps the best criterion by which 
 we can judge of our state before God.^ Those who 
 habitually and conscientiously practice this duty, 
 and who take delight in its observance, entirely 
 unnoticed, and, as far as possible, unknown to 
 otherS) have the best evidence that they can have 
 of a state of grace ; w^hile those who neglect the 
 duty altogether, and those who but partially perform 
 it, to say the least, have reason to entertain doubts 
 of their spiritual state. The temptations to neglect 
 this duty are so strong, that nothing but a principle 
 of grace can preserve us in its constant and habitual 
 observance. I believe there are few, if any, but 
 have been tempted partially to neglect this all- 
 important duty. Few so habitually realize the 
 divine presence and their own accountability, as 
 not occasionally to dispense wdth closet duties, or, 
 if they regularly attend to the performance of them, 
 sometimes to engage in them with cold indiffer- 
 
 * It is the nature of true grace, that however it loves Christian 
 society in its place, yet it, in a peculiar manner, delights in retire- 
 ment, and secret converse with Godi So that if persons appear greatly 
 engaged in social religion, and but little in the religion in the closet, 
 and are often highly affected when with others, and but little moved 
 when they have none but God and Christ to converse with, it looks 
 very darkly upon their religion. — Edwards on the Affections, p. 363. 
 
304 SERMON II. 
 
 ence and lifeless formality. Alas, the generality 
 of Christians, even of the most sincere and most 
 pious, must mourn their remissness in the discharge 
 of this duty. 
 
 As this duty is so infinitely important, and so 
 absolutely essential, we cannot urge it too much. 
 If any have been tempted to forsake their closets, 
 to neglect to pray to their Father w^hich is in secret, 
 let me urge upon them an immediate attention to 
 this neglected duty. A neglect of this duty is the 
 commencement of backsliding, and of all those evils 
 attendant on a state of apostasy. If you value the 
 peace of your own souls, if you value heaven, if 
 you dread hell, go back and visit your neglected 
 closets. There pour out your souls to Him '' who 
 seeth in secret." In secret, confess all your sins. 
 Mourn over the hardness of your hearts, your 
 remaining corruptions, and your indwelling sin. 
 In secret, open your whole heart to God. Conceal 
 not its plague. It will be a relief to you thus to 
 unburden your soul, and it will be pleasing to God 
 to hear the groanings of your spirits ; for a broken 
 and a contrite heart he will not despise. In secret, 
 acknowledge all the mercies you daily receive from 
 the hand of your great Benefactor. He loves a 
 grateful, as well as a contrite heart. In secret, 
 
ON PEAYER. 305 
 
 also, spread all your wants before God. Specify 
 them particularly. However minute, they will be 
 regarded by Him, without whose knowledge not 
 a sparrow falleth to the ground, and by whom the 
 hairs of our head are all numbered. In secret, 
 too, remember all for whom it is your duty to 
 pray. When none are present but a heart-search- 
 ing God and yourself, you may use particular 
 expressions, which would be improper on more 
 public occasions. 
 
 It was said of one of the former ministers of 
 Boston, Dr. Cotton Mather, that he was in the 
 habit, in secret prayer, of praying for his children 
 and the members of his church by name. I do 
 not mention this for universal imitation, but merely 
 to exemplify my idea of the freedom which may be 
 taken in secret prayer, which would be manifestly 
 unsuitable on other occasions. The closet is the 
 place where we may indulge a holy freedom in 
 addressing the throne of grace. Unawed by the 
 presence of critical hearers, and trusting for ac- 
 ceptance in that Being who regards the humble 
 prayer of the illiterate as well as of the learned, the 
 Christian can pour out his soul in holy aspirations 
 before the mercy-seat. 
 
 " The absence of every human witness," says 
 a9 
 
306 SERMON II. 
 
 a pious writer,^ " emboldens us to throw off all 
 restraint, which would prevent the freedom of our 
 address to God, and invites us to pour out our 
 hearts before him. There, each one can enter into 
 his own particular case ; and where is the genuine 
 Christian who has not some important concern to 
 transact with God, which he could not express 
 before any creature, however near and intimate. 
 As deceit lies in generals, the sincerely pious wish 
 to enter minutely into all their sins, infirmities, 
 wants and woes ; but whom could we intrust with 
 this unreserved confession, but Him to whose eye 
 our hearts are transparent ? In the closet, the 
 numerous class of Christians who complain of being 
 destitute of the gift of prayer, females and young 
 persons, may call upon God, unencumbered with 
 the shackles of a form of prayer. Here, the 
 spontaneous language of an overflowing heart 
 offends no one's ear, however ungrammatical, or 
 even contradictory it might sound. In this hidden 
 sanctuary we may perform that secret, solemn act 
 of personal devotion, the surrender of ourselves 
 to God, and our acceptance of him, in ' an ever- 
 lasting covenant never to be forgotten.' " 
 
 In recommending the subject of secret prayer. 
 
 * The Rev. James Bennet, of Romsey, Eng. 
 
ON PRAYER. 307 
 
 the same devotional writer observes, *' What though 
 other parts of religion might seem more attractive, 
 have jou not observed, that in art and nature, as 
 w^ell as religion, the objects which obtrude them- 
 selves upon the sight may be more specious, but 
 the most essentially important retire from notice ? 
 The face and hands of the clock catch our eye, 
 while the main-spring, without which all the rest 
 would be an useless picture, is concealed from 
 sight. ' The human face divine,' with its life and 
 expression, excites most notice ; but it is the heart, 
 which lies hidden in the breast, visible only to the 
 eye of God, that by its energy and motion circulates 
 the blood, and preserves the whole frame from 
 death*. You admire the Iccives and flowers of the 
 plant ; but the root, which remains concealed and 
 disregarded, supplies the juices and maintains the 
 life and beauty of the whole. We may be more 
 stricken with the glory of public worship ; and 
 beholding such an assembly as thi^, exclaim, ' How 
 goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, 
 O Israel!' But let us never forget that the secret 
 devotion of the closet is so essential to the life 
 and value of our public services, that without 
 it the most specious appearances are but splendid 
 hypocrisy," 
 
308 SERMON II. 
 
 But there is a reward attendant upon the dis- 
 charge of this duty, which claims our attention 
 before we close the subject. ' Thy Father, which 
 seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.' Although 
 in the discharge of religious duties we should be 
 actuated, not so much by the hope of reward, as 
 from love to God, and a delight in the duty itself, 
 yet certainly it is not improper, that, like Moses, 
 ' we should have respect to the recompense of 
 reward.' We are assured that our heavenly Father 
 will not be an unconcerned spectator of our devo- 
 tions, nor be inattentive to our supplications. He 
 will reward us openly, by answering our petitions, 
 and granting our requests, so far as his wisdom 
 may see for our good, and for his glory, in ways 
 which will be openly seen and regarded by the 
 world. Indeed, the discharge of this duty carries 
 with it its own reward. What happiness does the 
 Christian enjoy in his closet ! He is abundantly 
 rewarded by the hours of sweet communion which 
 he is privileged to spend with his heavenly Father, 
 by that abstractedness from the world, and by that 
 elevation of soul and intercourse with heaven, which 
 are the happy effects of closet devotion. The 
 Christian, who lives by faith and secret prayer, 
 will not only be rewarded in this world, but will 
 
ON PRAYER. 309 
 
 be openly rewarded in heaven. The Being whom 
 he has so often adored in his closet, will own his 
 unworthy name before an assembled universe, and 
 will admit him to dwell forever in his presence with 
 this blessed plaudit, " Well done, good and faithful 
 servant ! " 
 
 Permit me now to close the discourse, by an 
 application to three classes of hearers. First, To 
 those who never pray ; Secondly, To those who 
 pray as the hypocrites ; and Thirdly, To those 
 who pray in secret, in sincerity and truth. 
 
 Are there any, now present, who never pray ? 
 Do you believe in a God, and do you think he 
 has no concern in the affairs of men ? Do you 
 not know that you are completely in his power, 
 and that he can do with you what seemeth good 
 in his sight ? And is it a matter of indifiference 
 to you whether you enjoy his favor, or suffer his 
 wrath ? Are you not sensible that you have 
 offended this just and holy, gracious and benevo- 
 lent Being ? And will you not ask forgiveness of 
 him ? Are you not afraid, that if you treat him 
 with entire neglect and contempt, he will reward 
 you accordingly ? Can you * abide the day of his 
 coming, can you stand when he appeareth ; for he 
 
310 SERMON II. 
 
 is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap.' 
 Are joLi not afraid to hear language like this 
 addressed unto jou : ' Because I have called, and 
 ye have refused, I have stretched out my hands, 
 and no one regarded, but ye have set at nought all 
 my counsel, and would none of my reproof; I also 
 will laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your 
 fear cometh, when your fear cometh as a desola- 
 tion, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, 
 when distress and anguish come upon you. Then 
 shall ye call upon me, but I will not answer ; ye 
 shall seek me early, but ye shall not find me ; 
 for ye hated knowledge, and did not choose the 
 fear of the Lord. Therefore shall ye eat of your 
 own way, and be filled with your own devices.' 
 
 Be persuaded, my friends, if you never prayed 
 before, to begin to-day. When you retire from 
 this house enter into your closets, and when you 
 have shut your door, pray unto your Father which 
 is in secret. Penitently confess all your past 
 transgressions. Conceal no darling sin ; but ' cut 
 off the right hand, and pluck out the right eye.' 
 Solemnly promise, that from this time forth you will 
 lead a new and holy life ; that wherein you have 
 done iniquity, you will do so no more ; and ask 
 of God to grant you his Holy Spirit to enable you 
 
ON PRAYER. 311 
 
 to perform all your good resolutions. Remember 
 that of yourselves you can do nothing ; that all 
 your sufficiency must be of God. Go to the cross 
 of Christ, and there learn to pray. Look at Him 
 whom you have pierced, and mourn. From his 
 veins flows the fountain, which was opened for sin 
 and all uncleanness, in which you must be washed 
 from all your filthiness, and cleansed from all your 
 idols. In his precious name you must pray, if you 
 expect to be heard : and whatever you ask the 
 Father in his name, believing, you shall receive. 
 And may God grant that many, who never prayed 
 before, may this day lift up holy hands, with a 
 humble and contrite heart, to the seat of mercy, 
 and find acceptance with that Being who heareth 
 and answereth prayer. 
 
 My subject now leads me to address a few words 
 to those of my hearers, who pray as the hypocrites. 
 Who you are I know not, nor do I wish to know ; 
 for I would avoid personalities, and yet be faithful. 
 But in a few words I will so describe you that 
 you may know yourselves. You come regularly 
 to the sanctuary of God, and stand praying in his 
 house ; but your motive is not to seek forgiveness 
 of God, and to inquire the way to heaven, but 
 to be seen of men. You even profess religion 
 
312 SERMON II. 
 
 and observe the ordinances of Christ, but at the 
 same time you are strangers to jour closets ; or 
 if jou ever visit them, if jou ever retire for prayer, 
 it is only to satisfy the remonstrances of conscience 
 which such a discourse as this may excite, but 
 which are soon forgotten when you mix again with 
 the world. My friends, if this is your character, — 
 and you may easily know whether it is, — I beg you 
 to pause and consider the danger of your situation. 
 You are attempting to deceive a Being, with whom 
 the darkness is as the light, and the night as the 
 day. But your attempts are vain. The Most 
 High seeth you and witnesseth all your hypocrisy, 
 and there is nothing he more heartily detests and 
 will more severely punish. If you continue in a 
 state of impenitence, read your doom in the word 
 of God. " The hypocrite's hope shall perish." 
 '* The hypocrites in heart heap up wrath." *' The 
 Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he 
 looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not 
 aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint 
 him his portion with the hypocrites." 
 
 I must now conclude by addressing a few words 
 of comfort and encouragement to those of my 
 hearers who pray in secret, in sincerity and truth. 
 
ON PRAYER. 313 
 
 However obscure and unknown you may be in 
 the world, you are not unnoticed, my praying 
 friends, by the great Jehovah. He is everywhere 
 present. He witnesses all your retirements. He 
 sees you in the midnight hour, when the eyes of 
 mortals are closed in sleep. He not only sees, but 
 hears. Not a sigh, not a groan escapes his attentive 
 ear. He not only sees and hears, but remembers. 
 He does not forget your wants, though he may not 
 immediately grant an answer to your prayers. He 
 loves to try the faith of his children, and to exercise 
 their patience. But be not discouraged. He will 
 answer prayer, if not in the way which you expect, 
 in a much wiser and better way. Be not weary 
 then of secret prayer, but continually enter your 
 closets and shut your doors about you. A con- 
 scientious attention to this duty will fit you for 
 all the scenes and events of life ; will support you 
 under all its trials, and strengthen you under all 
 its temptations. 
 
 " If I had gone to prayer," said a poor criminal 
 about to be executed for murder, " in the morning 
 of the day I committed the awful deed, I should 
 not have been left to have shed innocent blood." 
 The closet contains the Christian's armor. If he 
 does not put it on in the morning, he cannot expect 
 
 40 
 
314 SERMON II. 
 
 to overcome the enemies he may have to encounter 
 during the day. 
 
 " Finally," my Christian friends, " take unto 
 you the whole armor of God : above all, praying 
 always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, 
 and watching thereunto with all perseverance, and 
 supplication for all saints." Amen. 
 
SERMON III. 
 
 THE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT 
 
 Preached at Milton, October 18, 1836, at the Funeral of the Kev. Samuel Gile, D. D., 
 Pastor of the First Congreg-ational Church in that place. 
 
 MATTHEW XXV. 21. 
 
 WELL DONE, THOU GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT ; THOU HAST BEEN FAITH- 
 FUL OVER A FEW THINGS, I WILL MAKE THEE RULER OVER MANY THINGS : 
 ENTER THOU INTO THE JOY OF THY LORD. 
 
 We have assembled, my hearers, to pay a tribute 
 of respect to the memory of a much esteemed, 
 much beloved minister of Christ. The circum- 
 stances of the occasion are in themselves peculiarly 
 solemn and avi^ful. On the last Sabbath morning, 
 he stood in this desk in his full strength, and 
 apparently in perfect health, and offered public 
 prayer for his beloved people, for the church and 
 the world; and during the short interval of divine 
 service, he resigned his soul into the hands of his 
 Maker, and ascended to the heavenly temple, to 
 
316 SERMON III. 
 
 spend an eternal Sabbath in the presence of his 
 God. 
 
