(frur (f laiDtnrt Jminfltfl on %w\intsx 
 
 ^ IDISCOXJI^SE 
 
 OrCASIOJiED BV THE OKA71I <)>' 
 
 LIEUT. GEN. T.J. JACKSON 
 
 PREACHEn IX THE 
 
 First Presbyterian Church of Lynchburg, 
 
 M:A."V 2 Atli, 1803. 
 
 BY REV. JAMES B. RAMSEY. 
 
 VIRGIXIAN ''WATElt-POWER PRESSES'' PRI^T 
 1803. 
 
erac Cwiwraa ioM«M on golinfss. 
 
 JL IDISOOTJK-SE 
 
 OCCA8I0"J»BD BY THE DEAi^l OF 
 
 LIEUT. GEN. T. J. JACKSON. 
 
 rREAClIEO IX THE 
 
 First Presbyterian Church of Lynchburg, 
 
 Mj^V yj*^:>, i«o». 
 
 BY REV. JAMES B. RAMSEY. 
 
 Li YNCHRURO ! 
 
 VIRGIKIAX ''WATER-rOWER PRESSES" J'RiXf. 
 1803. 
 
 yi^LzoB 
 
Lvxcnnrna, June 4.0th, 1863. 
 Rp.v. AMI Dkar Sik — In bclmlf of mapy of our foUow-citizens, who, 
 like most of the undvsigned, were deprired of the pleasure of heftring 
 the funeral discourse, which yoi >fttely delivered on the occaslon^of the^ 
 death of the iUustriou? and lamented Gcn'l Jackson, we would respect- 
 f.illj request thfit jou consent to its public.ition. The portraiture of the 
 character of » great and good man, by one who enjoyed his intimacy and 
 who is so compctenl to the task, should not be confined to the recOllec 
 tions of a single congregation, but preserved in an enduring form. 
 
 We hope, therefore, you will feel yourself at liberty to acocde to our 
 retiuest, and remain 
 
 Vonr friends imd fellow citizens, 
 
 JXO. M; SPEED, 
 JOHN G. MEEM, 
 CIIAS. W. BUTTON, 
 W.M. M. BLACKFORD, 
 GEO. M. RUCKER, 
 T. C. S. FERGUSON, 
 M. LANGIIORNE, Jk. 
 JAS. R. HOLT, 
 JXO. 0. L. GOGGIX-. 
 To Rev. J. B. Ram?kv, D. D., rrcsenl. 
 
 LvNCiii!LR(i, June 2ith, 18G3. 
 Gbntlkmk.n :— The discourse to which you refer was prepared without 
 the remotest idea of its publication, and when the desire for this was first 
 expressed, t doubted its.proiiriety. It was no.t until, having consulted the 
 General's own immediate connections, aijd having* submitted the manu- 
 script to his bereaved widow and bis pastor, their approval and I may add 
 eai'nest wish was added to your own, tha1> I felt at liberty to accede to the 
 request. With tlic liope thitt the same Divine blessing^hat always at- 
 tended that 1)c1ov(m1 and honored nianj nfay attcjid this imperfect effort to 
 hold up before hia coimtrymcuhis bright example, il is herewith at your 
 
 disposal. ' . ♦ 
 
 With much respect, yours truly, 
 
 JAS. B. RAMSEY. 
 To Jno. M. Si'EED, Esq., and others. 
 
True Eniiueucc Founded on Holiness. 
 
 " I will set him oa high, because he hath known ray name."' Psalms, 
 91 : VEKSE 14. . . ■ . ' 
 
 " IIow are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle I 
 0, Jonathan I thou wast slain in thj high places." Sueh 
 was the lament of David and Israel over the brave and 
 generous Jonathan, slain in the high places of the field, in 
 defence of his country and people, against their liereditarv 
 foes : and such is now a nation's lament over a greater than 
 Jonathan the son of Saul. "With a stricken heart, and 
 bi^er tears, Ihis whole people bow in grief, and as one man, 
 are ready to utter the touching words of David over his 
 • friend : " We are distressed for thee : very pleasant hast 
 thou been unto us : thy love to us was wonderful, passinf^ 
 the love of women. How are the mighty fallen, and the 
 weapons of war perished ! " 
 
 Our beloved Jacicson was slain emphatically in his high 
 places; in the hi^h places of his God's and his country's 
 service, in the very zcniy;^ of his fame and usefulness. Few 
 men in our world have ever attained to greater eminence : 
 none to purer. The nation accorded to hiui its entire confi- 
 dence ; it rung with his praise, and its whole heart thrilled 
 with true affection for him. Our enemies at ©nee feared 
 and honored him. His praise is heard in distant lands. 
 Envy had to gnash her teelh'in silence, fdr in the universal 
 en^uslasm, sho dared not speak* The Church of Christ 
 praised God continually for such a burning and a shining 
 light, and multitudes of souls, especially in our army, hi^h 
 officers and privates, will rejoice eternally in that light. 
 
 This eminence was not the result of brilliant and tower- 
 ing genius', or of a chance combination of favorable circum- 
 cumstances. His whole history shows a combination of 
 circumstances against it, such as is not often overcome. 
 Success was in his case extorted, compelled from unwilling 
 and adverse events, and in spite of difficulties that at first 
 
 I sight might have been regarded as insuperable. A brief 
 sketch of his life will' show this, and will best prepare the 
 
way for the Important truth wrapped up in all that life, and 
 blazing Forth' in all his oliaracter, that it was God who made 
 him great, by making him holy. 
 
 Lieut. Gon. Thomas J. Jackson was born in Clarksburg, 
 Harrison county, Virginia, \u January, 1824.* Ilis ances- 
 tors were from Efigland. Some military faste an4 talent 
 appears to have been iniierent in the family. His own 
 father was a successful lawyer, and at one time, a man of 
 considerable property, but by suretyship for others lost it 
 all, and died leaving three children only, one of whom, a 
 dai^hter, is now living. TiiOMAS, at his father's death, was * 
 only three years old. About six years after, his" mother 
 died in the triumphs of christian faith and hope. Iler 
 memory was always very precious. Do we not see here the 
 first of that chain of influences that made him what he was? 
 Who can ever tell the power of that mother's example and 
 prayer's ? 
 
