SERMON,
CONTAINING AN INCIDENTAL REFERENCE TO THE
WRECK OF THE STEAM PACKET "HOME."
PREACHED IN ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, AUGUSTA, GA., ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22(1, 1837.
BY THE REV. EDWARD E. FORD,
RECTOR OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, AUGUSTA, GA.
[PUBLISHED AT THE REQUEST OF THE VESTRY.]
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA.
W. T. THOMPSON & CO., PRINTERS.
1837.
Augusta, 4<A November, 1837.
Reverend and Dear Sir :
Under a resolution of the Wardens and Yestry of our Church, I am re¬
quested to ask of you for publication, a copy of your Discourse, delivered on the
22d ult. commemorative of the awful visitation of an inscrutable Providence, in
making shipwreck of the ill fated " Home," by which, among many others, several
members, not only of our community, but of our own congregation have been
brought to a sudden and melancholy death.
With deep sympathy for the afflicted surviving relatives of the unhappy suf¬
ferers, I desire to unite with you, dear sir, in commending them to the support and
protection of an over-ruling Providence.
Respectfully and truly your's, &c.
E. F. CAMPBELL.
President of the Board of Wardens and Yestry
of St. Paul's Church, Augusta.
To the Rer. Edw'd E. Ford, Rector.
S ER MON.
"Biased is the man whom, thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy
law."—Psalm xciv. 12.
It is of the nature of all knowledge to meliorate the condition
of its possessor. And if this be true of human knowledge, much
more should we expect it to be the case with divine knowledge ;
with that knowledge or science which is communicated by di¬
vine revelation, and which has regard to God, his exalted per¬
fections, his righteous providence in the government of the
world, and the relation which we sustain to Him, in time and in
eternity. And if human knowledge can, as we plainly see that
it does, reflect light on those obscurities in the natural world
which might otherwise fill the mind with perplexity and alarm,
surely we ought to expect a very marked and decided influence
from that divine knowledge which the word of God imparts, in
elucidating the obscurities of Divine Providence,and in divesting
of their forbidding aspect those appearances in the divine ad¬
ministration, which otherwise might fill the mind with gloom
and dejection.
We shall confine ourselves, at this time, to only a single illus¬
tration of the position above laid down—viz. to that support
under affliction which is afforded to believers in the word of
God. It is this particular effect of divine knowledge, to which
the Psalmist bears testimony in the words of our text—" Blessed
is the man," says he, "whom thou chastenest, O, Lor dK and
teachest him out of thy law." The teaching to which he here
more particularly alludes, is evidently that which points out the
r o j
sources and the design of chastisements, or afflictions. It is
true, we have to consider the Psalmist, here, as speaking only, as
it were, negatively. He does not design to alledge that afflic¬
tions are a direct source of positive happiness, in any case, or to
any description of persons; but rather, regarding them as inci¬
dent to all men, as constituting the common lot of humanity, he
here only asserts that, in such a state of things, they do enjoy a
very material source of comfort and alleviation, under those
afflictions, who humbly submit to be taught or instructed, from
the word of God, respecting the purpose and design of them.
This is the prominent idea which we shall endeavour at this
time, to unfold: not, by any means, fully, but by only two or
three of the more prominent considerations which belong to the
subject.
And, in the first place, we say that a reverent regard to the
teachings of divine revelation serves to sustain and support the
soul, under the afflictions of life, by the general consideration of
a particular Providence, whose dispensations are directed by
infinite wisdom and goodness. It is inattention to this truth
.which serves to aggravate the pressure of affliction to the un¬
thinking and the profane. They "like not to retain God" or
his Providence "in their knowledge." The whole subject of
^contemplation is distateful to them: and more especially with
reference to the wisdom and goodness by which afflictions are
•directed, they readily satisfy themselves with those conclusions
which a superficial view of the afflictions of life is always sure
to suggest; conclusions disparaging to the attributes in question,
and calculated to increase rather than to alleviate the weight
O
of affliction. Far different however, is the case with him
whom, in the language of our text, God " teaches out of his
law." He has there learned, not only in general, that " the
earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof"—not only that " he
doeth his will in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabit¬
ants of the earth f but also that he controls those agents in na-
[7]
ture upon which the comfort and even the lives of his creatures
are so greatly dependent;—that " fire and hail, snow and vapor,
wind and storm," do but " fulfil his word—that it is the Lord
who maketh poor and who makethrich—that it is he who bring-
eth low and who lifteth up—he who woundeth and who heal-
eth—he who killeth and who maketh alive: nay, that such is the
extent of his agency and such the minuteness of his inspection,
that " not a sparrow falleth to the ground without his notice,"
and that " the very hairs of our head are numbered." At the