 There is something in the circumstances of his 
 removal from us, which, though tending to inspire 
 our minds with solemn awe, is calculated to im- 
 part comfort and support, and even to call forth 
 emotions of praise and thanksgiving. We know 
 that it is appointed unto all men once to die, and 
 that there is no discharge in that war; but there is 
 a great diversity in the manner in which it pleases 
 our heavenly Father to release his creatures from 
 life. Many are removed by lingering sickness and 
 wasting disease, and are called to much bodily pain 
 and suffering ; and these circumstances, too, are 
 mercifully ordered, especially where, as in most 
 cases, there is need of time and opportunity to 
 prepare the soul to stand before its God. But 
 where, as in the case of our departed friend, there 
 rests not the shadow of a doubt of personal piety 
 and habitual preparation for death, we cannot but 
 regard the very suddenness of the event as an 
 expression of divine benevolence. It seems to us 
 more like a translation than an ordinary dissolution. 
 We are reminded of Enoch, who walked with God, 
 and was not, for God took him ; and of Elijah, 
 who ascended by a whirlwind in a chariot of fire 
 
THE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT. 317 
 
 to heaven. The prayer so beautifully expressed 
 by a Christian poet, seems to have been remarkably 
 granted : 
 
 " O, that without a lingering groan, 
 I may the welcome word receive, 
 My body with my charge lay down, 
 And cease at once to work and live." 
 
 In the exercises of this solemn occasion, the duty 
 of directing your attention to the w^ord of God 
 for comfort and support, has devolved upon one 
 w^ho, w^hile he feels inadequate to its fulfillment, 
 from the sudden and aw^ful shock he has sustained, 
 as well as from the shortness of the notice, and the 
 uncommon excellence of the character he is called 
 upon to portray, cannot but acknowledge that 
 there is probably no one else, more intimately 
 acquainted with the private and ministerial char- 
 acter of the departed, and certainly none of his 
 brethren, by whom he was more sincerely esteemed 
 and affectionately beloved. '' Alas, my brother ! 
 very pleasant hast thou been unto me ! " 
 
 The words which I have selected as the theme 
 of the present discourse, are a part of the Saviour's 
 memorable parable of the talents. This parable is 
 familiar to you all, and it is unnecessary that I 
 
318 SERMON III. 
 
 should dwell upon it at the present time, any 
 further than to remark upon its connection with 
 the text. 
 
 The words of the text contain the approbation 
 of his Lord, as expressed to that servant to whom 
 he had intrusted five talents, and who went and 
 traded with the same, and made them other five 
 talents. " His Lord said unto him. Well done, thou 
 good and faithful servant ; thou hast been faithful 
 over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many 
 things : enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." 
 The natural division of the text will lead us to 
 consider : — 
 
 L The Character, and 
 
 II. The Reward, of the good and faithful ser- 
 vant. 
 
 I. The Character. In one sense, all the chil- 
 dren of men may be said to be the servants of God, 
 for they are all subject to the power and pleasure 
 of God, and are bound by the ties of creation and 
 providence to his service ; but especially is the term 
 servant applicable to those of his creatures who 
 have been redeemed from the bondage of sin and 
 Satan, to serve the living and true God ; and more 
 especially is it applicable to those who have devoted 
 themselves to the service of God in the gospel of 
 
THE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT. 319 
 
 his Son, and who have been solemnly set apart to 
 the high and holy duties of the Christian ministry. 
 It is in this restricted sense, that we propose to 
 consider it in the following discourse. 
 
 In attempting to describe the character of the 
 good and faithful servant, (or minister of Christ,) 
 I would notice, among others, the following parts 
 of which it is composed : Piety — good natural 
 talents and theological learning — practical wisdom 
 and prudence — love for souls — devotedness to his 
 work — ardent desires to promote the glory of God, 
 
 1. The character described in the text implies 
 piety, or personal religion. Without this, no pre- 
 tension whatever can be made to that character. 
 It is base hypocrisy for any man to profess to be 
 the servant of God, and especially the messenger 
 of Heaven to his fellow-men, who is destitute of 
 piety. This is the first, and most important and 
 essential qualification in a minister of the gospel, 
 without which he will be only a blind leader of 
 the blind. A man must be converted himself, 
 before he can hope to be instrumental in the con- 
 version of his fellow-men. To constitute a good 
 and faithful servant, or minister of Christ, that 
 change must first be effected in the soul, of which 
 our Lord spake to Nicodemus ; and the want of 
 
320 SERMON III. 
 
 which, if it disqualifies for admission to the king" 
 dom of heaven, surely disqualifies for the ministry 
 of reconciliation. Deep, and humble, and fervent 
 piety, is an indispensable requisite in the character 
 of the good and faithful servant. It is indeed the 
 basis, or foundation, upon vs^hich the character is 
 formed. 
 
 Next to piety, good natural talents and theologi- 
 cal learning are important constituent parts in the 
 character of the good and faithful servant. Without 
 these, however deep and fervent may be his piety, 
 the minister of the gospel cannot be a good and 
 faithful servant ; for they are absolutely necessary 
 to enable him to discharge the duties of his office. 
 Especially is a thorough acquaintance with divine 
 truth, as contained in the Scriptures of the Old 
 and New Testament, and sufficient talent wisely 
 to explain and faithfully to apply it, absolutely 
 necessary in a minister of the gospel. 
 
 Equally indispensable, in the character of the 
 good and faithful servant, is practical loisdom and 
 prudence. By which I mean a sound judgment, 
 wisely to discern the path of duty, — clearly to 
 perceive the difficulties by which this path is 
 sometimes surrounded, — and prudently to avoid, 
 or guard against them. This trait of character is 
 
THE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT. 321 
 
 of the first importance in the good and faithful 
 servant; and happy is that servant who pos- 
 sesses it. 
 
 Devotedness to his work and love to the souls 
 of men is an essential trait in the character of the 
 good and faithful servant or minister of Christ. 
 He enters the service of God in the ministry of his 
 Son, with entire devotedness and consecration to his 
 work. It is his great desire to spend and be spent 
 for Christ. His soul burns with a longing desire 
 for the salvation of his fellow-men. For this, he is 
 instant in season and out of season. He counts 
 not his life dear unto himself, that he may finish 
 his course with joy, and the ministry which he has 
 received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel 
 of the grace of God. He avails himself of every 
 opportunity to promote the salvation of his fellow- 
 men, especially of the flock committed to his 
 pastoral oversight. He will bear them continually 
 on his heart to the throne of grace. He will labor 
 for them both in private and in public, both in the 
 family and in the sanctuary. In all their concerns, 
 he will take the liveliest interest. In one word, 
 his whole soul will be in his work. 
 
 An ardent desire for the glory of God must 
 complete this brief and imperfect sketch of the 
 
322 SEEMON III. 
 
 character of the good and faithful servant. His 
 love for the souls of men springs from his desire 
 for the glorj of God. It is because he ardently 
 desires that God may be glorified, that he labors 
 for the salvation of souls. It is his great concern, 
 that the Saviour, whom he loves, may see of the 
 travail of his soul and be satisfied. He longs to 
 behold sinners converted to God, — multitudes 
 brought to the knowledge of the truth, — and the 
 church increase and flourish. 
 
 II. Let us dwell for a moment on the Re- 
 ward promised to such a character. " Well done, 
 thou good and faithful servant ; thou hast been 
 faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler 
 over many things : enter thou into the joy of thy 
 Lord." In this w^orld, the servant of Christ has 
 but a comparatively small sphere of labor assigned 
 him ; but, if he is faithful over a few things, he 
 shall be made ruler over many things. It is difficult 
 to conceive exactly of the nature of the reward 
 promised in this remarkable passage of Scripture, 
 because we are, as yet, ignorant of the employ- 
 ments of the saints in glory ; but we are led, from 
 the words of the text, to indulge the idea that 
 in the future state, the sphere of usefulness will 
 
THE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT. 323 
 
 be greatly enlarged. Heaven is not a state of 
 passive enjoyment, as some seeni to imagine. A 
 ruler over many things evidently implies, active 
 employment; and it is delightful thus to contem- 
 plate the heavenly world, as a place not of perfect 
 quiescence, but of active service in the employment 
 of the same Saviour for w^hom we delighted to 
 labor on earth. What new scenes of extended 
 usefulness may open upon the glorified spirit on 
 his admission into the heavenly world ! Here, he 
 has been faithful over a few things ; there, he shall 
 be made ruler over many things. Here, he has 
 conscientiously and faithfully discharged his duty 
 in the sphere allotted him by the providence of 
 God; there, he shall have other duties assigned 
 him, and be engaged in more sublime, more exalted 
 employments. 
 
 " Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." By this 
 phrase we may understand those joys which God 
 has prepared for those that love him ; — those joys 
 which were so feelingly described in this place, 
 on the last Sabbath morning, in the presence of 
 him who has since gone to realize them in heaven ; 
 — those joys which eye hath not seen, which ear 
 hath not heard, and which it hath not entered into 
 the heart of man to conceive ; — the joy of thy 
 
324 SERMON III. 
 
 Lord — the joj purchased for his people by his 
 sufferings and death ; — the joy of thy Lord — the 
 joy of beholding him face to face, without a veil 
 between ; the joy of dwelling forever in his pres- 
 ence, where is fullness of joy, and at his right hand, 
 where are pleasures forevermore. 
 
 Such is the reward of the good and faithful 
 servant; and such, w^e doubt not, is the reward 
 that awaited our beloved brother, who has been 
 removed from us in a manner so remarkably solemn 
 and affecting. 
 
 It may be expected, on this occasion, that I 
 should give some biographical account of that ex- 
 cellent man, whose lifeless and venerated form lies 
 before us, on its way to the narrow house appointed 
 for all the living. 
 
 I have had but little opportunity of knowing his 
 early history previous to my personal acquaintance 
 with him, soon after his settlement in this place. 
 He was born in Plaistow, New Hampshire, July 23, 
 1780. He was the son of Major Ezekiel Gile, an 
 officer in the revolutionary army, and one of the most 
 respectable inhabitants of the town in which he 
 lived. Both of his parents, it is believed, were pious, 
 and died in the triumphs of that religion which 
 
THE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT. 325 
 
 they professed. He entered Dartmouth College 
 in the year 1800; and I have repeatedly learned, 
 from those associated with him in college, as well 
 as from others, that he sustained an unblemished 
 character and a respectable standing as a scholar 
 during his connection with that institution. Upon 
 leaving college, he commenced the study of divinity 
 at Andover, under the superintending care of the 
 Rev. Jonathan French, a divine highly esteemed 
 in those days for his piety and orthodoxy, and. for 
 his success in training up young men for the sacred 
 nainistry. He was distinguished for his popularity 
 as a preacher. Few young men, at that period, 
 were so acceptable. His commanding presence, 
 his style, which was always rich in imagination, 
 his powerful and mellifluous voice, and especially 
 his holy unction and extraordinary copiousness in 
 addressing the throne of grace, rendered him always 
 a most acceptable and popular preacher. His ser- 
 vices were eagerly sought and highly appreciated, 
 and several promising fields of usefulness presented 
 themselves for his acceptance. The ancient and 
 highly respectable church of Christ in this place, 
 being destitute of a pastor, in consequence of the 
 resignation of the Rev. Dr. Joseph McKeen, Mr. 
 Gile was invited to take the pastoral charge of it 
 
326 SERMON III. 
 
 with great unanimity, and was ordained February 
 18, 1807. 
 
 His religious opinions were at that time well 
 known, and continued the same, without variation, 
 to the close of life. They were what have generally 
 been termed Orthodox, and were conformable to the 
 doctrines contained in the Assembly's Catechism. 
 He was attached to the good old system of faith 
 held by the fathers of New England. He was 
 remote, on the one hand, from a lax system of 
 theology, and on the other, from the extreme of 
 orthodoxy. He was a Calvinist of the old school.* 
 In the belief of these doctrines he lived, and in the 
 the belief of these doctrines he died. Although 
 decided and firm in his religious sentiments, he was 
 liberal and catholic towards those who differed from 
 him. Nothing was further from his bosom, than a 
 spirit of censoriousness and denunciation. He was 
 
 * The phrases, Old and JVeiv School, are variously understood in 
 different parts of the country. It is perhaps proper to state that 
 the distinction, as applied to Dr. Gile, is not intended to be made 
 in reference to the theological controversy that at present agitates 
 some sections of the American church, but rather to the distinction 
 that prevailed in New England when Dr. Gile commenced his 
 ministry. He had no relish for metaphysical speculations and new 
 systems of divinity, but harmonized in sentiment with such old 
 divines as Flavel, and Henry, and Watts, and Doddridge. 
 
THE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT. 327 
 
 willing that others should enjoy the same right of 
 private judgment he claimed for himself. He was 
 no polemic nor controversialist. His preaching 
 was not so doctrinal as that of manj. It was 
 rather experimental and practical. 
 
 He was distinguished above most men for his 
 extraordinary gift in prayer. There was a sub- 
 limity, a richness, a freedom, a copiousness in his 
 devotional exercises, that partook of the atmosphere 
 of heaven, and raised the souls of those, whose 
 devotions he guided, above this lower world, to 
 sweet and holy communion with God. 
 
 But it was not only in the house of God that our 
 departed friend exhibited the character of a good 
 and faithful servant. He was the affectionate and 
 devoted pastor out of the pulpit. In the chamber 
 of sickness, and around the bed of death, and in 
 the house of mourning, he was ever kind, soothing 
 and devoted in his personal attentions. He took 
 the liveliest interest in the temporal as well as in 
 the spiritual concerns of his flock. He was the 
 prudent counsellor, the timely peacemaker, the 
 confiding friend. But I need not dwell on the 
 excellences of his ministerial and pastoral character. 
 You knew him — you appreciated him — you loved 
 him. It was at home^ in his family and in the 
 
328 SERMON III. 
 
 midst of his flock, that his character shone in 
 brightest colors. He loved his home. He sought 
 not great things for himself. He shunned, rather 
 than courted, public life. He was not, however, 
 always suffered to remain in the retirement he 
 preferred, but was occasionally drawn out to ap- 
 pear before the public on interesting and important 
 occasions ; * and within a short period of his death, 
 he received a flattering notice of respect from a 
 university in a neighboring State. t In the education 
 of indigent pious youth for the gospel ministry, he 
 took the liveliest interest ; and was, at the time of 
 his death, the Secretary of the Norfolk Auxiliary 
 Education Society, and a member of the Board of 
 Directors of the Parent Society. Still it was in the 
 retirement of a country parish, and in the midst of 
 his family and friends, that the peculiar traits of his 
 excellent character were developed. 
 
 These distinguishing traits were benevolence — 
 
 *He was called to preach before The Foreign Mission Society 
 of Boston and Vicinity, — The Norfolk Education Society, — The 
 Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, — The Society for 
 Propagating the Gospel, — The Convention of Congregational Min- 
 isters, — and on several ordination and other public occasions. His 
 Sermon before the Foreign Mission Society was printed. 
 
 f He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the University 
 of Vermont, but a few months previous to his decease. 
 
THE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT. 329 
 
 prudence — consistency — patience under trials — and 
 great Christian meekness and forgiveness of in- 
 juries. 
 