 . Thus, bereft of his father and hjs mother, the Lord took 
 him up. He found homos among his relati\'«s^ especisflly 
 his uncles. His early education was irregular, and neces-* 
 sarily imperfect, until he entered tike West Point Military 
 Academy. There he manifested the same traits of quiet 
 indomitable perseverance and singleness of pu456se that 
 aft^wards so distinguished him, and that then went very 
 far to make up for his very imperfect preparation. From 
 tke Academy he at once entered the service of his country 
 in the' Mexican war. By his Jffomptitade, bravery and 
 coolness, he there highly^ distinguished himself. It was 
 du^'ing this campaign, or i\\\\\c quartered in the halls of the 
 Montezumas — as we are assured he literally was — that he 
 first seems* to have bepome impressed with a sense of the 
 importance of personal religion, partly, at least, through 
 intercourse with the pious Colonel of his battalion. With 
 the same prompt energy, and thoroughness, and zeal, that he 
 always manifested in whatever he regarded as present duty, 
 he resolv-cd to examine the whole subject of religion in its 
 personal*' claims, and its system of truth. Being satisfied 
 that the Bible was from God, the great question, was, where 
 and by whom was its truth most fully and purely held ? 
 Determined "to take nothing for granted, or at secondhand, 
 he at once availed himself of what seemed to him the rare 
 opportunity there afforded of examining the Roman Catholic 
 
 •For most of the iiiteri'.-ting fiicls In this sketch- 1 ank indebted to a coijnecHon of his, k 
 TBiued'fiiBiKl, wlio for jcurH wus in dnily und fiiinlliar luterconrBC with him. 
 
religion, by waiting on the Archbishop of Mexico, with whom 
 he had frequent interviews, extending through gome months, 
 I think, during which ho was taken in order over Hhe main 
 parts of their whole system, and propounded his .own dift- 
 culties. These last could not be resolved to his satisfaction, 
 and the result was a firm conviction that this, at Least, was 
 not the Bible system. With the stync impartial zeal and 
 k)ve of truth, and disregard to meie human authority, did 
 he pursue this search for some years before his mind became 
 satisfied. Gen. Jackson was therefore the farthest possibio 
 removp from being a bigot. His views of each denomination 
 were obtained from itself, not from its opponents. Hence he 
 could see excellencies in each. Even of Popery ht had a 
 much more favorable impression than most Protestants, 
 and it would be well for the Church of Christ, and would 
 greatly tend to promote fraternal feeling and kill bigotry, if 
 we would all, in our search for truth, gather our views of 
 others, not from their opponents alone, but from the best and 
 wisest of themselves, as Jackson did. ' 
 . After his return from Mexico, and being quartered for a 
 time in South Carolina, Florida, find New York, his health 
 became so shattered as to nearly unfit him for any -active 
 duty. It was at this time, and while endeavoring to regain 
 his health, that he was elected to the Professorship of 
 Applied Mathematics in the Virginia Militn*"y Institute. In 
 his very entrance on that work with very feeble health, and 
 eyes that totally forbade his using them at all by night, he 
 exhibited that same quiet energy of will and mental disci- 
 pline that afterward contributed so greitly to his success in 
 the field. Running rapidly over many pages of mathemati- 
 cal reasonings before night, he would, as we learn from 
 members ©f the family who knew his habits well, after durk, 
 without book oi; help, holding the complicated materials 
 before his mind, examine, analyze and thoroughly master 
 the demonstrations. 
 
 There he first entered into full connectron with the church. 
 From that time, the harmony and force of bis character 
 became still more apparent. With him, to know his duty 
 and to do it, were the same thing. Humble and retiring 
 almost to a fault, he would never shrink from any duty. 
 Whatever sacrifice of feeling it might cost him. A striking 
 instance of this I had from his own lips, when speaking of 
 the trial it cost him to speak before an audience. Being 
 on a visit to his sister, where were residing a number of 
 
6 
 
 professed infidels, and where there was but little religious 
 influence, tlie thought occurred to him that, being a military 
 man, they might be wiUing to listen to something from him, 
 more favorably than from others, though it might be much 
 inferior. And he at once resolved to prepare and deliver a 
 few lectures on the evidences of Christianity,, which he did ; 
 fchough the delivery, he, said, was one of -the greatest trials 
 he ever had. Where, among a thousand, is there another of 
 like temperament who would not, at once, have excused 
 himself from such an obligation? Ho .formed a class of 
 young men for instruction in the evidences of christainity ; 
 and for years lie superintended with great zeal andcfiiciency 
 a SabbMh school for the instruction of the colored people of 
 Lexington, the bencfieial example of which has been w-idely 
 felt. Liberal to tlie full extent of his means, God prospered 
 him according to his promise, that " the liberal soul shall be 
 made fat." * •» 
 
 When he entered the army at the beginning of the war, 
 he did it in obedience to the call of his God, as well as of 
 his country, llence^ no love of ease, of f;-iends, of houifi, 
 or domestic joys, could induce one- moHjents relaxation of 
 energy in tlie single line of his duty. He never, during the 
 two years of his service, left the camp — never saw hjs 
 home and for thirteen months at a time was separated from his 
 beloved wife. Of his military life and exploits, this is not 
 the place or the time to speak ; the country and the world 
 knows thejn and they will yet appear, doubtless, in fitting 
 narrative. But his deep interest in the spiritual jwelfare of 
 his army, deserves here special notice. Who does not know 
 that this was an object for Avhich he. labored most assiduously 
 and durmg the last year, especially with great success ? 
 Busy as he wj^s with personal attention to every .thing con- 
 nected with the efficiency of his army, boJ;h at rest and in 
 motion, he alVays found t]me to attend to this. He devised 
 and suggested a great comprehensive plan for the organi- 
 zation of the chajflaincy system, which is now being carried 
 into eftcct with prospects of great success. To his pastor, 
 Dr. White, he wrote a long letter on this subject, which 
 would itself be a most noble portrait of his religious charac- 
 ter. All his letters showed how full his heart was of this 
 matter, and all seemed to he wi-i^ten from the very precincts 
 of tiie throne. 
 