 He was distinguished for benevolence. No man 
 felt more tenderly for the poor, and contributed 
 more, according to his ability, for their relief. His 
 heart overflowed with the milk of human kindness. 
 He felt for all in distress, and eloquently pleaded 
 for their relief. He was given to hospitality. His 
 house was ever open to his friends, and often to 
 strangers. He had a large heart ; and had his 
 means been as large as his heart, no case of distress 
 would ever have been unrelieved. 
 
 He was eminently distinguished for prudence. 
 In my intimacy with him, for nearly thirty years, 
 I never heard an unguarded expression fall from 
 his lips. His prudence might sometimes, perhaps, 
 have seemed to degenerate into excessive caution ; 
 but so rarely is this excellent trait of character to 
 be found, that we may be disposed to pardon the 
 fault into which it sometimes has a tendency to 
 lead. I have known few men more distinguished 
 for practical wisdom, than our departed friend. 
 
 He was no less distinguished for uniformity and 
 consistency of character. He was endued by nature 
 with a disposition peculiarly amiable ; and the grace 
 
 42 
 
330 SERMON III. 
 
 of God, superadded to it, rendered his temper 
 and conduct singularly uniform and delightfully 
 consistent. The same benignant smile played on 
 his countenance, in the family and in the social 
 circle, and was sometimes seen lingering there, 
 chastened by religious awe, in the house of God. 
 Consistency, that rare virtue, was one of his most 
 striking characteristics. 
 
 But the trait in the character of this excellent 
 man, which shone with peculiar lustre, was his 
 patience under trials, and great Christian meekness 
 and forgiveness of iiijuries. He had his trials, and 
 they were painful and severe. His trials, too, were 
 from those sources in which he was most keenly 
 sensitive — his family and his Jlock, 
 
 The loss of several children in infancy, he bore 
 with Christian submission. For several years, his 
 family consisted, besides the partner of his life, of 
 an only son and an only daughter. The former, 
 after a lingering illness, at a most interesting age, 
 he meekly resigned to the grave, without a murmur ; 
 and the latter, a confirmed invalid, has long been 
 the object of his tender care, and still lives to 
 mourn the loss of one of the best, one of the most 
 attentive fathers. I have been with our friend in 
 all these domestic trials, and I can bear testimony 
 
THE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT. 331 
 
 to the Christian meekness and exemplary patience 
 with which he has borne them. 
 
 His parochial trials, too, he endured with the 
 same meek, and quiet, and gentle spirit. I would 
 fain pass over this portion of his life without par- 
 ticular notice, as it is attended with so many painful 
 associations ; but justice to his memory, and the 
 development of his character in an interesting point 
 of light, compels me to notice it. 
 
 In all the circumstances attending his exclusion 
 from the other house of worship, and the erection 
 of this building, he exhibited a truly Christian spirit. 
 His trials, in the course of that unhappy controversy, 
 were painful and severe ; but he did not murmur 
 nor complain. He continued to manifest towards 
 those who differed from him in religious opinions, 
 and who wished to exclude him from the sanctuary, 
 the same kind, and yielding, and forgiving spirit. 
 He always considered himself as the pastor of the 
 church, and minister of the society, over which 
 he was originally ordained ; and was always ready, 
 when called upon, to perform the duties pertain- 
 ing to that office.* He never indulged in any 
 remarks unfavorable to those who differed from 
 
 * He was dismissed from the first parish in Milton, by an Ex-parle 
 Council, January (), 1834. The authority of this Council he never 
 acknowledged, and did not regard himself bound by its result. Hp 
 
332 SERMON III. 
 
 him ; but whenever he spoke of them, it was with 
 kindness and affection. The controversy had in 
 a great measure subsided. This convenient and 
 pleasant house had been erected by the churchy 
 who unanimously adhered to their beloved pastor, 
 through all his trials ; and there was every prospect, 
 that the evening of his days would be tranquil and 
 happy. But God's ways are not as our ways, 
 nor his thoughts as our thoughts. He had other 
 employment for his good and faithful servant. 
 Having been faithful over a few things, he is 
 made ruler over many things, and entered the joy 
 of his Lord. 
 
 And why should we mourn ? Why should we 
 wish him to return to share with us in the trials 
 of this sublunary scene ? We know that it is all 
 selfishness ; but, alas ! we are selfish creatures. It 
 is hard to part with those we love. We cling 
 even to their dust. 
 
 The bereaved and afflicted widow,* and the only 
 
 never considered that he unreasonably refused a Mutual Council, 
 which unreasonable refusal is necessary, accordinor to the decisions 
 of the Massachusetts Judiciary, to make the result of an Ex-parte 
 Council valid. 
 
 * Soon after his settlement in Milton, Mr. Gile was married to 
 Miss Mary Henley White, daughter of the late Isaac White, Esq., 
 of Salem, Mass. 
 
THE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT. 333 
 
 daughter, in her weak and suffering state, claim and 
 receive a large share in our tender sympathy. Their 
 breach is great like the sea, and He alone who hath 
 made the breach can heal it. To God, then — their 
 covenant-keeping God — we commend them. May 
 he sustain them in this hour of their deep afflic- 
 tion ! They may also rest assured of the most 
 tender sympathy from the ministerial brethren, with 
 whom the departed was so long and so intimately 
 connected.* They will never forget his widow 
 and his fatherless child ; but, in every way in 
 their power, it will be their privilege and duty to 
 console them. 
 
 Nor will this beloved church and society cease 
 to remember them, and to provide for their comfort 
 and support. They are a legacy left them by one 
 whom they can never cease to venerate and love. 
 Oh ! could he have been permitted to speak, when 
 his weeping family and weeping people gathered 
 around his dying couch, he might have addressed 
 them in language somewhat similar to that of his 
 dying Saviour, who, as he agonized on the cross, 
 
 * Dr. Gile was a member of the Norfolk Association of Ministers, 
 and was the first (who sustained a pastoral charge) that has died, 
 since the formation of the Association in 1811. His surviving 
 brethren, nineteen in number, have agreed to supply the pulpit, in 
 rotation, for the benefit of his widow. 
 
334 SERMON III. 
 
 when he saw his mother and the disciple standing 
 by whom he loved, said unto his mother, ' Woman, 
 behold thj son. Then saith he to the disciple. 
 Behold thy mother. And from that hour that dis- 
 ciple took her unto his own home.' Here are many 
 disciples, whom their pastor loved ; and we are 
 persuaded that his bereaved widow and fatherless 
 child will never want a home in their affections 
 and in their sympathies. 
 
 My beloved friends of this church and congre- 
 gation, — to you this solemn dispensation of divine 
 Providence is deeply affecting. Many of you were 
 admitted to the fellowship of the church during 
 the ministry of your late pastor, and you will ever 
 regard him as your spiritual father. You have 
 passed with him through peculiar trials, and they 
 have served to strengthen and cement the ties 
 which have bound you together. You have rejoiced 
 in his growing reputation and increasing usefulness. 
 Perhaps there never was a time when your beloved 
 minister was more engaged in his work, than at the 
 time of his removal from you. His fervent prayers, 
 during the last week, for a revival of religion, — if 
 not by his instrumentality, in any way which 
 might seem good to the great Head of the church, 
 — those who heard them will never forget. Ah ! 
 
THE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT. 335 
 
 little did you think that they were to be answered 
 in such a way ; that the Lord had no more work 
 for him to do on earth, and that it was reserved 
 for another to reap where he has soivn, O God ! 
 how unsearchable are thy judgments, and thy ways 
 past finding out. Even so. Father, for so it seemeth 
 good in thy sight ! 
 
 And now what remains, my friends, but to imitate 
 the example of your beloved pastor, — to be follow- 
 ers of him, as he was of Christ, A safer, a more 
 perfect human example, it will be difficult to find. 
 All will be constrained to admit the truth of this 
 remark, who had the opportunity of knowing him. 
 Personal enemies, I may say, he had none ; and 
 the enemies of the truth which he preached, cannot 
 but acknowledge that he was sincere^ conscientious^ 
 and consistent. His memory will be held in grate- 
 ful remembrance, by the inhabitants of this ancient 
 and respectable town, of every political and religious 
 sect. There will be but one opinion respecting his 
 character, and that will be, that he was a good 
 man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith ; that 
 he was an Israelite indeed, in whom there was no 
 guile. 
 
 Being dead, he will long continue to speak by 
 his luminous example. Fathers will delight to 
 
336 SERMON III. 
 
 hold him up to their children, as a pattern for their 
 imitation. His opinions will be regarded as almost 
 approaching to sacred authority, in times of future 
 excitement; and even those who disregarded and 
 forsook his ministrations when living, shall be 
 convinced that a prophet has been among them. 
 " His work on earth is now done, and his body 
 will go to its repose in the dust ; but the memorial 
 of his name and of his good deeds, will be still 
 fresh as the morning breeze, and fragrant as the 
 flower of spring." Even in this world his works 
 shall follow him ; and even here he shall receive 
 the plaudits of his fellow-men. But what are 
 these to the plaudit of his Judge ? — " Well done, 
 thou good and faithful servant ; thou hast been 
 faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler 
 over many things : enter thou into the joy of thy 
 Lord." 
 
 " Servant of God, well done ! 
 Rest from thy loved employ ; 
 The battle fought — ^the victory won, 
 Enter thy Master's joy. 
 
 Tranquil amidst alarms, 
 
 It found him on the field, 
 A veteran, clad with heavenly arms, 
 
 And with his red cross shield. 
 
THE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT. 337 
 
 His sword was in his hand, 
 
 Still warm with recent fight; 
 Ready that moment, at command. 
 
 Through rock and steel to smite. 
 
 At noon-day came the cry, 
 
 ' To meet thy God, prepare ; ' 
 He heard, and caught his Captain's eye, — 
 
 Then strong in faith and prayer, 
 
 His spirit, with a bound, 
 
 Left its encumbering clay ; 
 His tent, at sunset, on the ground 
 
 A darkened ruin lay. 
 
 The pains of death are past. 
 
 Labor and sorrow cease ; 
 And life's long warfare closed at last, 
 
 His soul is found in peace. 
 
 Soldier of Christ, well done ; 
 
 Praise be thy new employ ; 
 And while eternal ages run. 
 
 Rest in thy Saviour's joy." 
 
SERMON lY 
 
 THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES 
 
 Delivered before the Pastoral Association of Massachusetts, in Park-street Church, Boston, 
 May 24, 1836. 
 
 MATTHEW XVI. 3. 
 
 CAN YE NOT DISCERN THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 
 
 My respected Fathers and beloved Brethren : 
 
 In addressing you on this occasion, I feel 
 deeply impressed with a sense of the solemn 
 responsibility imposed by the duty I am called upon, 
 in the providence of God, to perform. Under 
 any circumstances, to the conscientious minister, 
 preaching must always be regarded, with unaffected 
 seriousness and trembling solicitude, as the great 
 ordinance of God in the conversion of the world. 
 To give to every one a portion in due season, 
 to warn the sinner to flee from the wrath to 
 come, and to comfort and establish the people of 
 God, though the ordinary duties of the Christian 
 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 339 
 
 minister, are not on that account the less solemn 
 and important. Who of my brethren present has 
 not felt a pressure of mind in selecting, on the 
 most common occasion, a subject appropriate to 
 the wants of the flock committed to his pastoral 
 care? — and who does not sympathize with the 
 preacher, when called to address a body of men 
 who sustain, themselves, the pastoral office, and 
 at whose feet he would willingly sit, to receive 
 that instruction which he is expected to give? 
 
 Pertinency to the occasion has always appeared 
 to me of the first importance in the selection of 
 a subject. Were I to address a congregation of 
 impenitent sinners, I would urge upon them the 
 duty of immediate repentance and faith in our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. Were I addressing the pro- 
 fessed disciples of the Saviour, I would inculcat 
 the necessity of personal holiness and growth in 
 grace. But, called upon as I am at this time to 
 preach to ministers^ to the pastors of the evangelical 
 Congregational churches of this Commonwealth, 
 I know of no subject more appropriate than a 
 consideration of some of the peculiarities of the 
 times in which we live, and of the appropriate 
 duties which these peculiarities impose upon min- 
 isters of the gospel. 
 
340 SERMON IV. 
 
 I am aware that I have selected a subject of 
 no little delicacy, and no inconsiderable difficulty. 
 A subject to which I feel incompetent, in a single 
 discourse, to do that justice which it demands. 
 But its importance has of late pressed so deeply 
 on my own mind, that I have felt constrained to 
 select it for the consideration of my fathers and 
 brethren, with the hope that it may be in some 
 humble degree useful in discovering that path of 
 duty, which it is desirable for myself, as well as 
 my brethren, to pursue, in these trying and eventful 
 times. 
 
 The words of the text, and the connection in 
 which they stand in the chapter from which they 
 are taken, are so familiar to my hearers, that it 
 is unnecessary to enlarge upon them. They are 
 adopted rather as a motto, to lead our thoughts to 
 the subject I have announced, than as containing 
 in themselves any distinct topic for discussion or 
 application. Permit me, then, in the following 
 discourse to call your attention, 
 
 I. To SOME OF THE PECULIARITIES OF THE 
 TIMES IN WHICH WE LIVE. And, 
 
 II. To THE APPROPRIATE DUTIES, WHICH THESE 
 PECULIARITIES IMPOSE UPON THE PASTORS OF THE 
 CHURCHES IN OUR CONNECTION. 
 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 341 
 
 In directing your attention to some of the signs 
 of our times, I shall confine my remarks to those 
 points which more immediately concern the church 
 of God, and the ministry of reconciliation. 
 
 I leave to others the consideration of the political 
 aspect of the times, — a subject, indeed, of no ordi- 
 nary interest, but more adapted to the genius of 
 the civilian, than to the taste of the minister of 
 Him ' v^hose kingdom is not of this w^orld.' It 
 was the preaching of those, who stepped out of 
 their sphere by dwelling upon the political char- 
 acter of the times, that Robert Leighton rebuked, 
 when he said : " While so many preach upon the 
 times, one poor brother may be allowed to preach 
 upon eternity." It is because of the bearing of 
 some of the signs of our times upon the spiritual 
 and eternal interests of men ; and, more particularly, 
 upon our own individual and professional duties, 
 that I am anxious to direct your attention to this 
 subject on the present occasion. 
 
 In remarking upon the peculiarities of our times, 
 I shall restrict myself to that view of the subject 
 which has a direct and immediate influence upon 
 the appropriate duties of the pastors of our 
 churches. 
 
 That a new and different aspect has been giveii 
 
342 SERMON IV. 
 
 to the state of opinion and action in this section 
 of the church, within a few years past, will not, 
 I presume, be questioned by any accurate observer 
 of the signs of the times. Within the memory of 
 the preacher, great changes have taken place on 
 these subjects in this Commonwealth, and through- 
 out our land — changes which most intimately affect 
 the state of religion and the duties of its ministers. 
 Our younger brethren would scarcely credit the 
 facts that might be communicated on this subject 
 by those who have been eye-witnesses of these 
 changes. With this consecrated place, where so 
 many pastors of the churches are now assembled 
 to pay their vows unto the Most High, are many 
 of these changes associated. Comparatively few 
 and feeble were the little band who, in those days, 
 gathered around the cause of evangelical truth, 
 and, in their weakness, but relying on Almighty 
 strength, laid the foundation of this spacious edifice. 
 Those were days which tried men's souls. They 
 were days of controversy, but it was a controversy 
 with those who had departed from * the faith once 
 delivered to the saints.' They were days of com- 
 parative weakness ; for God had not then exten- 
 sively poured out the influences of his Holy Spirit, 
 and blessed our churches with powerful revivals 
 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 343 
 
 of religion. They were times of limited effort ; for 
 the claims of the heathen at home and abroad, 
 the wants of the feeble and destitute of Christ's 
 flock, and the various benevolent objects which 
 constitute the glory of our times, were not then 
 heard in the length and breadth of our land, 
 through the medium of a thousand presses, and 
 from the mouths of innumerable living agents. 
 To those of us who remember the days of former 
 years, the change appears great indeed. We have 
 now fallen upon other times, — in many respects, 
 better times, but not without their peculiar dangers 
 and liabilities to abuse. 
 
 The times in which we live, my brethren, appear 
 to me to be distinguished for excitement. The 
 spiritual appetite seems to have changed, and, not 
 content with the plain and wholesome food which 
 satisfied our fathers, appears to crave viands more 
 highly seasoned, and more richly varied. 
 
 There seems to be an analogy between the 
 improvements of the age in the mechanical arts 
 and in our moral and religious movements. At the 
 present period, distance seems nearly annihilated ; 
 and by the wonderful power of art, we pass, almost 
 with the rapidity of the wind, from city to city, 
 through our widely-extended land, and may soon 
 
344 SERMON IV. 
 
 expect to cross oceans and traverse continents with 
 as much ease as our ancestors crossed the rivers 
 and hills of their native State. It is true, now 
 and then, a boiler bursts, and a number of precious 
 lives are lost bj the explosion ; or in some of our 
 western waters, while the majestic steamer is pass- 
 ing on its high pressure, with almost incredible 
 swiftness, its progress is instantly arrested by some 
 concealed and fatal obstruction, and the souls who 
 had committed themselves to its guidance, are pre- 
 cipitated in a moment into eternity. The accurate 
 observer of our times needs not, I think, to be 
 reminded of the analogy. 
 
 Improvements the most valuable, it will be 
 readily admitted, have been introduced into our 
 methods of conducting our moral and religious 
 enterprises. The wonderful power of the press, 
 has been made to bear upon these enterprises 
 with signal success. Knowledge has been ex- 
 tended with astonishing rapidity. The means of 
 religious instruction have been greatly blessed by 
 the Spirit of God; and in many parts of our 
 land, the most powerful revivals of religion have 
 been extensively enjoyed. 
 
 But is it not a fact, my brethren, that some 
 unhappy mixture of human depravity and selfish 
 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 345 
 
 and unsanctified excitement has been blended 
 with that which is spiritual and holy ? Under 
 the idea, which at first may have been enter- 
 tained with sincerity, of being co-workers with 
 the eternal God in the conversion of the world, 
 has not an impulse been sometimes given to 
 our religious movements by the hand of man, 
 other than the Spirit of God would approve ? 
 In carrying forward the great operations of the 
 church, has not a system of high pressure 
 sometimes been introduced, which has endan- 
 gered the safety of the church, and by its 
 re-action or explosion, retarded the conversion of 
 the world ? ' I speak unto wise men — judge ye 
 what I say.' 
 
 Another peculiarity of our times to which I 
 would call your attention, is the success attending 
 the exertions in the cause of moral reform. 
 
 Every friend of religion and humanity must re- 
 joice in the signal triumph of these efforts. The 
 Temperance reformation, in particular, has con- 
 stituted an era which will be regarded by after 
 ages as one of the brightest in the history of our 
 country. 
 
 Other objects of moral reform have successfully 
 engaged the attention of the friends of philanthropy 
 
 44 
 
346 SERMON IV. 
 
 and the rights of man ; but, if the preacher does 
 not much mistake, there is a tendency to extremes 
 in carrying into operation principles of acknowl- 
 edged and unquestionable importance. There is 
 a certain recklessness of consequences, character- 
 istic of the times in which we live, which seems 
 to set at defiance the cool judgment of thinking 
 men. On this subject it is unnecessary to enlarge. 
 It is introduced merely with a design to prepare 
 the way for the consideration of the appropriate 
 duties which such a state of things imposes upon 
 the pastors of the churches. Connected with this 
 is a spirit of censoriousness and denunciation, which 
 unhappily exists to an alarming degree among us. 
 Not content with pursuing a course of measures 
 to a point which others may consider as extreme, 
 there is a disposition, too apparent, to censure and 
 condemn those who, although they may agree in 
 great and fundamental principles, are not prepared 
 to go to the same extent in their application. 
 
 Another of the peculiarities of our times, to 
 which I must solicit your attention, is a spirit of 
 innovation and change, and love of novelty, I 
 would not plead for a blind attachment to creeds 
 and confessions of faith. They are not, I readily 
 admit, like the Word of God, the infallible stand- 
 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 347 
 
 ard of our faith ; and perhaps we have reason to 
 rejoice that the churches of our connection are 
 not, like those of some of our sister denominations, 
 bound together by any one confession of faith, 
 however excellent it may be. But still there is no 
 little danger of abusing our liberty by a departure 
 from the form of sound words, so long and so gen- 
 erally received by the churches of the Reformation, 
 and by an introduction of new doctrines, or rather 
 new views of old doctrines, which the Fathers of 
 the Reformation, and the Pilgrim Fathers of New 
 England would have regarded, to say the leasts 
 with much jealousy and distrust. 
 
 Is there not danger, my respected brethren, of 
 removing the landmarks which our fathers have 
 set— of weakening, in our zeal for philosophical 
 speculations, our confidence in those old-fashioned, 
 but not on that account less important, doctrines 
 of our intimate connection with the progenitors 
 of our race and the Redeemer of our souls, — 
 *' the Lord our righteousness?" If not openly 
 denied, are not these precious articles of " the 
 faith once delivered to the saints," explained away 
 by learned criticism, or made too little prominent 
 in our discourses from the pulpit ? Are we not 
 in danger, in our zeal for pressing the necessity 
 
348 SERMON IV. 
 
 of the sinner's immediate repentance and submission 
 to God, of undervaluing the righteousness of Him 
 who is exalted a Prince and a Saviour, to give 
 repentance to Israel and remission of sins ? and 
 of losing sight of our dependence on the influence 
 of that Divine Agent, who alone can ' take away 
 the heart of stone and give the heart of flesh,' 
 and make us ^willing in the day of his power?' 
 Are we not in danger of forgetting that ' by the 
 deeds of the law, no flesh shall be justified,' and 
 thus undervaluing that important doctrine of justi- 
 fication by faith alone, which Luther pronounced to 
 be the " articulus stantis vel cadentis ecclesice,^^ 
 
 Another peculiarity of our times is a spirit of 
 restlessness and uneasiness, which seems to pervade 
 alike the ministry and the churches. 
 
 Time was, when there was a permanency at- 
 tached to the pastoral office, which was alike 
 honorable to the ministry and to the people. 
 Many were the pastors, who, like Goldsmith's 
 Vicar, "ne'er had changed, nor wished to change 
 their place." In the quiet and unobtrusive dis- 
 charge of their ministerial duties, they passed the 
 years of their pilgrimage in one spot, blessing 
 and blessed. But, in this active and stirring age, 
 such a happy spectacle is rarely to be found. 
 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 349 
 
 Whether the frequent removal of pastors is de- 
 sirable or not, we will not stop to inquire ; or 
 whether the fault, if it is one, is in the ministry, 
 or in the churches, or in both, we will not pre- 
 tend to decide ; but we cannot but deprecate the 
 practice, which is becoming very common in our 
 churches, of settling their pastors for a limited 
 period. It is, in our judgment, calculated to lessen 
 the influence of the pastor, and to restrict his 
 usefulness. When a minister is introduced into 
 the pastoral office, it is desirable that the people 
 should feel that the relation is permanent ; and 
 that nothing but circumstances of paramount and 
 imperious necessity should be permitted to sever 
 the tie that has been thus solemnly formed. Nor 
 is this spirit of restlessness and uneasiness con- 
 fined to the frequent removals and dismissions 
 of ministers. It may be noticed, also, in the 
 members of the churches. There is, in too many 
 instances, a love of novelty and excitement, and 
 a disposition to leave the stated labors of the 
 faithful pastor, for the more stirring and exciting 
 appeals of the itinerant evangelist, or the eloquent 
 declaimer, or the proselyting sectarian. 
 
 I hasten to notice, in the last place, as one 
 of the signs of our times, the spirit of religious 
 
350 SERMON IV. 
 
 controversy and separation that threatens the peace 
 and unity of some portions of the American church. 
 No accurate and serious observer of the times in 
 which we live can have regarded the present 
 unhappy divisions that exist in a kindred denom- 
 ination, towards whom we delight to cherish the 
 most respectful and fraternal feelings, without the 
 deepest anxiety and concern. It does not be- 
 come us, nor would it accord with our feelings, to 
 express any opinion on the merits of that painful 
 controversy, which now agitates that large and 
 respectable body of our fellow Christians ; but 
 we may be allowed to learn wisdom from their 
 experience, and to profit by their example. It 
 is a subject of sincere and cordial congratulation, 
 that, notwithstanding the difference of opinion 
 that may perhaps exist on speculative points of 
 theology, there continues among the pastors of 
 the evangelical Congregational churches in this 
 Commonwealth, uninterrupted union and cordiality 
 of feeling. May the Great Head of the church 
 grant that it may be perpetual, and that « no 
 root of bitterness may be suffered to spring up to 
 trouble us, and thereby many be defiled.' Under 
 the blessing of God, it is evident that much will 
 depend upon the pastors of the churches them- 
 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 351 
 
 selves, whether their present union and prosperity 
 shall continue, or whether they shall be rent with 
 divisions, and become a prey to some of those 
 evils which have passed under review. 
 
 My brethren will therefore bear with me a little 
 longer, while I proceed as 1 proposed, in the second 
 place — To consider some of the appropriate 
 
 DUTIES, WHICH THE PECULIARITIES OF THE TIMES 
 impose upon THE PASTORS OF THE CHURCHES IN 
 OUR CONNECTION. 
 
 That the times in which we live are difficult 
 and trying, and call for no ordinary degree of 
 grace and wisdom, will not be doubted. Some 
 of the peculiarities to which we have alluded, 
 may perhaps have a tendency to excite disgust, 
 and produce a spirit of reaction in reflecting and 
 sensitive minds. Against this tendency we cannot 
 too carefully guard. We ought to remember that, 
 while in the present aspect of the times there 
 are some things to be deplored and to be avoided, 
 there are many more things to excite congratulation 
 and encouragement. We live, it is true, in a day 
 of excitement and commotion ; but it is a day, 
 also, of hope for the rapid advancement of the 
 Redeemer's kingdom. We must be content to 
 bear with some things that are trying to our sen- 
 
352 SERMON IV. 
 
 sibilities, for the sake of the greater good that may 
 arise out of others. Let us not, then, my brethren, 
 give way to disgust, and, because everything is 
 not conducted according to our taste and sense of 
 propriety, retire from the scene of action, or seek 
 relief in other connections, or in other pursuits ; — 
 but let us stand in our lot, and be stimulated by 
 those very things which try our patience, to increas- 
 ing fidelity and diligence in the Master's service. 
 
 The peculiarities of our times call for great 
 firmness and steadiness of purpose^ in the pastors 
 of the churches. When a youthful pastor, full of 
 ardor and religious projects, applied for advice to 
 a neighboring clergyman, a little more advanced 
 in years and experience than himself, he received 
 this memorable counsel, contained in one word, 
 thrice repeated : — Steady^ steady^ steady. It is 
 apprehended that there never was a time when 
 this advice was more necessary than at the present 
 period. Much depends upon the pastors of the 
 churches to regulate the religious movements of 
 the day. They are the divinely-constituted leaders 
 of the flock. No one more sincerely rejoices than 
 the preacher in the active and zealous and untiring 
 efforts made by the members of the churches, in 
 these times, in promoting revivals of religion, and 
 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 353 
 
 in advancing the benevolent enterprises of the day. 
 They are the Aarons and Hurs, without v^^hose 
 aid the hands of many a faithful pastor would 
 hang down, and his heart be discouraged. The 
 unwearied labors of our lay brethren are the bones 
 and the sinews of our ecclesiastical body. Happy 
 is that pastor who is supported by their influence 
 and animated by their zealous co-operation. But 
 it will not be denied, that in the economy of the 
 church much is expected of the pastor in the 
 personal oversight of the flock committed to his 
 charge. He may, and he will delight to avail 
 himself of the assistance and efforts of the brethren 
 in the discharge of some of his pastoral duties ; 
 but he ought not to forget that he is himself the 
 under-shepherd of the flock, and that there are 
 duties peculiarly and appropriately his own. 
 
 Independence of mind and action is another duty 
 which the present aspect of the times demands of 
 the pastors of the churches. I am far from wishing 
 to inculcate upon my brethren an opinionative, 
 dogmatic, or unyielding spirit. The faithful pastor 
 will endeavor, like the great Apostle, " to become 
 all things to all men ; " to yield his own opinion 
 and to sacrifice his own feelings in everything 
 in which the vital interests of the church are not 
 
354 SERMON IV. 
 
 concerned, for the sake of peace and union. But 
 there is a point, beyond which he cannot and 
 ought not to go. When he is required to sanction 
 principles and measures which his conscience does 
 not approve by his example and influence, he ought 
 to have independence enough to have an opinion 
 of his own, and to express that opinion on all 
 proper occasions. 
 
 I am aware that such a course requires no 
 little degree of independence, and may expose the 
 faithful pastor to many difficulties and embarrass- 
 ments. The temptation to espouse the popular 
 side, although in his judgment it may not be the 
 correct one, is strong and powerful. We all know 
 that it is much easier to swim with the tide than 
 to stem the current. And perhaps the love of 
 popularity, however we may disguise it, is a be- 
 setting sin with ministers of the gospel. 
 
 A great, and in itself laudable, desire to please, 
 sometimes blinds the devoted pastor, and prevents 
 him from discerning the path of his duty. But 
 while, like the Apostle, he will endeavor '' to 
 please all men in all things, not seeking his own 
 profit, but the profit of many, that they may be 
 saved," there will be occasions when, with the 
 same Apostle, he may be constrained to say, " Do 
 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 355 
 
 I now persuade men or God, or do I seek to please 
 men ? for if I seek to please men, I should not be 
 the servant of Christ." 
 