 In a letter received from him, only about a inonth before 
 his death, he thus speaks: "Whilst as Christians we must 
 
all have trials, yet wo have the precicms assurance tha^ they 
 work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal -weight of 
 glory. * ^: * jf you had the physical strength, I would 
 be greatly gratified to see you in the' army. It appears to 
 me that I have never seen such a field for Christian cflfort. 
 I am greatly gratified- at having Mr. B. T. Lacy with the 
 army. His labors, I trust, will be greatly blessed. So far, 
 great encouragement has attended them. I am much 
 obliged to you for your prayers, and beg that I may still 
 have an interest in them. It is to God that we mus* look for 
 peace, and for its enjoyment when it is bestowed." But the 
 following extract from a letter to his' pastor, the substance 
 of which the latter read at his funeral,*ha8 special interest 
 as showing his moral greatness. " The death of your noble 
 son* and my much esteemed friend, Hugh, must have been a 
 severe blow to you, yet we have the sweet assurance that, 
 whilst we mourn his loss to the country, to the church, and 
 to ourselves, all has been gaiji to him. ' Eye hath not seen, 
 nt)r ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the 
 things which God hath prepared for those that love him.' 
 That inconceivable glory to which we are looking forward is 
 already his. I greatly desire in the array such officers as he 
 was. * * * *• When in the Valley there was much' 
 religious interest among my troops, and 1 trust that it has 
 not died out. It appears to me that we should look for a 
 great work of grace among our troops, officers and privates, 
 for our army has been made the subject of prayer by all 
 denominations of Christians in the Confederacy. *■ * ' ♦ 
 * I am very grateful for your prayers and the pray.ers 
 of other Christian friends. Continue to pray for me. I 
 wish I could be Avith you in the church and lecture 
 room, whenever our people meet to worship God. * * 
 * "' Let us work and pray that our people may bo 
 that nation whose God is the Lord. It is delightful to see 
 the Congressional Committee report so strqngly against 
 Sabbath mails. I trust that yau will write to every member 
 of Congress with whom you have any influence, and do all 
 you can to procure the adoption of the report. And plqase 
 request those witK whom you correspond (when expedient) 
 to do the same. I believe that God will bless us with suc- 
 cess if Christians but do their duty, ^ov near fifteen years 
 Sabbath mails have been through God's blessing avoided by 
 
 •Copt, Uiigh A. White, whd fcU In the second battle of Manassas.^ 
 
8 
 
 me, Jlhd I am thankful to say that, in no instance has there 
 been occasion for regret, but on tiie contrary God has made 
 it a source of pure enjoyment to mc." 
 
 On tliis subject of Sabbath mails he felt very deeply, as 
 he did on everything aft'ccting the favor or the frown of God 
 upon our countiT. Just before his last "battle, he wrote a 
 long letter on this subject, perhaps the very last he ever 
 penned, to his connection. Col. Preston, ■\yho was a commis- 
 sioner to the General Assembly, requesting him to secure 
 some appropriate action from that body in favor of {heir 
 abolishment. His heart seemed thus to be so full of deep 
 interest for the spiritual good of the army, and the advance- 
 ment of the chtrck's interest, and her enterprises, as if it 
 ■were the one aijd tlie only thing to which his energies were 
 devoted ; and yet the country and the world and especially 
 the army know that the minutest military duty or interest 
 was never by him neglected or postponed. 
 
 The sad circumstances of his wounding, his sicknees and 
 death, are well known and' need not here be repeated. A 
 perfect knowledge of all the facts will, we are very sure, re- 
 move all suspicion of imprudence or rashness from the move- 
 ment which led to his wounding, and will show it to have 
 • be#n an event which no human skill or foresight could prob- 
 ably have prevented in the case of one whose fixwl principle 
 it was, we believe, to see with his own eyes whatever was 
 necessary to the disposition of his troops in battle, and whose 
 Euccess was doubtless greatly owing to this fact. You have 
 heard how looking at his stump and wounded hand, he said, 
 " I would not b» without these ^vounds now, even if I could. 
 God has sent them upon me for some good purpose. I re- 
 gard them as one of the greatest blessings of my life." 
 With what true christian submission and heroism he received 
 the announcement that he ha«l but a, few more hours to live, 
 answering, /' -Very good, very good, I 'w'ill be an infinite 
 gainer, to be translated." When his little child, which had 
 been baptised in the camp .only a few weeks before, was 
 brought in — he exclaimed, with all the fullness of a father's 
 heart — '■'■ my darling child J" and having attempted to amuse 
 it with his crippled hand for a few moments, he commended 
 it to God. His wife asked him, are you perfectly willing 
 that God should d"o with you just as he pleaees ? With 
 characteristic simplicity and decision both of language and 
 tone, he replied, ''I prefer it, I prefer it." 
 
 Such a deatj^ was a fitting close to such a life. It was 
 
cmphaticivlly a traiislatian from the liigU places of hisoarthly 
 famc,-+o the infinitely higher places of heavenly glory. To 
 
 "the church, and the country in this hour of our pcai"il, his 
 loss sccins irreparable. But the God that raitjed him up, 
 can raise up others in his place, — his resources are not cx- 
 haustctl,— and whiU is more, can make that life now ended 
 a greater blessing, ft mightier power for .goad than ever be- 
 fore. This wilj be so if he. only makes it a means of im- 
 pressing on the heart of this whole people -the truth, of 
 which" it was such a brilliant illustration, — that holiness is 
 power, jmd it alone secures true eminence. 
 