 The times demand great circumspection and 
 prudence and caution^ in those who are invested 
 ivith the sacred office, ''Be ye wise as serpents," 
 said Jesus to his Apostles, when he sent them 
 forth to preach the gospel. If there ever was a 
 time, since the days of the Apostles, w^hen this 
 direction was necessary, it appears to me it 
 is at the present period. The pastoral office, at 
 any time and under any circumstances, demands 
 great prudence and circumspection in those who 
 are intrusted with its holy functions. Next to 
 piety, prudence, or good common sense, has always 
 appeared to me the most iaiportant qualification 
 for the pastoral office. Good talents and sound 
 learning are desirable, but prudence is indispensa- 
 ble. How many, especially in these difficult times 
 when a man is sometimes made an offender by a 
 word, are the occasions for the exercise of pru- 
 dence ! A hasty or unguarded expression, a rash 
 or ill-concerted measure, will sometimes lead to a 
 train of consequences, which will issue in the 
 removal of a pastor, and in still more injurious 
 influences upon the church of God. In these times, 
 
356 SERMON IV. 
 
 ministers cannot be too cautious in committing 
 themselves to principles or measures of question- 
 able expediency. There are some subjects which, 
 if not immediately connected with pastoral duties, 
 it may be safer for the pastors of the churches 
 to regard with the eye of a spectator than with 
 the warmth and zeal of an enlisted advocate. 
 
 But, while the times require great caution and 
 prudence, they also call for the exercise of a con- 
 ciliating and affectionate spirit. The same authority 
 that bade the Apostles be ' as wise as serpents,' 
 enjoined them to be ' as harmless as doves.' A 
 meek and quiet, a gentle and affectionate spirit, is 
 exceedingly desirable in these times of excitement, 
 of controversy, and severe recrimination. Such a 
 spirit, the pastors of the churches ought to culti- 
 vate, as the best antidote against the censorious 
 and denunciatiory spirit of the times. 
 
 Another of the appropriate duties of the pastors 
 of the churches, imposed by the peculiarities of the 
 times, is the faithful and discriminate preaching of 
 the doctrines of the gospel, I know of no better 
 way to counteract the dangerous errors that have 
 been broached among us, than by the faithful 
 exhibition of divine truth. If we have reason to 
 apprehend that there has been a tendency to 
 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 367 
 
 neglect certain great peculiarities of the Christian 
 faith, let us learn from our mistakes to dwell more 
 upon them in future, to exhibit more clearly to 
 our people the ruined condition of Adam'^s race, 
 and the only way in which sinners can be saved 
 through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. While 
 we would call no man master, let us be careful 
 how we depart from that system of faith which 
 was the glory of New England in her brightest 
 day. Let us beware of that spirit of speculation 
 and novelty which, under the garb of critical 
 research, may have a tendency to sap the founda- 
 tions of our faith in some of the most precious 
 doctrines of the gospel. Above all, let us adhere 
 with uncompromising fidelity to the oracles of truth, 
 unshackled by the commentaries of uninspired and 
 fallible men. 
 
 The times require of the pastors of the churches, 
 particular attention to pastoral duties. Among the 
 multiplied and diversified objects of religious and 
 benevolent enterprise which characterize the present 
 day, there is no inconsiderable danger of neglecting 
 the ordinary, but highly important duties of the 
 pastoral care. Our religious and benevolent so- 
 cieties have claimed too much of the time and 
 labors of stated pastors. The practice that has 
 
358 SERMON IV. 
 
 SO generally prevailed, of calling upon the pastors 
 of the churches to manage the complicated affairs 
 of these institutions, has had a tendency to injure 
 or destroy the influence of some valuable ministers 
 of the gospel in their pastoral relation. While 
 sustaining this relation, the ministers of Christ 
 must devote themselves exclusively to their appro- 
 priate work. They must be ' instant in season 
 and out of season,' in the discharge of their 
 pastoral duties. Not only * in the temple, but in 
 every house, they must not cease to teach and 
 preach Jesus Christ.' In visiting the sick and 
 the dying, in comforting the afflicted and the sor- 
 rowful, in directing the inquiring sinner to the 
 way of salvation, in establishing the doubting and 
 desponding, in supporting the aged, and especially 
 in efforts to promote the religious instruction of 
 the young, the faithful pastor will find enough 
 to employ his head and his hands, and have but 
 little time left for the transaction of other business, 
 though it may relate to the concerns of the church 
 at large. Let able and devoted men be selected 
 and consecrated for the special service of directing 
 and managing the great enterprises of the day ; 
 but let the pastors of the churches confine them- 
 selves to their appropriate sphere, and feed the 
 sheep and the lambs of their flocks. 
 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 359 
 
 The peculiarities of the times require of the 
 pastors of the churches, increasing zeal, activity, 
 and consecration to their great arid appropriate 
 work. The times, we have seen, are distinguished 
 for excitement and for zealous efforts in the great 
 enterprises, religious, moral and benevolent, of the 
 present day. Ministers should not be behind the 
 times ; but, while they exercise a sound discretion, 
 and maintain a Christian spirit, they should be 
 the most forward in promoting the great objects of 
 benevolence, which are the glory of our age. 
 The Missionary enterprise, foreign and domestic, 
 the Education, Tract and Sabbath School opera- 
 tions, and the circulation of the Scriptures at 
 home and abroad, will receive the entire appro- 
 bation and cordial support of the pastors of the 
 churches ; and I am persuaded, that just in pro- 
 portion as these benevolent enterprises engage 
 the attention and the affections of ministers and 
 churches, will be the diminution of some of those 
 evils of our times, at which we have glanced in 
 the course of our remarks. 
 
 The signs of our times call for deep, humble 
 and devoted piety in the pastors of the churches. 
 This is, indeed, a requisition indispensable under 
 any circumstances that may be conceived; but 
 
360 SERMON IV, 
 
 the present times seem to me peculiarly to re- 
 quire a deep-toned pietj in the ministers of the 
 gospel. Nothing short of this can secure the pas- 
 tors of our churches from becoming a prey to some 
 of those evils which have been remarked as char- 
 acteristic of our times. To the naturally proud 
 heart of the unsanctified pastor, nothing can be 
 more hazardous than the spirit of excitement and 
 proneness to extremes which we have already 
 noticed. It finds a ready admission into his un- 
 holy bosom, and kindles there a flame of animal 
 enthusiasm which urges him on to unrestrained 
 irregularities and extravagance. Nor is the love 
 of novelty and innovation, which we have remarked 
 as characteristic of our times, less dangerous to 
 the unsanctified pastor. It finds in him that prone- 
 ness to Mean to his own understanding,' and that 
 desire to be ' wise above what is written,- so 
 congenial to the natural heart. When I have 
 trembled at the tendency to philosophical specula- 
 tion on religious doctrines, t have felt relieved by 
 the conviction that in some minds, that appear to 
 have discovered this inclination, there is at the 
 same time a deep and pervading spirit of piety 
 which may restrain this tendency within its proper 
 bounds. And my conviction is daily strengthened 
 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES* 361 
 
 that nothing short of the most humble and fervent 
 piety, will secure us from that spirit of innovation 
 and change which threatens the peace of our 
 churches. 
 
 The peculiarities of our times call for a spirit 
 of humble^ fervent and persevering prayer^ from 
 the pastors of the churches. My dear brethren, 
 we frequently address our people upon the neces- 
 sity of prayer, and urge them to the more frequent 
 and importunate discharge of this duty. Do we 
 not need to be stirred up to it ourselves ? What 
 reason does the brief view we have taken of some 
 of the peculiarities of our times present for the 
 deepest humiliation before God, and for earnest 
 supplications to Heaven for the forgiveness of what 
 is past, and for wisdom from above to direct us 
 for the time to come in the way of our duty ? If 
 there were more prayer among ministers, there 
 would be less unprofitable speculation, controversy 
 and division. 
 
 The peculiarities of our times require of the 
 pastors of our churches mutual forbearance^ con- 
 firmed union, and brotherly love. The associated 
 pastors, whom I have the privilege and satisfaction 
 this day to address, have long known, by their 
 happy experience, how good and how pleasant it 
 
 46 
 
362 SERMON IV. 
 
 is to dwell together in unity. Though differing, 
 in some respects, in their views of theology, 
 they have never been disposed to magnify these 
 differences into points of separation. They have 
 been too much engaged in contending against 
 error in a more dangerous form, and in promoting 
 the religious and benevolent enterprises of the day, 
 to find time to dispute about subjects of minor 
 importance. It is hoped that this spirit of for- 
 bearance will be preserved ; and that, as a body, 
 we may long continue to know the things that 
 make for our peace. Union is strength and 
 power. Incalculable is the good which may be 
 effected by the combined energies of the pastors 
 of the evangelical Congregational churches of New 
 England. In one broad and united phalanx, let 
 them march forward in the sacramental host. 
 
 It is animating to be assured, that in the great 
 articles of their faith and of their discipline, as 
 well as in their religious and benevolent enter- 
 prises, they enjoy the sympathies, co-operation and 
 prayers of their brethren in the father-land. The 
 preacher cannot forbear to express the peculiar 
 satisfaction which he feels in having so favorable 
 an opportunity of presenting to his assembled 
 brethren the assurances of the continued interest 
 
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 363 
 
 felt in their welfare and prosperity, by their trans- 
 atlantic friends, with whom it was his privilege 
 so recently to have enjoyed delightful personal 
 communion. Surely, the fraternal and Christian 
 intercourse, which is now so happily established 
 between the friends of truth in the old and new 
 world, is one of the most favorable sig7is of the 
 times, which demands our most grateful and fervent 
 acknowledgments to our common Lord. By the 
 union of British and American Christians, what 
 may not be accomplished in the great work of 
 the world's conversion ! Through their united 
 instrumentality, may we not hope that the events 
 predicted in prophecy will soon be accomplished, 
 when " the kingdoms of this world shall become 
 the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, and 
 he shall reign forever and ever." 
 
 But I must not longer detain you. In all 
 probability, my brethren, we shall not all of us 
 meet again on an occasion like the present. Before 
 this anniversary revolves, some of us will have gone 
 to give an account of our stewardship. Happy 
 shall we be if, warned by the signs of the times, 
 we shall have escaped the dangers they betoken, 
 and availed ourselves of the encouragements they 
 afford. Let us not be too anxious to pry into 
 
364 SERMON IV. 
 
 future events. The Church is safe, and He who 
 hath founded it on a rock, will order all the 
 events of his providence for its furtherance and 
 support. "Blessed is he that waiteth. Let us 
 go our way till the end be, for we shall rest and 
 stand in our lot at the end of the days." 
 
SEEMON Y 
 
 THE IMPORTANCE OF MODERATION IN CIVIL RULERS. 
 
 Delivered before His Excellency Edivard Everett, Governor, the Honorable Council, and 
 the Legislature of Massachusetts, at the Annual Election, Januarj- 1, 1840. 
 
 PHILIPPIANS i\'. 5. 
 
 LET YOUR MODERAPJON BE KNOWN UNTO ALL MEN : THE LORD IS AT HAND. 
 
 The service of this occasion is consecrated, and 
 rendered venerable, by age. Two centuries have 
 marked, with very few exceptions, its annual re- 
 turn. It originated in the piety of our ancestors, 
 and, from a commendable regard to ancient usage, 
 it has been continued by their posterity, from 
 generation to generation. It is grateful to the 
 friends of religion and morality to behold their 
 fellow-citizens, high in office and authority, repair- 
 ing to the house of God to seek wisdom and 
 guidance from on high, before they commence 
 the important and responsible duties of legislation. 
 This public acknowledgment of their dependence 
 
366 SERMON V. 
 
 upon the uncreated Source of wisdom and intel- 
 ligence, is well becoming the descendants of an 
 ancestry, distinguished for their piety and their 
 regard to religious institutions. The Fathers of 
 this ancient Commonwealth were men of faith 
 and prayer. They laid broad the foundations of 
 government in religious principle and sacred con- 
 formity to God's everlasting law. No people, 
 since the dispersion of ancient Israel, were so re- 
 markable for their religious character, as the first 
 settlers of Massachusetts. Exiled from the land 
 of their fathers on account of their attachment 
 to the purity of God's word and worship, they 
 incorporated their religious principles with their 
 civil institutions. They undertook no important 
 measure, they engaged in no hazardous enterprise, 
 they proceeded to no responsible duty, without 
 invoking the presence and blessing of that all-wise 
 Being, by whom kings reign, and princes decree 
 justice. To his word, also, as the great statute- 
 book of first and last resort, they unhesitatingly 
 applied for counsel and direction in all cases of 
 doubt and difficulty and important bearing. This 
 deep veneration for the institutions of religion, 
 which so clearly stamped the character of our 
 Pilgrim Fathers, has been cherished by their pos- 
 
MODERATION IN CIVIL RULERS. 367 
 
 terity, and I trust that our civil rulers will never 
 cease to pay their annual homage, in the house 
 of prayer, to the Creator and Governor of the 
 Universe. 
 
 The present occasion naturally invites our atten- 
 tion to such subjects, as may be pertinent to the 
 situation and correspondent duties of an assembled 
 legislature. In reflecting upon the peculiarities 
 of the times in which we live, upon the tendency 
 to excitement, and extremes, and party spirit, by 
 which they are confessedly distinguished, I have 
 thought that I might perform a service, not 
 altogether unprofitable nor unacceptable, by incul- 
 cating upon the respected auditory I am called 
 to address, a spirit of moderation in the discharge 
 of those important duties, upon which they are 
 about to enter in their legislative and executive 
 capacity. 
 
 The words of the text form part of the Apostle 
 Paul's exhortation to the church at Philippi ; and 
 may, with propriety, be applied to any class or 
 description of men. And it surely will not be 
 foreign from the design of the author of the text, 
 who hath directed that supplications, prayers, inter- 
 cession, and giving of thanks be made for all that 
 are in authority, that those sustaining important 
 
368 SERMON V. 
 
 offices of power and trust, should be exhorted to 
 lei their moderation he known unto all men, and 
 should be reminded of their responsibility, by the 
 solemn and impressive consideration, that the Lord 
 is at hand. 
 
 Confining myself, therefore, to the occasion upon 
 which we have assembled, I shall consider the text, 
 in its application to the character and duties of 
 political men. 
 
 The subject which I have selected, is one of 
 no ordinary delicacy. But I trust it may not be 
 thought presumptuous, nor stepping aside from his 
 vocation, for a minister of the gospel to attempt to 
 moderate the zeal of party, to allay the excite- 
 ment of the public mind with regard to agitating 
 topics, and to endeavor to recommend that firm, 
 yet moderate course of legislation which, while it 
 shrinks not from duty in the enactment and support 
 of wholesome laws, avoids all unnecessary occasions 
 of irritation towards those who may honestly differ 
 in opinion, on questions of expediency. 
 
 It is desirable to have correct and definite views 
 of the nature of that moderation, which they who 
 are clothed with authority, and appointed to rule 
 over their fellow-men, should possess, and to dis- 
 tinguish between a time-serving and timid policy, 
 
MODEKATION IN CIVIL RULERS. 369 
 
 and a calm, dispassionate, fearless and independent 
 course of conduct. The moderation, which I would 
 commend, is widely different from that extreme 
 caution, which avoids committal for fear of giving 
 offence. Such a course, although too often adopted 
 by candidates for popular favor, will be regarded 
 with decided disapprobation by every honest and 
 ingenuous mind. The most perfect decision of 
 opinion, and the utmost frankness in the avowal of 
 it, are not at all inconsistent with the spirit and 
 temper enjoined in the text. 
 
 Equally remote from this spirit, is that cold in- 
 difference and political apathy, which can regard 
 without emotion the changes and revolutions that 
 are continually taking place in the public mind. 
 It cannot be expected that such subjects will be 
 viewed with indifference, especially by those who, 
 from their official stations, are more particularly 
 affected by them. But the judicious statesman 
 and wise legislator, while he carefully watches these 
 fluctuations of opinion, and gives to each agitating 
 topic, as it presents itself, that attention which it 
 deserves, will guard against that exclusive and 
 immoderate devotedness to any one measure, or 
 course of measures, that shall blind his vision to 
 everything that is excellent in those who may differ 
 
 47 
 
370 SERMON V. 
 
 from him in opinion, or that shall tinge, with his 
 own peculiar views, the medium through which he 
 regards every other subject. There is such a 
 thing as political, as well as religious fanaticism, 
 which consists in a zeal that is not tempered with 
 knowledge — in a reckless pursuit of an object, with- 
 out regard to consequences — in an attachment to 
 party, rather than to principle. I need not observe, 
 that party spirit, even in a good cause, is danger- 
 ous. When influenced by this spirit, men are apt 
 to pursue the most desirable and praiseworthy 
 ends by questionable, if not unjustifiable means. 
 That the end justifies the means, is a maxim as 
 unsound in politics as it is in morals. Especially 
 when morals and politics are so blended together, 
 as they are in some of the questions which 
 are now agitated, we cannot be too careful in 
 watching the motives which actuate our conduct, 
 in guarding the frame of our spirits from an 
 undue and dangerous excitement, and in exercising 
 that moderation which is never more necessary, 
 than when strong and confirmed prejudices are 
 to be overcome, great and serious difficulties to 
 be removed, and important and benevolent objects 
 to be gained. 
 
 Of the necessity of complying with the exhort- 
 
MODERATION IN CIVIL IIULERS. 371 
 
 ation in the text, we shall be convinced, if we 
 consider that we live in an age of excitement. 
 In no part of the world are the effects of excite- 
 ment more sensibly experienced than in our own 
 country. There is in the American character, if 
 I mistake not, a tendency to extremes. This 
 tendency may be traced to the nature of our 
 republican institutions, which, by removing many 
 of those restraints by which older and less liberal 
 governments are encumbered, present greater fa- 
 cilities for carrying into operation enterprises of a 
 political or moral nature. While we sacredly 
 cherish these institutions, we may not be insensible 
 to the dangers arising from their abuse. It cannot 
 be denied, that under a republican government, 
 there is reason to apprehend that liberty may 
 degenerate into licentiousness, and that objects, 
 in themselves praiseworthy and benevolent, may 
 fail of their design, by being pressed to a hazardous 
 extreme. This tendency of our institutions evi- 
 dently demands a different policy from that which 
 might be necessary under an older and more 
 restricted form of government, where long abuses 
 and confirmed evils imperiously call for reformation. 
 What would be justifiable and commendable under 
 one form of government, might be injurious and 
 
372 SERMON V. 
 
 ruinous under another. A government and a 
 country like ours, which are as jet but in their 
 infancy, call not for the same radical reform, which 
 the corruptions of centuries may have rendered 
 necessary in the governments of the old world. 
 We need, rather, a conservative influence^ to re- 
 strain that proneness to innovation and change, 
 which is the tendency of our times and our 
 country, and to keep pure and inviolate those 
 great principles of civil liberty and constitutional 
 law, which form the basis of our political in- 
 stitutions. 
 
 The evils, to which we are exposed under 
 our peculiar form of government, arise not from 
 arbitrary oppression, nor aristocratic influence. 
 The rich have not the power, if they had the 
 inclination, to oppress the poor. No one class 
 of society enjoys exclusive privileges. The road 
 to emolument and fame is alike open to all. We 
 have no established hierarchy to monopolize the 
 offices of the church, and to trample upon the 
 rights of conscience, no other nobility than the 
 nobility of industry and perseverance, no royal 
 blood but such as flows in every honest heart. 
 The elective franchise is enjoyed by us in its 
 widest extent, We have no rotten boroughs to 
 
MODERATION IN CIVIL RULERS. 373 
 
 be reformed, no disqualifying acts of parliament 
 to be repealed, no restrictions on the freedom of 
 the press to be removed, no difficulties in the 
 way of universal education to be overcome. Our 
 free and happy constitution guarantees to us as 
 much liberty as is good for man. It secures to 
 us the inestimable blessings of civil and religious 
 freedom. It protects us in the enjoyment of our 
 personal rights, and permits every man to sit 
 under his ow^n vine and fig tree, having none to 
 molest or make him afraid. And w^hat more can 
 we desire ? Under what government, even the 
 most Utopian that ever entered into the con- 
 ception of political enthusiasm, are to be found 
 greater securities for personal freedom, for indi- 
 vidual happiness, for social comfort and for public 
 improvement, than are the portion of our favored 
 Republic ? 
 
 We will not boast of our happy lot, for boasting 
 is as unbecoming in a people as in individuals ; 
 but we will be grateful to that Being who hath 
 appointed the bounds of our habitation, by whose 
 merciful providence the lines have fallen unto us 
 in such pleasant places, and who hath given us 
 such a goodly heritage. It is obvious, then, that 
 the same reasons do not exist, among us, for 
 
371 SERMON V. 
 
 that spirit of radicalism, which has sometimes 
 manifested itself in other countries and under 
 other forms of government. Happy shall we be, as 
 a people, if we realize the value of our privileges, 
 and remain contented with that degree of liberty 
 which is secured to us by the constitution. Our 
 danger lies in imitating that restless and unquiet 
 spirit which, however necessary and justifiable 
 under other circumstances, is out of place under 
 a government of equal rights and privileges. 
 
 While we suitably appreciate the value of our 
 free institutions, let us not forget that they are 
 liable to abuse. Let us carefully guard against 
 a spirit of reckless agitation, which, for its own 
 private and party purposes, would destroy the 
 foundations of order and government, and mutilate, 
 if not demolish, that beautiful fabric which was 
 framed by the wisdom and piety of our venerated 
 ancestors, cemented by the blood of the heroes 
 of the Revolution, and brought to its present state 
 of unrivaled excellence by the sage counsels and 
 deliberate judgment of some of the wisest and 
 most enlightened statesmen the world ever knew. 
 Nothing is more necessary and desirable, in sus- 
 taining our invaluable institutions, than the exercise 
 of the same spirit of moderation which actuated 
 
MODERATION IN CIVIL RULERS. 375 
 
 the fathers of the Republic. They were men 
 eminently distinguiwshed for this trait of character. 
 While they betrayed no want of courage and 
 daring, in those times which tried men's souls ; 
 while, in the battle-field, they fought with noble 
 intrepidity for the liberties and independence of 
 their country, they manifested, in all their dis- 
 cussions and deliberations in the council-chamber, 
 and in the national congress, a remarkable de- 
 gree of wisdom and moderation. May the spirit 
 which animated their fathers, descend upon their 
 children ! 
 
 But I would not be understood to imply, that 
 our institutions are so perfect as to need no 
 improvement, or that there are no alarming evils 
 in our community that need correction. The 
 institutions of our beloved Commonwealth are, 
 I believe, as perfect as those of any government 
 on the earth ; and no people have richer sources 
 of happiness, and more abundant causes of grati- 
 tude, than they who live under the shadow of its 
 constitution and laws. I do not say that the 
 constitution should never be amended, nor that all 
 the laws in the statute-book are wise and salutary, 
 and should never be repealed. Doubtless, such 
 amendments and such modifications and repeals 
 
376 SERMON V. 
 
 may sometimes be necessary. But a wise and 
 judicious legislature will not attempt any essential 
 or important changes, without great caution and 
 deliberation. 
 
 That there are alarming evils in our Common- 
 wealth, that need to be corrected, no one can 
 doubt; and that the Legislature, as guardians of 
 the public weal, may do much to restrain the 
 practice of iniquity, and to support and encourage 
 the friends of good morals, few, if any, will be 
 disposed to question. The cause of Temperance is 
 one in which all the friends of humanity are deeply 
 concerned. It is a cause vitally connected with 
 the best interests of the Commonwealth. It is a 
 cause which, in its advocacy, embraces men of all 
 parties and denominations in politics and religion. 
 The interest which this cause has awakened in every 
 part of the Commonwealth, has been unusually 
 great and powerful. All classes of the community 
 have, in a greater or less degree, partaken of the 
 excitement. It will not be supposed that the 
 ministers of religion, whose duty it is to reason 
 of righteousness, temperance, and a judgment to 
 come, can have been unconcerned spectators of 
 the progress of a reformation, so intimately con- 
 nected with religion and morality. As a body, 
 
MODERATION IN CIVIL RULERS. 377 
 
 they have ever cheerfully given their warm and 
 unwavering support to this philanthropic cause. 
 From their official stations they have seen, per- 
 haps, more than most of their fellow-citizens, the 
 misery produced in families and neighborhoods, 
 by the practice that was once so prevalent, of 
 retailing, in small quantities, the means of intox- 
 ication. The tears of the broken-hearted wife, 
 and the wretchedness of neglected children, have 
 affected their hearts, and have led them to rejoice 
 in any measures that may be constitutionally 
 and lawfully employed to lessen the sources of 
 temptation, and to check a traffic so disastrous 
 in its consequences to the peace and happiness of 
 society. Whether the course pursued by recent 
 acts of legislation, is the best calculated to effect 
 the desired object, is a question that remains to 
 be decided. On this subject, it cannot be denied, 
 there is a great difference of opinion in the com- 
 munity — a difference of opinion that is certainly 
 entitled to respectful consideration from a wise 
 and prudent legislature. Whatever measures may 
 be adopted by those to whom the direction of our 
 civil affairs is now to be intrusted, it is earnestly 
 to be desired that they may be distinguished by 
 a spirit of candor, forbearance and moderation. 
 
378 SERMON V, 
 
 I have said that we live in an age of excitement. 
 Exciting topics, rapidly and extensively, pervade 
 the community. But in no condition of society 
 is their influence more obvious, than in our halls 
 of legislation. The representatives of a people 
 among w^hom an excitement prevails, will not only 
 partake of it in common with their constituents, 
 but, as in many cases they are selected for the 
 express purpose of advocating or opposing a par- 
 ticular course of measures, they may be supposed 
 to be more affected by it than their fellow-citizens 
 in general. And when we consider their relative 
 situation, and juxtapo-ition for a considerable 
 period of time, it will not be surprising that the 
 tendency to excitement should be greatly in- 
 creased. Difference of sentiment will often lead 
 to a warmth of debate, which may sometimes 
 become personal, and be attended with the most 
 unhappy consequences. Instances of this kind 
 have not been wanting in the highest councils 
 of our land, where this excitement has terminated 
 in the effusion of human blood. I blush for my 
 country, when I reflect on the instances of 
 dueling that have occurred among our public 
 men. They who are selected by their fellow- 
 citizens for the express purpose of making their 
 
MODERATION IN CIVIL RULERS. 379 
 
 laws, and preserving their liberties, should be the 
 last to trample on the one, and abuse the other. 
 And yet it cannot be denied, mortifying as is the 
 acknowledgment, that there is no class of men 
 more frequently guilty of this sin, than they who 
 fill the highest places of power and trust, who 
 legislate for others, and whose example ought to 
 give additional weight to their legislation. 
 
 But it is not merely the fact, that we live in an 
 age of excitement, which calls for the discharge of 
 the duty under consideration. Its importance will 
 appear, if we consider the influence of legislation 
 upon the great public interests of the Common- 
 wealth. To the legislature the people look for 
 the encouragement of those various objects and 
 enterprises which so intimately affect their pros- 
 perity. Plans of improvement by which the 
 resources and wealth of the State may be ren- 
 dered available and increased, the promotion of 
 education and the diffusion of useful knowledge 
 among all classes of the community, the facilities 
 needed by the merchant, the farmer, the manu- 
 facturer, the mechanic and the various professions, 
 for effecting their respective purposes and designs, 
 will all receive, in their turn, the attention of an 
 enlightened legislature. With so many interests 
 
380 SERMON V. 
 
 depending upon them, it will be readily ac- 
 knowledged, that in no class of men is a spirit 
 of wise and careful deliberation more necessary, 
 than in a legislative assembly. Such an assembly, 
 especially a numerous one, is in peculiar danger 
 of precipitancy in legislation. It has no^t the 
 advantage of the cool, dispassionate reflection of 
 retirement, but is frequently called upon to act, 
 with very little notice of the subject to be acted 
 upon, and sometimes under the strong current of 
 an excited public opinion. 
 
 The public good, rather than public opinion, 
 ought to influence the views and control the 
 actions of political men. Whatever may be for 
 the good of the people, whose interests they 
 represent, they should steadily pursue ; although 
 the course they adopt may not, at the time, be 
 universally popular. It is not unfrequently the 
 case, that the doings of a legislature may not 
 at once commend themselves to popular regard, 
 while at the same time they may be beneficial 
 in their tendency, and in their issue have a 
 salutary and most important influence in promoting 
 the best interests of the people. The wise and 
 cautious will look beyond the mere immediate 
 effects of legislation to its more permanent results, 
 
MODERATION IN CIVIL RULERS. 381 
 
 and remember that in the discharge of duty they 
 ought to be governed more by a respect to the 
 best interests of the community and the welfare 
 and happiness of posterity, than by a regard 
 to their own immediate influence and standing 
 with the public. Popularity is often temporary 
 and evanescent ; but what is done with a sincere 
 regard to the good of the people, will survive 
 the contending opinions of the public, and re- 
 main a standing monument of wise and judicious 
 legislation. 
 