 ()nr text which is but ,q, statement of this truth,- 'is a con- 
 centration ©f Gen." Jackson's whole history. It is Ji,is life 
 and his character, his fame aiid its secret source, all in a 
 single -ecntcnce. It declares the secret of his great emi- 
 nence. God set him on high, because' he honored God. 
 This whole Psalm beautifully and strikingly applies to him. 
 It ^lescribes the Divine protection and honor of the man 
 that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, that 
 sayfe of the Lord, He is my vofuge and my foiJtress : my 
 
 •God, in him will I trust. It is of Jiim that God here says, 
 ""I will set hitu'ou high, "b^causo he hath known my name." 
 To Inioic the name of Crod is to recognize his true character, 
 and to' love, serve and trust him accordingly. It is but 
 another expression fortruo godliness, or holiness. The text 
 is, the-refore, but the declaratiou of God's purpose to .honor 
 those who honor' him : "I will set him o^hig-h — I will 
 make him safe and great, bce.a; c he Bath regarded not his 
 own name and glory, but mine.' Or in the language of the 
 immediate context, — " Becausv lie hath set his love upon me 
 therefore will I deliver hirrj. * * * * lie shall c.-dl 
 upon nie. and I will answer hiNi 5 I will be Avith him 141 trou- 
 ble, I will deliver him and honqr him." The same, purpose 
 he elsewhere thus expresses. -^ Them that honor rtue I will 
 honor, and they thjit despise "liie shall bo lightly esteemed." 
 " If any man serve me," says Chrigt, " him will my Father 
 
 -honor." • ' 
 
 To this as a general truth some will be disposed to demur 
 and to say that religion* does not always secUro, eufmence • 
 thjit cages like this arc exceptions to the'gcncral rule, — that 
 so far from the fear of God elevating men in view of the 
 
 /world it has the opposite object, inasmuch as men do not 
 love but hate holi^ci^s, and religion prevents men from usin"- 
 the means necessary to secure earthly honors ; indeed, that' 
 
10 
 
 it is inc^naisteut viiih. entering upon the eager strife and 
 contention made neccssarj by the rivah'y they awaken. 
 Much of this is doubtless true. In the arciia whoro worldly 
 honors arc the prize, the man of God May nort an.d ^vill not 
 descend. For him they have no charms. He knows, their 
 emptiness. To him they ai'c the veriest baubles. And no 
 man ever held them in more utter contempt than Jacksox 
 did. These, arc nol the high places to which the man of 
 God aspires, and. in which God has hero promised to put 
 him. To be elevated to theia alono is no real eminence. 
 When properly liuderstood there Is no exception to the prin- 
 ciple of the text ,that the fear of God alo^e can ^-aise any 
 man to the hi^icst eminence of Avhich he is. capable. 
 
 1. To make fhis clear consider first what true greatness real 
 ciniucnce, is. If is not mere worldly honor, or higji place, 
 or great power. To attain these, indeed-, needs no religion, 
 the}' :'.re, when taken "npart from moral excellence, the re- 
 Wiifds with whioli the devil h:>s always lured his willing vic- 
 tims to the giddy heigiits of their own ruin. As he tempted 
 our Saviour, so he tempts men still ; pointing to the king- 
 doms of the world and the glory of them, he says, ''All 
 these vail I give thee, if thou wiU falluown and worship me." 
 The devil has his high places, wliich hovrevcr similar they 
 may sometimes be in appearance, are as different -fa-om the 
 real eminence to vfhich holiness exalts, as darkness is from 
 light, as the height of the gallows is from that of the throne. 
 The -great ones of this world have by their -fame and their 
 glory only been pilloried on high to the* pitying or con- 
 temptuous gaze of all sucpeedisig generations of the wise and 
 good. So it has beeil with almost all Vho have iilled tlic 
 thrones of eartlu wi-th sill indeed except where moral wortli 
 li::s been eminent. So with a -Bja-on in the loftiest llights 
 of poetic genius; v,'ith a Laplace iri the sublime researches of 
 the astronomer ; with an Alexander, and a Napoleon in the 
 highest and 'widest sweep of military ' achievements. Men 
 may and tliey will 'rronder at their genius, their vast acquirc- 
 ment/i, their power Mid deeds cf daring, but where is tlie 
 wise and good man, the enlightened }"over of his race, who 
 does not lament over the shameful prostitutioja of all this 
 talent,' learning and power to the purposes of a low and sel- 
 fish ambition ; and regard them as brilliant Avrecks strewed 
 !iU along the shores of time as beacons to future generations ? 
 If mere intellcetual superiority or artistic skill, or indomita- ' 
 ble energy and vast power coidd raise its possessor on high, 
 
• n 
 
 *hcii has tho devil attwined an eminence that none of the 
 sons of men may hope to reach. 
 
 _ True eminence is inseparable from liolincss. In this con- 
 sists especially the glory of God : M-ithout it ail his other at- 
 tributes would-be objects of horror and dread just in propor- 
 tion to their infinite grcntncss. Although it is true that 
 m<?n#iatc holiness naturally, when its claims are urged upon 
 their hearts' filled with fleshly and worldly lusts, or -when it 
 shinesso near and so brightly upen tlicra as to disclose tlieir 
 own meral deformity, yet it is jjlso fcrue that God has so cre- 
 ated us that wo are irresistibly impressed ^itli the feelin<' of 
 its .infinite excellence, and compelled to conscious veneration 
 for it; Did not the proud and envioutj Pharisees even when 
 they sought to slay JesUs, feel and shrink in shame from 
 the dazzling, brightness of his unsJ)ottcd holiness? You 
 may gather roubd your name all the glory that genius, learn- 
 ing, skill, or military prowess can impart, yJt if this one ^rand 
 element of moral excellducc be not there pervading and con- 
 trolling and modifying all the rest, that name •^nll only ctq 
 down to posterity to carry your shame and disgrace on ac- 
 count of God's pervcrtod gifts. 
 