 But it is not merely in the suppression of the 
 evils that exist in the community, that the legisla- 
 ture will exercise a wholesome authority. They 
 will not be slow to encourage all good designs 
 and laudable efforts for the promotion of the public 
 good, for the increase of useful knowledge, for 
 the advancement of the cause of benevolence and 
 philanthropy, and for the general happiness and 
 welfare of their constituents. Under their foster- 
 ing care, the ancient University in this vicinity, 
 which has long been the child of their adoption, 
 will continue to flourish ; and the other literary 
 institutions of the State, although of more recent 
 origin, I trust will not be forgotten. 
 
 The ministers of religion have been accus- 
 
382 SERMON V. 
 
 tomed, on these occasions, to commend to the 
 legislature the interests of education. They ask 
 no endowments for themselves or their churches ; 
 but the cause of good learning is one which was 
 dear to their fathers, and should be dear to their 
 children. For this our honored ancestors made 
 suitable provision in the early settlement of the 
 country. And as the country has increased, and 
 the wants of the community multiplied, may it 
 not be expected that adequate provision will be 
 made by a wise and considerate legislature for the 
 encouragement of seminaries of learning, within the 
 bounds of the Commonwealth, without distinction 
 of sect or party ? 
 
 It has been a source of great satisfaction to the 
 friends of humanity, to witness the attention of 
 the legislature directed to the state of our prisons 
 and penitentiaries, and the condition of their 
 misguided and unhappy inmates. The improve- 
 ments that have been made in prison discipline, 
 within a few years, are alike honorable to private 
 benevolence and legislative encouragement. While 
 rulers are a terror to evil doers, they may, with 
 consistency, so far soften the rigor of the law as to 
 provide for the outward condition, and especially 
 the moral, intellectual and religious improvement 
 
MODERATION IN CIVIL EULERS. 383 
 
 of the unhappy convict. The means that have 
 been used for these purposes have been so signally 
 successful, as to create a new era in the annals 
 of punitive legislation. 
 
 In the discharge of the important and responsi- 
 ble duties of their official station, my respected 
 hearers, I doubt not, w^ill feel the force of the 
 injunction of the Apostle, and let their moderation 
 he known unto all men. They will realize the 
 importance of permanent, rather than temporary 
 and occasional legislation ; and will be satisfied 
 that a few laws, well digested, and adopted with 
 suitable deliberation, are better than a larger 
 number of statutes, crudely framed and hastily 
 passed, under the exciting influence of party 
 spirit. 
 
 While I would urge the importance of wise and 
 deliberate legislation, in view of its influence upon 
 the great public interests of the State, as well as 
 in reference to the times of excitement in which we 
 live, may I be permitted to say one word in favor 
 of the cultivation of a spirit of forbearance and 
 moderation between the two great political parties, 
 into which the inhabitants of the Commonwealth 
 are, apparently, so equally divided ? I rejoice to 
 believe that political party now, is widely differ- 
 
384 SERMON V. 
 
 ent from what it was in former days, — that it 
 has lost much of the asperity for which it was 
 once distinguished. Whether it is that other 
 subjects have absorbed a portion of that rancor 
 and bitterness which were once so manifest in 
 political discussions, or whether the points of 
 difference between the two great parties, that 
 have so long divided our country, are deemed of 
 less magnitude than formerly, or whether each 
 party has learned to feel more kindly, and to 
 act with more urbanity, than in seasons of great 
 political excitement, I will not pretend to say. 
 But times appear to be changed in this respect, 
 for the better ; and instead of the high-seasoned 
 political sermons which I well remember to have 
 heard on these occasions, in former years, a 
 minister of Jesus may now find his more appro- 
 priate, and certainly more welcome sphere, in 
 inculcating upon his hearers the messages of that 
 gospel which breathes peace on earth and good 
 will to men. As an ambassador, then, of the 
 Prince of peace, I may be allowed to express 
 the hope, that whatever differences of opinion may 
 exist in the Commonwealth, a spirit of mutual 
 condescension and forbearance will infuse itself 
 into all the deliberations, and pervade all the 
 doings of its legislature. 
 
MODERATION IN CIVIL RULEES. 385 
 
 The solemn and powerful motive to the right 
 discharge of the duties recommended in this dis- 
 course, remains to be considered and enforced. 
 The Lord is at hand. 
 
 An impression seems to have existed, in the 
 minds of some of the primitive Christians, that 
 the end of the world was approaching, and that 
 the Lord Jesus Christ would soon appear, the 
 second time, in the clouds of heaven, with power 
 and great glory, when all who were in their 
 graves, together with those who were alive at 
 his coming, should stand before his judgment-seat, 
 and receive, according to the deeds done in the 
 body, whether they be good, or whether they be 
 evil. Hence the sacred writers, in enforcing the 
 various duties they urge upon mankind, frequently 
 draw their motives from an approaching judgment, 
 and the unseen realities of the eternal world. 
 These motives, however, ought not to lose any 
 of their force ; because the Apostles might not 
 have been made acquainted, by inspiration, with 
 the precise time of Christ's coming to judgment. 
 It is of little consequence, so far as the practical 
 effect is concerned, whether, in the order of time, 
 the day of judgment is near or remote. If we 
 believe the Scriptures, we know that God has 
 
 49 
 
386 SERMON V. 
 
 appointed a day, in the which he will judge the 
 world by Jesus Christ, and however scoffers may 
 say, Where is the promise of his coming ? we are 
 assured that the day of the Lord will come as a 
 thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall 
 pass aw^ay with a great noise, and the elements 
 shall melt with fervent heat ; the earth also, and 
 the works that are therein, shall be burnt up. 
 Well, then, does the Apostle argue from this 
 assured fact — seeing that all these things must 
 be dissolved, ivhat 7nanner of persons ought rve 
 to be, in all holy conversation and godliness ? 
 
 Without perplexing our minds with calculations 
 as to the exact period of the .duration of the 
 world, and the time of the general judgment, 
 which are among the secret things which belong 
 to God, and which he has not thought proper to 
 reveal to us, it is sufficient to know, that nothing 
 is more uncertain than human life, and that to 
 every accountable being, when he quits this mortal 
 scene, the Lord is at hand to bestow upon him 
 the riches of his grace, or to visit him with the 
 •reward of his iniquity. 
 
 I am aware that it is difficult to impress upon 
 the minds of those, who are associated together 
 like the members of a legislature, a sense of 
 
MODERATION IN CIVIL RULERS. 387 
 
 personal accountability. They are exceedingly 
 apt to forget, in the heat of debate, in the bustle 
 of business, in the strife of party, that there is 
 a God who rules in the earth, and who will 
 require of his intelligent creatures an account of 
 their conduct, not only in the more retired and 
 private walks of life, but in those active scenes, 
 and more public duties, to which they are called 
 by the suffrages of their fellow-men. In a numer- 
 ous legislative assembly there is a sort of feeling 
 of divided responsibleness, which tends to weaken, 
 if not destroy, the paramount sense of personal 
 accountability. But it is the duty of the faithful 
 preacher of God's word, to hold up to civil 
 rulers the solemn and awful realities of a future 
 judgment and retribution ; to remind them, that 
 although they are like gods, they shall die as 
 men ; that, in the grave, there is no distinction 
 of rank or office, and that, at the judgment-seat, 
 the doings of every individual of our race, in all 
 the various relations which he sustained, private, 
 social and public, shall be impartially reviewed ; 
 that, to whom much is given, of them much will 
 be required ; and that those who, on earth, were 
 elevated above their fellow-men, who were ap- 
 pointed to frame and execute their laws, will 
 
388 SERMON V. 
 
 have to give an account to the great Lawgiver of 
 the universe, of the manner in which they have 
 discharged their official duties, and fulfilled their 
 public trusts. 
 
 May jou, my respected hearers, enter upon the 
 business of legislation under an impressive sense 
 of your responsibleness ; and so discharge the 
 important duties of your high and conspicuous 
 station, as best to secure the testiaiony of your 
 own consciences, the welfare and happiness of 
 your constituents, and the favor and approbation 
 of God. 
 
 While this discourse has been particularly ad- 
 dressed to the Members of the Legislature, it is 
 capable of a more general application. I need not 
 say, that if a spirit of forbearance and moderation 
 is necessary in civil rulers, it is no less so in the 
 people whom they represent. A legislature will, 
 of course, take its complexion from the character 
 of the people. How important then is it, that 
 the people should be influenced by correct prin- 
 ciples; that they should cultivate a spirit of 
 moderation, and not allow the excitement of party 
 to warp their judgment, nor the desire to further 
 any cause, however good in itself, to betray 
 
MODERATION IN CIVIL RULERS. 389 
 
 them into measures of questionable propriety, or 
 of hazardous adoption. In conducting the differ- 
 ent objects of reformation which have, of late, 
 taken such deep hold of the public mind, it is of 
 the greatest importance to avoid those extremes 
 which, by disgusting the sober and more rational 
 part of the community, tend to retard rather than 
 to advance the cause of true philanthropy. The 
 desired object is far more likely to be gained by 
 a calm, discreet and moderate course of conduct, 
 than by hasty, violent and fitful measures which, 
 in many cases, by their reaction, only injure the 
 cause they were designed to promote. It is to be 
 hoped that the spirit of moderation, recommended 
 in this discourse, will commend itself to the people 
 of this Commonwealth ; and that they will sustain 
 thei r legislature in whatever measures they in 
 their wisdom may adopt for the public good. It 
 is impossible that the wisest legislature, with the 
 best intentions, should give universal satisfaction. 
 If the laws which they make are unjust, or 
 unequal, or inexpedient, they can be repealed by 
 the same authority by which they were enacted. 
 But while they continue in force, it is the duty 
 of all good citizens to give them their support, 
 to frown on every attempt at their evasion, and 
 
390 SERMON V. 
 
 to sustain those who execute them, in the discharge 
 of their duty. This is incumbent on them, not only 
 as men, acting under a sense of moral obligation, 
 but as republicans, who profess to acknowledge 
 and to submit to the will of the majority. The 
 supremacy of the law is one of the first and 
 most important principles in every well-regulated 
 commonwealth ; and under a democratic form of 
 government, where the power of legislation resides 
 in the people, there can be no excuse for the 
 violation of the laws. 
 
 But the people of Massachusetts, while they are 
 reminded of their privileges and their duty, will, 
 I trust, suitably appreciate the one, and faithfully 
 discharge the other. May the rich blessings they 
 enjoy, long be continued to them by a beneficent 
 Providence. Long may they behold, as they 
 do this day, their Nobles from themselves, and 
 their Governor from the midst of them. May 
 our beloved Commonwealth ever be the object of 
 the divine favor ! And may the last words of 
 an Italian patriot be the prayer of each of her 
 sons — Esto perpetual 
 
 It has been customary, on these occasions, to 
 offer respectful salutations to the different branches 
 
MODERATION IN CIVIL RULERS. 391 
 
 of the Legislature. And it is a usage, of which 
 the preacher is most happy to avail himself, as 
 it affords him the opportunity of enforcing the 
 sentiments he has endeavored to inculcate, by 
 referring to the distinguished example of modera- 
 tion exhibited by the honored individual w^ho has, 
 for several successive years, sustained the high 
 and responsible office of Chief Magistrate of the 
 Commonvrealth. 
 
 The meekness of wisdom, with which your 
 Excellency has borne the honors of your exalted 
 station, the calm and dispassionate, and at the 
 same time firm and dignified course of conduct, 
 amidst agitating topics and conflicting interests, 
 which has distinguished your administration, the 
 desire you have uniformly manifested for the intel- 
 lectual and moral improvement of the community, 
 and the patriotic zeal you have evinced for the 
 prosperity of our common country, will never be 
 forgotten by a grateful people. The wise and 
 good, of all parties, will duly appreciate your un- 
 tiring labors for the public weal; and their best 
 wishes and fervent prayers for your personal hap- 
 piness will attend you, whether you continue to 
 discharge the duties of your official station, or retire 
 to the more quiet occupations of private life. 
 
392 SERMON V. 
 
 His Honor the Lieutenant Governor, the Ex- 
 ecutive Council, v^ith the Senate and House of 
 Representatives, will accept the congratulations 
 of the occasion, and the assurance that, whatever 
 changes may take place in the political character 
 of the Commonwealth, as long as they are actuated 
 by a spirit of forbearance and moderation, they 
 will continue to receive and enjoy the respect and 
 confidence of all the friends of order and good 
 government. 
 
 Changes are continually taking place, not only 
 in the political, but in the natural world. Times 
 and seasons change. The earth has performed 
 another of its annual revolutions ; and, with the 
 return of this anniversary, we are brought to the 
 commencement of a new year. What changes 
 may take place during the year upon which we 
 have this day entered, are known only to Him, 
 who seeth the end from the beginning. It is the 
 dictate of wisdom to prepare for the changes of 
 life. We shall never all of us meet again, in 
 like circumstances, in this house of prayer. In all 
 probability, before this year shall close, some of 
 us will have closed our career on earth, and have 
 entered upon the untried scenes of eternity. 
 
MODERATION IN CIVIL RULERS. 393 
 
 In view of the solemnities of a dying hour, 
 and an approaching judgment, let us be careful 
 to maintain a conscience void of offence towards 
 God and towards man ; and, whether in a private 
 or public station, let us endeavor faithfully to 
 discharge our duty, and to let our moderation he 
 known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. 
 
 so 
 
SERMON YI. 
 
 THE DOCTRINE OF JESUS, 
 
 MATTHEW Yii. 28, 29. 
 
 AXD IT CAME TO PASS, WHEN JESUS HAD ENDED THESE SAYINGS, THE PEOPLE 
 WERE ASTONISHED AT HIS DOCTRINE ; FOR HE TAUGHT THEM AS ONE 
 HAVING AUTHORITY, AND NOT AS THE SCRIBES. 
 
 Our blessed Lord, having concluded his admi- 
 rable Sermon on the Mount, the faithful historian 
 informs us of the effect it produced upon the 
 minds of his hearers. " The people were aston- 
 ished at his doctrine ; for he taught them as one 
 having authority, and not as the Scribes." 
 
 These remarks of the Evangelist, upon the re- 
 ception of the Saviour's preaching bj the people, 
 afford us an interesting subject of discourse, and 
 will lead us, in the first place, to consider the 
 doctrine of Jesus ; Secondly, his manner of teach- 
 ing ; and, Thirdly, its effect upon his hearers. 
 
 Let us, in the first place, consider the doctrine 
 of Jesus. It may be said of the Saviour, with 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF JESUS. 395 
 
 the utmost propriety, that his doctrine dropped 
 as the rain, and his speech distilled as the dew. 
 
 The doctrine of Jesus is the doctrine of God, 
 for in his human and mediatorial character he 
 sajs, "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent 
 me." It claims the Supreme Intelligence for its 
 author. 
 
 It must therefore, in the first place, be true. 
 There is a great, an almost infinite variety of 
 doctrines in the world, some of which are utterly 
 false, and many of which contain much error 
 mixed with truth. But the doctrine of Jesus 
 alone can lay claim to infallibility, for it cometh 
 immediately from God, the God of truth and the 
 Source of all wisdom, with whom is no variable- 
 ness neither shadow of turning. 
 
 The word doctrine, as used in the text and in 
 parallel passages of Scripture, is to be understood 
 in the most extensive sense, as signifying the 
 whole system of doctrines as taught by Christ, 
 particularly those contained in the Sermon on the 
 Mount, to which the word more immediately 
 refers. 
 
 The Christian system then is true, when com- 
 pared with all the other systems of religion that 
 have ever been taught among men. The systems 
 
396 SERMON VI. 
 
 of doctrine inculcated by heathen philosophers, 
 though containing some truth, abound with many 
 false sentiments and erroneous principles. For 
 all the truth they contain, they are indebted to 
 the dim light of nature, and to traditionary hints 
 from Revelation ; for probably there never was a 
 time w^hen the world was wholly destitute of 
 a revelation. But the faint light of truth which 
 they emit bears but a small proportion to the 
 dark cloud of error with which they are over- 
 shadowed. 
 
 The doctrine of the false prophet, which has a 
 large number of disciples, has borrowed some 
 truth from the Christian system, but contains 
 much error and delusion peculiar to itself. The 
 sanguinary means by which it is propagated, are 
 very foreign from the spirit of the religion of the 
 Prince of peace, the weapons of which are not 
 carnal but spiritual ; and the sensual gratifications, 
 both here and hereafter, to which its followers 
 are invited, are widely different from the pure 
 pleasures and holy joys which are the present, 
 and will be the everlasting portion of the disciples 
 of the Lamb. This leads us to observe, 
 
 Secondly, The doctrine of Jesus is pure. Purity 
 is one of its distinguishing characteristics. It en- 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF JESUS. 397 
 
 joins purity of heart as essential to salvation. 
 One of those beatitudes, with which the Saviour's 
 Sermon on the Mount is introduced, is, " Blessed 
 are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." 
 And without holiness, we are assured, no man 
 shall see the Lord. All other systems of doctrine, 
 while they attempt to restrain the outward conduct, 
 make little pretensions to the regulation of the 
 heart and the government of the temper; but it is 
 this which constitutes the essence of the doctrine 
 of Jesus. 
 
 He taught that all outward acts of religion 
 were but a solemn mockery, if the heart was 
 not right with God. He insisted on purity of 
 heart as an indispensable requisite to admission 
 into his kingdom. He taught the absolute neces- 
 sity of being born again, of being renewed in the 
 spirit of our minds, as a qualification for heaven. 
 From his doctrine we learn, that nothing will 
 be admitted into the heavenly state that worketh 
 abomination, or that maketh a lie, but they only 
 who are washed in the laver of regeneration, and 
 are sanctified by the Holy Ghost. It is one 
 important part of his doctrine, that God is a 
 spirit; and they that worship him, must worship 
 him in spirit and in truth. The religion of the 
 
398 SEKMON VI. 
 
 cross is spiritual'; and it is spirituality that dis- 
 tinguishes the disciple of Christ from the man 
 of the world. 
 
 Again. The doctrine of Jesus is distinguished 
 for its sublimity. It opens to our view the 
 mysteries of another world. It gives us some 
 idea of the glories of the heavenly state, and it 
 draws aside the curtain that conceals the horrors 
 of the world of darkness and despair. It treats 
 of the creation of all things out of nothing. How 
 sublime is the description given in the Book of 
 God, of the work of Creation ! ' Let there be 
 light,' said God, * and there was light.' This 
 single passage is often quoted as one of the most 
 remarkable instances of the truly sublime, con- 
 tained either in ancient or modern, sacred or 
 profane writing. 
 
 But especially is the subject to which the 
 doctrine of Jesus particularly relates, remarkable 
 for its sublimity. The redemption of a lost world 
 by the Son of God, is the most exalted subject 
 that ever engaged the attention of human beings. 
 It is probably the most grand and wonderful 
 event that ever took place in the Universe of 
 God. When we consider that He who thought 
 it no robbery to be equal with God, took upon 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF JESUS. 399 
 
 himself the form of a servant, and humbled him- 
 self to live in this world of sin and sorrow, and 
 to suffer on the cross as a sacrifice for the sins 
 of men, we are overwhelmed with astonishment. 
 We look in vain for such an instance of exalted 
 virtue in the history of the world. It stands 
 unrivaled and unparalleled, and is, and will for 
 ever be the subject of wonder and admiration, not 
 only of men but of angels. 
 
 The doctrine of Jesus is alarming to sinners. 
 To the impenitent, while they remain such, it 
 offers no comfort; but denounces against them, 
 as the just punishment of their impenitence and 
 unbelief, indignation and wrath, tribulation and 
 anguish. It is a doctrine full of alarm to the 
 careless and secure. To the hypocrite it speaks 
 in language of terror. To the unrenewed and 
 unholy it declares the wrath of God, and the 
 curse of his violated law. It gives no encourage- 
 ment but to those who sincerely repent, and 
 unfeignedly believe the gospel. 
 
 But while the doctrine of Jesus is alarming to 
 sinners, it is full of comfort and satisfaction to 
 the children of God. Its language is, * There is 
 no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, 
 who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.' 
 
400 SERMON VI. 
 
 To the saints, ^11 its precious promises are ad- 
 dressed. Thej are the heirs of God, and joint 
 heirs with Jesus Christ. ' All things are theirs, 
 whether Paul, or A polios, or Cephas, or things 
 present, or things to come.' 
 
 In affliction, the doctrine of Jesus is full of 
 comfort and support. It makes our bed in our 
 sickness, and smooths for us the pillow of death. 
 It addresses language like this to all the children 
 of God, when they are bowed down with sorrow, 
 and sinking under the weight of trials : ' Fear 
 not, for I am with thee ; be not dismayed, for 
 I am thy God.' 'When thou passest through 
 the waters I will be with thee, and through the 
 rivers they shall not overflow thee ; when thou 
 walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burnt, 
 neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. Yea, 
 when thou walkest through the valley of the 
 shadow of death thou shalt fear no evil ' — for 
 God will be with you, his rod and staff they will 
 comfort you. 
 
 Such, my hearers, is the doctrine of Jesus — 
 a doctrine remarkable for its truth, its purity, its 
 sublimity, its terror to the wicked, and its comfort 
 to the righteous. 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF JESUS. 401 
 
 Let US now, as we proposed, Secondly, notice 
 Christ's manner of teaching. ' He taught them,' 
 says the Evangelist, ' as one having authority, and 
 not as the Scribes.' ' Never man spake like this 
 man,' was the testimony borne by his enemies to 
 his manner of teaching. There was something 
 very peculiar in the Saviour's manner, which 
 attracted general attention ; something which 
 plainly indicated that the speaker was more than 
 human, that he was divine. His manner was 
 dignified, solemn, bold and impressive ; affection- 
 ate, tender, mild, conciliating and persuasive. It 
 was so dignified and impressive, that frequently, 
 when his enemies endeavored to entangle him in 
 his talk, they were awed into silence, and con- 
 strained to admire the gracious words that fell 
 from his lips. How admirable was his reply to 
 the captious Scribes, who interrogated him re- 
 specting the tribute : " Render therefore unto 
 Csesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto 
 God the things that are God's." Sometimes he 
 would reply to their impertinent questions, by 
 proposing other questions, which they could not, 
 or dared not answer. The boldness of his 
 manner is strikingly illustrated in his address to 
 his hypocritical countrymen : " Ye serpents, ye 
 
402 SERMON VI. , 
 
 generation of vipers, how can ye escape the 
 damnation of hell ? " 
 
 But though the Saviour was remarkable for his 
 dignified, solemn and impressive mode of address, 
 he was still more distinguished for the affectionate, 
 mild and persuasive manner in which he taught 
 his disciples the great truths of religion. How 
 tender is his expostulation with his own country- 
 men : ' O Jerusalem, Jerusalem ! thou that killest 
 the prophets, and stonest them which are sent 
 unto thee ! how often would I have gathered you 
 together as a hen gathereth her chickens under 
 her wings, but ye would not.' With what affection 
 and tenderness did he collect little children around 
 him, and assure them that *of such is the kingdom 
 of heaven.' With the proud and self-righteous, 
 he was bold and even severe ; but with the broken- 
 hearted, and those of a contrite spirit, he was all 
 tenderness and compassion. He never broke the 
 bruised reed, nor quenched the smoking flax. His 
 language to such is, "Come unto me, all ye that 
 labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you 
 rest." " If any man thirst, let him come unto 
 me and drink. Whosoever cometh unto me, I 
 will in no wise cast out." Jesus excelled all the 
 other teachers, in the mild, gracious and winning 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF JESUS. 403 
 
 manner of his address. He lays before sinners 
 the awful consequences of impenitence, to awaken 
 in them a sense of their danger ; but he dwells 
 with peculiar pleasure on the mercy and grace 
 which he came to display. He preached the 
 terrors of the future world to the obstinate and 
 impenitent sinner ; but to the penitent and humble 
 he ministered the sweet encouragements of infinite 
 grace. In the synagogue of Capernaum he read 
 and applied to himself the words of the Prophet : 
 ' The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because 
 he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the 
 poor ; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, 
 to preach deliverance to the captives, and the 
 opening of the prison to them that are bound.' 
 And the people who heard him, bare him witness, 
 and wondered at the gracious words which pro- 
 ceeded out of his mouth. 
 
 With great propriety then might the Evangelist 
 say, that he taught them as one having authority, 
 and not as the Scribes. His manner of teaching 
 must have been a striking contrast to that of 
 those teachers whom the Jews were accustomed 
 to hear expound the Law and the Proi:hets. 
 Inflated with a sense of their own importance, 
 the Scribes taught the people in a haughty, 
 
404 SERMON VI. 
 
 supercilious manner, totally unlike that of the 
 great Teacher of righteousness. The Scribes 
 were ostentatious in their appearance. They 
 loved greetings in the market-places, and to be 
 called of men Rabbi ! Rabbi ! whereas nothing 
 could be more unassuming than the appearance 
 of the meek and lowly Jesus. The Scribes 
 insisted on mere external forms and ceremonies 
 as essential to salvation ; while the doctrine of 
 Jesus and his Apostles was, " that circumcision 
 availeth nothing, nor uncircumcision, but a new 
 creature." The Scribes garnished the outside of 
 the sepulchre, while nothing remained within but 
 dead men's bones ; but Christ insisted upon in- 
 ward purity and sanctification. The Scribes were 
 narrow and bigoted in their views, confining 
 salvation to their own people, and excluding all 
 the Gentiles from the kingdom of heaven ; whereas 
 Jesus hath shown the rich extent of God's mercy 
 to a guilty race, and the way in which pardon 
 and salvation can be obtained by all who receive 
 the gospel, of whatever nation, of whatever age, 
 and of whatever character. To us may be ap- 
 plied the words which Christ spake to his disciples: 
 " Blessed are your eyes, for they see ; and your 
 ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, that 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF JESUS. 405 
 
 many prophets and righteous men have desired 
 to see those things which ye see, and have not 
 seen them ; and to hear those things which ye 
 hear, and have not heard them." 
 
 We now proceed, as we proposed in the last 
 place, to consider the effect of the doctrine of 
 Jesus upon his hearers. 
 
 They were astonished at his doctrine. Some- 
 thing more than mere astonishment, as the word 
 is generally understood, is implied in the use of 
 it in this connection ; for we read in the com- 
 mencement of the next chapter, that '' when he 
 came down from the mountain great multitudes 
 followed him." The doctrine of Jesus must have 
 made a powerful impression on their minds ; and 
 there is reason to hope, that to many it was 
 blessed by the Spirit of God as the instrument 
 of their conversion. Some were astonished to 
 hear such gracious words fall from his lips. Some 
 believed the things that were spoken, and some 
 believed not. The same effect is produced by 
 the doctrine of Jesus in every age and part of 
 the world. It could not be heard with indiffer- 
 ence and unconcern, for "it is quick and powerful, 
 sharper than any two-edged sword, and is a dis- 
 cerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." 
 
406 SERMON VI. 
 
 It carries conviction home to the conscience, and 
 searches into the secret recesses of the soul. When 
 this doctrine is preached in its purity, its searching 
 effects are always more or less visible. It draws 
 out the different feelings of the human heart. In 
 some, it excites the warmest opposition ; in others, 
 the greatest delight and satisfaction. To oppose 
 this doctrine, the strongest and most violent pas- 
 sions are often brought into exercise ; while to 
 favor and enjoy it, the most indefatigable pains 
 are often taken, and the greatest sacrifices are 
 often made. Indeed, it is a doctrine to which 
 no one, who hears it preached with faithfulness, 
 can listen with indifference. It either delights or 
 offends. To some, it is like water to a thirsty 
 soul ; while to others, nothing can be more un- 
 palatable. To some, it is a savor of life unto 
 life ; while to others, it is a savor of death unto 
 death. To some, the preaching of the cross is 
 foolishness ; while to others, it is the wisdom of 
 God and the power of God unto salvation. 
 
 In closing this discourse, suffer me, my friends, 
 to inquire. What effect has the doctrine of Jesus 
 had upon you ? Have you received with meekness 
 the engrafted Word which is able to save your 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF JESUS. 407 
 
 souls ? or have you been ready to exclaim, in 
 view of the purity and spirituality of the Saviour's 
 doctrine, ' These are hard sayings ; w^ho can hear 
 them ? ' Let me assure you they are true say- 
 ings, and that except your righteousness exceed 
 the righteousnes of the Scribes and Pharisees, 
 you shall in no case enter the kingdom of heaven. 
 The morality of the Saviour's doctrine, particularly 
 his Sermon on the Mount, is a different thing 
 from what many have supposed. It is something 
 more than a collection of moral sayings to regulate 
 the outward conduct. It contains, in the strongest 
 expressions, the doctrine of regeneration, and the 
 absolute necessity of self-denial. It inculcates 
 secret duties as essential to true religion. It ex- 
 pressly asserts, that strait is the gate, and narrow 
 is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there 
 be that find it. It cautions us against worldly- 
 mindedness, and urges us to lay up our treasures 
 in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth 
 corrupt, and where thieves do not break through 
 and steal. 
 
 Let me entreat you, then, to ponder these say- 
 ings of Jesus in your minds. They contain rules 
 for practical piety in almost every situation in 
 life. If we reduce these rules to daily practice, 
 
408 SERMON VI. 
 
 do to others as we would that others should do to 
 us, and let our light shine before men, we shall 
 more adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour, and 
 induce others to glorify our Father in heaven. 
 
 * Thus would our lips and lives express 
 The holy gospel we profess ; 
 Thus would our works and virtues shine, 
 To prove the doctrine all divine.' 
 
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