 J2. But more than this. True religion has a necessary 
 tendency to produce those qualities that alone can fit men 
 foi* the highest stations and the' noblest deeds. Wo do not 
 mean to assert here merely that the possession of those dis- 
 positions of heart and principles of action that constitute 
 true religion fit a man better to fill any position in life what- 
 ever. This none will dare deny. Truly to fear God must 
 produce an elevation of character, a purity of motive, a su- 
 periority to temptation, a sense of accountability, a submis- 
 sion to lawful authority, that cannot but mate men better 
 whether as servants or masters, citizens, soldiers, generals 
 or rulers. Bwt in addition to this it tends to develop to the 
 highest degree those -other mental qualities .necessary to fill 
 most completely the highest offi(5es and to meet the most re- 
 sponsible trusts. What greater obstacle is there to the full 
 development of i7itdle<jtual power, vigorous thou^-ht, close 
 reasoning, jmd clear and bold and lofty conception than the- 
 workings of pride and passion and appetite, or the distrac- 
 tions or care, or fear, or the influence of conflicting motives 
 or tho want of one great noble end of life ? And what in- ' 
 fluence ever entered a human heavt that could so eftcctually 
 remove all these, and relieve the intellect from every cloo-, 
 and banish every disturbing element as the fear and love of 
 
12 , 
 
 God ? Again, nothing so warps the ;iu<l(fmcnt :is passion, 
 impatience, fear and selfishness — and -whatever else weakens 
 the intellectual or moral force,, and as nothing so completely 
 corrects these as true holiness, nothing contributes go largely 
 and cfieotually to soundness of judgment. There are natural 
 incapacities that of couipe no religion can remove ; but 
 riierc arc no capacities so feeble that true religion wil]^ix)t 
 thus eiilargc and invigorate and make tliera toaxjcomplich 
 far beyond what any'culture could dh without it. And there 
 are no capacities so groat, i\o genius so brilliant that true 
 holiness — the exccllcncG of God himself, would not .have 
 made far greater, and covered with"a brighter brilliance and 
 power. Many a^nan of far inferior talent has thus been set 
 on high above the child of 9|pnins, both in intellectual power, 
 in sound judgmeart and in the inliuence (Exerted, liut in 
 n^othing is the elevating power of religion greater and more • 
 manifest than in the singleness of aim it secures and the 
 'concentration of all its energies on one grand end. This ia 
 the deepest secret of all high success in any pursuit. Sin 
 disorgamizes and divides ; holiness unites. This is especially 
 true of the human soul. When the soul truly knows God 
 as its God and trusts him, Avhen it has no m\\ but liis, and 
 no end but to obey liim, it acquires a force and vigor, a con- 
 centration of enw'gy otherwise impossible There is th6n 
 no waste of power J e-very little rill of thought and fecliag, 
 and desire and liopc flows into the great curnpnt of tlie lead- 
 ing pui:pose-, and from U'lat .pu.rpose every selfish end is ex- 
 cluded. There are no by-ends to divide and divert the at- 
 tention and energies. Not a particle of power is lost. Fear 
 and anxieties about the future cannot <listurb it, for all that 
 it trusts in God's hands ; the possible results to itself cannot 
 conic into the account, for that too belongs to God to ar- 
 range ; there are no cimllicting motives nqd purposes as self- 
 indulgence or ambition, for ihe^e are all set aside by the one 
 absorbing and comprehensive end of life and rule of duty. 
 Nothing but holiness can perfectly unite the soul, and de- 
 velop its full energy. In evei'y other pase where it seems 
 •united by the overmastering force of some ruling passion,' 
 as in the case of Napoleon,' by an ambition thnt sacrificed 
 at its shrine every dictate of conscience and feeling of af- 
 fection, there is this gi-eat clement both of weakness and 
 shame — the moral natnl*o is crusljed, and that which ought 
 to rule, aiid wliicli ruling by the fear of God, would coa- 
 tri1)ute an energy and force beyond any other single elc- 
 
 L 
 
13 
 
 ment, is not oniy lo^t, but much of the soul's true power has 
 been used up in resisting and cvushing it, an-d even then the 
 disturbing voice of an ovcvbornc and abused conscience ■will 
 still at times be heard causing more or.lcss wavering and in- 
 decision. Thus, true religion, by "the pure stimulu^it ap- 
 plies to intellectual power by its removal of all those mists 
 of solf-love, passion and preju.dice Avhi^i becloud the. judg- 
 ment, au<l by tiiat. power which it alone, possesses of produc- 
 ing entire singleness of aim and concentration of cnerijy, 
 m\ist tend to secure to its possessor the highest eminence" of 
 .which Ji^, naiuro is capable. In the very constitution of our 
 bciug God has thus secured the fulfillment of the assurance 
 — "I will set him on high, because he hath knoAvn my 
 name." 
 
 o. Still, again. To deny that holiness secures the high- 
 est eminence is to deny that a holy God governs the world. 
 "'The Lord reigneth,' and therefore all who do" sincerely 
 and wholly servo him, who make his will their only law 
 and his glory their great end, must fall in with the line 
 of his designs and providences, and secure his favor and 
 blessing.'' For promotion cometh neither from the east nor 
 fro.In the w§st, nor fi-om the south. 33-ut God is the judge ; 
 Ire putteth down one and sotteth up another." The reason 
 why so many of his people are visited with disappointment 
 and grievous failure in their plan's ; why instead of attaining 
 eminence in character, reputation and influence, they are 
 kept in obscurity, and visited with shame and confusion, is 
 that their knowledge of God, and consecration to his service 
 is so imperfect, so marred by selushness-aud worldliness that 
 instead of their lives bein^ radient with the beauty and 
 power of lidlincss, their inconsistencies secure the contempt 
 jjven of. the world, and they prevent themselves from attain- 
 ing the very'dlcments of character necessary to high success ; 
 and success, even if possible, would only be" their ruin, their 
 final elevation to glory requiring the present severe and con- 
 tinued disotpline of worldly dishonor. • 
 
 Since, then, holiness is an essential elepent in all true 
 greatness, all othey eminence being only in the 'end an emi- 
 nence to shame ; since it is necessary to give to the intellect 
 its full vigor, to the judgment its clearest light, and to the 
 wiiole character the full. force of' undivided energy ; since it is 
 necessary to secure the Divine favor and tha special" blessiuo" 
 of Providence* it is evident that the true and the hif^hest 
 emiuu'iice cannot be attained without "t, and must ever be 
 scciu'fd by it. * 
 
14 
 
 The history of our world affords many illustrious exam- 
 ples (if eminence secured by holinipss,. Joseph in Egypt, 
 Ilezckiah on the tlirone of Judab, Daniel in ]3abylon,"Paul 
 in the early Church ;— and in latter times an Edward VI. 
 on the Throne of England, an Andrew Mollyille inScotland, 
 a Gustavus ' Adolplius jn Sweden/, a Sir Matthew HaJo 
 among lawyers, a Thomas Budgott among merchants, a Gar- 
 dener and Uavelock atnong soldiers — arc a few of the most 
 familiar names, together with a whole multitude of others 
 whose names arc perpetuated in their writings. But, al- 
 though others have stood higher in position, ami in »ttain- 
 inents, none stand forth as more truly illustrious, or will go 
 down to posterity with greater honcr and a more powerful 
 and blessed influence than the name of our own beloved 
 Jackson, as one whom God hath set on high, because lie 
 honored God with all his heart and life. His character, as 
 faj" as known must secure this. There was something in it 
 so uni(|ue and yet so simple, — it was at once so severe and' 
 yet so gcntfc, so daring and yet so shrinking, that I will not 
 even attempt a full delineation of it. A few traits only will 
 be here presented, such as show him. to have been an embodi- 
 ment of the truths we have been discussing. And in speak- 
 in «• of his character we speak with confidence ; for we speak 
 what we do know. An acquaintance of years, that had 
 ripened into a warm friendship, — and habits of special inti- 
 macy with those Avho were in daily intercourse with him, and 
 to whom Jpiis character was always an object of admiration 
 and study, enable me to speak with assurance. 
 
 That in him holiness was power, seems to bo almost uni- 
 versally granted. Is there' a man in this; Confederacy that 
 has any doubt as to the secret of Jackson's greatness ? It 
 was not that in grasp of native intellect, in briliancy and. 
 breadth of con-ccption, in vigor of reasoning he excelled 
 others .so much ; — many others surpassed him in each of 
 these, both in the lecture room and the camp, who must ever 
 hold a far inferior jflace in the world's history. God indeed 
 had gifted him w^th a mind of no ordinary force and clear- 
 ■ ness, and gfcat native energy of will; but it was not this 
 alone or mainly that made him great; it was that in him 
 above all other men I ever knew, the only object of life was 
 just to do the Avill of God, and the constant posture of his soul 
 one of unli»esitating confidence in God. To obey God in all 
 thino-s, and at all costs, and to trust him implicitly seemod 
 for many years to have been the fixed hifbit of his soul ; not 
 
so much to have required an eHiim,, as to be. the steady and 
 spontaneous working of his whole being. It al^QOst seemed 
 to one Y>-ho watched him as if he could not help it ; his 
 whole happiness consisted in.it. lie seems to have been 
 deeply impressed in early life with the power of habit ; and 
 from the very, beginning of hjs Christian course he sought 
 to form fixed holy habits, extending to the minutest matters 
 of life, iroiu which nothing could ever make him swerve, 
 and which were the secret of his flosc walk with God. • " I 
 never," said he to a very dear friend, towhom he was ac- 
 customed to unbosom himself 'most fully, though even to 
 such he never spoke of himself except whfen constrained by 
 a sense of duty, — " I never take a glass of water, but the 
 moment it touches my lips, my heart rises in thanksgiving 
 to God and prayer for his blessing." "But, Major, do you 
 nx)t somctimos forget?" "No," said he, "I think not. It 
 is so much of a Tiabit now, that I would almost as easily for- 
 get to drink." lie added, " I never drop a letter ii> the of- 
 fice, but it is the signal for prayer to God to bless the er- 
 rand , on which it goes. I never, break the seal of a letter 
 but 1 make it the signal for asking God's blessing on the yet 
 unknown author and its unknown tidiiigs. Vr'henever I sit 
 down in my loctureroom, and the class arc assembling, until 
 all is quiet,— that is my time for prayer :- and when one 
 class is retiring and another entering, then too is my time 
 for prayer. In such things I have formed, the habit and I 
 cannot forget it. It gives me inexpressible enjoyment." 
 Thus he lived, kjuch was his communion with God, his life 
 of fa,ith and prayer. . And here was the secret spring of his 
 strength, Ae source of his real greatness. He 'was always 
 with Go'd, and he became like God as very few do. 
 
 lleference to another of his habits will show hov^', in the 
 very least things he made the will of God his sole law, and 
 how s6dulously- he avoided all doubtful grounds. (.)f the 
 wickedness of Sabbath mails, he was long iirmly convinced. 
 Carrying out his principles to their full' length, he would 
 never permit a, letter of his to travel in the mails on th« 
 Sabbath if it could be prevented. He would carefully count 
 the number of days required for it to reach its destination, 
 and if that time run into the SabbiLth, .unless it required a 
 whole week or more — 210 urgency of business could prei^^nt 
 him from laying it oveV till the next «\'eek. When he en- 
 tered on his professorship, he refrained, as a matter of con- 
 jscicnce, from reading even a single line by night,- owing to 
 
16 ' 
 
 thq weakness of his cjes, — and letters received en Saturday 
 night, though from his 4carcst friends, remained unopened 
 until early on Monday morning. And so supreme and 
 controlling was his sense of duty, that this never, accordin^jr 
 to his own explicit testimony, caused him any distraction of 
 mind, but rather a secret pleasure und gratitude to God that 
 ]i-c was thus enabled to obey him in all things. ^Yet his wns 
 by no means o. scrupulous conscience which is always dread- 
 ing '•vil when there is nibe, and distressing itself wtth im- 
 aginary fears; no man was over more free from this; but 
 one rendered peculiarly dclLcatc and sensitive by the unu- 
 sual vigor of spiVitu&l life, making it shrink instinctively 
 from the slightest touch of sin. .And that testimony of his 
 already (juotcd in regard to this matter, deserves to be held 
 in everlasting remembrance, — -that for nearly- fifteen years, 
 during which he had avoided all use of Sabbath mails, in no 
 instance had there i)een occasion for regref, but on the con- 
 trary, that God had made it a. source of pure enjoyment. 
 Let the church and the world both gaze upen'the rare ahd 
 noble cxanrple, till they feci its power. 
 
 Thus walking with, God in prayer and holy obedience, he 
 reposed upon God's' promises and Providence with a calm 
 and unflinching reliance beyond any man I ever knew. I 
 shall never forget the manner, and.touc of surprise a-nd child- 
 like confidence with which he once spoke to me on this sub- 
 ject. It was just after the election in November,- 18G0, 
 when the country was beginning to heave with the agony and 
 throes of dissolution. Wc. liad just risen from morijing 
 prayers in his own house, where at the time I was a guest, 
 i^'illed with "gloom, I was lamenting in strong language the 
 condition and prospects -of our beloved country. "Why,"' 
 said he, " should Chvistia'ns beat all disturbed about the 
 dissolution of tlic Union ? • It can only come by God's per- 
 mission, caul will only be permitted, if for bis people's good, 
 for does he not say a-ll things shall work together for good 
 to them that love God ?" I cannot. sec why loc should be 
 distressed about such things whatever be their consequences.." 
 Nothihf^ seemed ever to shake that faith iii God. It was in 
 him a truly sublime and all controlling. principle. In tbc 
 beautiful language .of. this Psalm, he dwelt in the ?ccrct 
 place of the Most High, h.e made the Most High his habita- 
 tjion, and was thus placed on high from the fear of evil. 
 Together with that extreme fear of oftending Qod in even 
 the least thing, which was the only fear he ever knew, — ■ 
 
17 . 
 
 this lofty faith was the source of that <juict daring, that 
 lofty heroism, that imperturbahlc coolness and self possession, 
 even in those sudden and dangerous emcrgenoies which 
 wound up all his energies to their utmost tension, that made 
 hiiji the model soldier, tjie true Christitin hero. 
 . In this connection it may be observed, that he seemed 
 never to hold an opinion that did not at once havo its full, 
 practical weight upon his conduct. Nothing formerly struck 
 me more than this in his character. There soomed to be no 
 discrepancy between his head and his heart, his belief and . 
 his practice. To believe a trutk ^nd act upon it were with 
 him one thing. 
 
 And all these together wont to constitute that ([uality 
 which has long been regarded by his most intimate friends, 
 as the main secret of his power and success, — his perfect 
 singleness of purpose. He Iiad no by-ends to divide his 
 mind or his heart. This self-abnegation was, I believe, as 
 nearly complete as that of any mortal thafe ever lived. It 
 was mentioned by Dr. White, his pastor, at his fyncral, that 
 when that unfortunate difficulty occurred in the Valley which 
 led him to send on his resignation to Richmond, — and all 
 'his staflf and other officers gathering round him, urged him 
 to go to Richmond himself and set himself right with the 
 government — he positively refused, saying, " I have but two 
 things to do, to serve my iSrod and my country. If my 
 country has not confidence in me here, let thcni put some 
 one in my place in whom thc.y have confidence." These 
 two things in his case really re. olved themselves into one, to 
 obey Crod, so that really, he had but one thing to do ; hence 
 his judgment was clear, his plans comprehensive, his action 
 prompt, his energy indomitable, and bis success unvarying- 
 God set him cm. high, becansc he knew God's name, he re- 
 cognized his sovereign claims-- God's will was his aM. 
 
 But I must stop this imperfect sketch. Otkers will no 
 doubt, ere long,' do full justice to his noble character and 
 fully portray his bright example. I cannot, however, for- 
 bear to add that Gen. Jackson was eminently a happy man, 
 cheerful and free from anxious eare : that he was just as 
 kind, aa-gentle and as tender, as he was stern yid inexora- 
 ble in bis requirements when duty and the interests of his 
 country demjpaded, and as he was lion-like in battle. This 
 picture there and in the camp, where God especially elevated 
 him to the living gaze of a whole people, others who- saw 
 him and bore with him the fatigues and perils of two bloody 
 years, can alone portray, 
 
. 18 
 
 Such was ia some respects the man "whom God set on liigli 
 amongst us, as very few have ev<'r been among any peo- 
 ple befora, and •nhosc logs a blccdini;; couutiy weeps so bit- 
 terly. Will you boar with me a little longer while J add a 
 few reflections. Such an occasion, occurs but oncr in jny 
 generation. 
 
 1. God gave him to us, let us praise him for the gift. 
 Few nations have ever been blessed in their infancy or e^'en 
 iti their maturity, with such a man, perhaps iione with such 
 a perfect Christian Hero. We challenge all history to pro- 
 duce his superior, nay, liis*ci[ual even, in this respect. God 
 wonderfully jirepaiied him for his work, put him in the place 
 for which he had been fitting him, and for two years of 
 bloody conflict crowned him with unvarying success. He 
 never once knew .ilofeat. Kernstown i.s covered with his. 
 glory, as much as Manassas or Kichmond or Cliancellors- 
 ville. By him God wrought for us repeated [and glorious 
 deliverances'. J'or our yet peaceful homes and unravaged 
 fields in i\\h dear old Commomvealth we are under God 
 greatly indebted to his toils and skill and rapid energy and 
 valor, and for these to his religion. God heard his prayers, 
 guided his decisions, and crowned him with glorious success,* 
 and to God he gave alw.ays all the glory. Let us not cease 
 to praise God for him, and to be encouraged in O'Ur great 
 struggle. Can wc believe tha^ God would liavc given us 
 such a man, and answered in every step his prayers for two 
 eventful years, and blessed him as our'dcfcnder, if he Jiad not 
 designs of mercy for us, and was not preparing for us a glo- 
 rious deliverance, and us for it ? 
 
 2. But again. God has taken' him, and why 'i He fin- 
 isiied his work just when we tliought he was about to enter 
 upon a stiU more glorious series of triumphs. Wo are all 
 bereaved. . The nation indulges a personal grief. Never 
 perhaps did such a throe of agony pierce a nations heart, 
 at the fall of a single man since the Dutcli llepublic stood 
 horror-stricken at the assassination of William, Prince of 
 Orange. The inquiry is natural, why this terrible blow ? 
 Why raise up just the instrument we necdbd, and then re- 
 move him when wc seemed to need him as much if not more 
 than ever ? 
 
 Who has not already heard in it the voice of God saying 
 to us, " Gease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils ; 
 for wherein is he to be acQOunted of?" "Put not your trust 
 in Princes, nor in tho Son of ma;n, in whom, there is no 
 
10 
 
 help. His breath gocth forth, he retumeth to the earth, in 
 that.very clay his thoughts perish. Happy is he that hath 
 the God of Jacob for his lielp, -wlmse hope is in the Lord 
 his God."' IF this nation had a;i idol it rras Jackson. If 
 there was any mere instrument to whom they were in dan^rer 
 of giving glory beyond what is man's due. it was he. Where- 
 ever Jackson w.ib known to be, there all was regarded as 
 safe ; men hardly ever felt the need of prayer for that as 
 for other portions threatened by our foe — it was already se- 
 cure, llis past safety toowas taken as almost a pled*^ of his 
 future. God has thus taught u^ that wo must depend di- 
 rectly upon him. Nothing hUed Jackson with greater solici- 
 tude than the thought that men were praising himi It made 
 him tremble in anticipation of heavier judgments through 
 God'i^lispleesure. God will ifot give his glory to another. 
 Depohdcnce upon God secured Jackson's success, and it "will 
 as certainly secure our success. If we will not honor God, 
 he will not honor us. Nothing we can conceive of could 
 teach us this great lesson, as Jackson's death is calculated 
 to do it. If it docs this, it will be a blessing fully equal to 
 his life ; if it fails to do it, it would seem that notliin'g else 
 can, we can look only to be a cast oif people. Let it then 
 be a voice to the church calling her to rally round the throne 
 of grace as never before, and to the whole nation to hum- 
 ble itself under the mighty hand of a holy God. 
 
 8. Observe again that while God his taken him away, he 
 has set on high his example, and enshrined it in the hearts 
 of this people, and is holding it up in its beauty and power, 
 as if to draw us on in those bright footsteps. The very time 
 and circumstances of his death were all such as to awaken 
 peculiar and melancholy interest, and so force attention to 
 his example, as if God intended that not a single eleuient 
 should be wanting to perfect the influence of that example. 
 It is a great thing to be mad# clearly to see the right way, 
 and to love and admire it. Here it is so exhibited as to stii- 
 our deepest emotions. His death has perfected that exam- 
 ple, and spread it out in all its fullness as it could not have 
 been had he lived. Just at a time when sorrow and peril had 
 rendered the nation's heart peculiarly plastic, and when its 
 character is being permanently moulded, God has thus thrown 
 out upon it this glorious example of the power -of holiness 
 with a force that every heart is bound to feel. God so or- 
 dered his life as to show in the very heavens that his success 
 aild eminence was due to his religion — that without this ele- 
 
20 
 
 ment we never could have had a Jackson, witliout it he 
 would have been just like Samson without his locks ; he then 
 made him the object of our enthusiastic love, and now by 
 his death he sets him on high enshrined in a glory as un- 
 changing as it is attractive, the very impersonation of holi- 
 ness in its bearing upon onr present success and our future 
 prosperity. A tenderer and more stirring call was never 
 made upon any people to turn to, to trust in, and to serve 
 the Lord. 
 
 4. Finally, the spirit of Tack^n, in our rulers, our military 
 leaders, and ©ur people can alone save ub and perpetuate us 
 as a nation. In him God has shown us the only way to trir 
 umpt and perpetuity. Blessed be his name that he has not 
 left us without some at least who partake of his spirit, and 
 that the noble chief of our armies, our beloved and honored 
 and" magnanimous Lee is strong in tho fear of God. ^lay 
 he raise up many such I Who does not fully believe that if 
 our rulers and generals and legislators and a majority of the 
 people had been actuated by the godly spirit of our Jackson 
 this war would have ended before this ? In the light of hia 
 example and triumphs, how clearly appears the curse of un- 
 f^odliness to a nation ! IIow dark the reproach and how 
 damning the influenc* of sin ! Who now will turn away 
 from Jackson's God and the religion of the cross ? What 
 patriotic heart will refuse to bow in humble prayer and obe- 
 dience to the God of nations ? If any such there be let 
 him remember that so far as he can, he is intercepting tho 
 blessino' of heaven, drawing down its wrath upon our suffer- 
 ing land, acid blasting his own highest hopes. 
 
 To our young men what a noble example ! Where it the 
 youthful soul so insensible to all that is lovely and glorious, 
 that he will nOt aspire to copy it ? AVhere is now that worst 
 ' of cowards, who is ashamed to pray, and be an earnest and 
 singular Christian? To our iflilitary men his example comes 
 with peculiar force : it sho^ys that tjic greatest military suc- 
 cess as well as all those high and manly qualities that enter 
 into the very idea of a true soldier, are not only consistent 
 with, but in their" highest degree, dependent upon tho fear of 
 God ; and it also rebukes that ambition and mere love of 
 glory which is the great oursc of military life. To every 
 man, woman and child in our land it appeals^ and especially 
 to every Christian, pouring shame on the cold, half-hearted 
 follower of Jesus, and calling all to a life of earnest and en- 
 tire consecration to God, and close communion with hiili. 
 
^1 
 
 Let the watchword then of our wholo country in her pr^ent 
 bloody struggle, and of the Church of Christ in the grea* 
 work now devolved on her, to form the moral character of 
 the nation, and of every individual in his warfere with temp- 
 tation and sin, bo that with which on the morning after his 
 fall another gallant officer led his triumphant corps to the 
 charge — " Forward, and remember Jackson ;" only adding, 
 " In the name of Jackson's God." Fear not, falter not, 
 flinch not, trust in God and victory is ours; victory over our 
 country's foes, over all the foo8 of the Church of Christ, 
 over sin and hell and death. God will set us on high, if we 
 revere hii name.