same time he has learned, from the same sacred source, that " the
God of all the earth shall do rightand also that consummate
wisdom and goodness are among the inherent attributes of his
nature. And therefore, in view of his own ignorance and
short-sightedness, which, he reflects, can take in but a very in¬
considerable portion of the divine government, whilst the more
distant relations of things lie entirely hidden from his view, he
most cheerfully believes, however difficult on some occasions,
to realize, that even the most afflictive dispensations of His
Providence takes place under the guidance, not only of perfect
righteousness, but also of unerring wisdom and of infinite good¬
ness. With these truths, truths in the contemplation of which
he delights, he has been continually storing his mind and his
memory, from the pages of God's holy word, and they come,
most promptly and most efficiently to his aid in the day of af¬
fliction ; so that he can then say, in the language of the good
Eli,—"it is the Lord—let him do what seemeth him good"—
or with pious Job—" though he slay me yet will I trust in
him." Even over the wreck of his dearest earthly enjoyments
he can say, with unfeigned submission, " the Lord gave, and
the Lord hath taken away—and blessed be the name of the
Lord."—Yea, when to human view all appears dreary and
comfortless, he can, in the sincerity of his heart, protest with
the prophet of old—" Though the fig-tree shall not blossom,
neither shall fruit be on the vines, the labor of the olive shall
[8]
fail, and the fields shall yield no meat, the flock shall be cut off
from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls ; yet will
I rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation."
We may further remark, that the grounds of support and
consolation under affliction are greatly strengthened, to the be¬
liever, by the full information which God, in his holy word, has
condescended to impart, respecting the particular office of af¬
flictions in his moral government. From that source, the be¬
liever learns the two correlative truths, of a future state of be¬
ing, and that for that state the present is one of preparation:
and also, that, as it is by constant, and frequently painful, exer¬
cise, in childhood, that the physical and intellectual powers are
fitted to discharge the functions of mature life, so the afflictions
of the present life, which is but the early childhood of that ex
istence on which he has entered, are wisely designed through
the exercise to which they subject his faith, to strengthen and
mature in his soul the germs of holiness. From the same
source, he also learns that he has inherited a fallen and corrupt
nature; a nature prone to the objects of sense, and averse to
spiritual pursuits ; and that before he can be won over to the
pursuit^ of those less congenial and more remote objects and
interests which address themselves only to faith, the enchant¬
ment of earthly things has to be broken by frustration and dis¬
appointment; yea, that even the pure enjoyments connected
with eoxthlj friendship, so apt to awaken in the heart a degree
of devotion, which might wrong the claims of its Maker, that
even these must at times be stripped of their insidious influence
by the stroke of Death : which is commissioned to tear from his
embrace some beloved friend, the more effectually to point his
bereaved spirit to that inexhaustible fountain of happiness which
alone can satisfy the boundless desires of the human soul. Thus
taught " out of God's holy word," the believer, in view of his
liability to afflictions, is enabled, even in tranquil anticipation
of them, to reflect with Job—" When He hath tried me I shall
come forth as gold"—and so likewise when emerging from
their fiery furnace, to look back upon his experience of their
sanctified effects, and acknowledge, with the Psalmist,—« it was
good for me that I have been afflicted : for before I was afflicted
I went astray, but now have I kept thy word."
Another source of comfort and support, under affliction to
him who submits to be taught of God, out of his law, is found
in the many consoling promises of strength and support from
on high, which are there contained. Amid his conscious weak¬
nesses and imperfections, the most sincere Christian might well
be appalled at the prospect of encountering those numerous
u ills which flesh is heir to," without some assurance of support
from without. But when he finds, in the word of God, what
ample provision is laid up for him, and solemnly pledged for his
succor, against the hour of trial, he braces himself with fresh
resolution for the conflict: for, that precious repository contains
not only general promises of grace to help in every time of
need—but it addresses itself, in particular, to the subject of af¬
fliction, in those encouraging terms—" Is any among you afflict¬
ed ?" let him pray ;—as though it had said—let him spread out
his woes, his wants, and his weaknesses, before that throne of
grace which is ever accessible to the needy and the afflicted:
let him seek support from that inexhaustible fountain whence
cometh all strength—from Him " who giveth power to the faint,
and to him that hath no might, increaseth strength." Those
heavenly oracles assure him—"God is faithful, who will not
suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able : but will, with
every temptation, make a way of escape, that ye may be able to
bear it."—" My grace is sufficient for you."—" A bruized reed
I will not break, and the smoking flax I will not quench." And
lest he should be overwhelmed at the idea of an insignificant
worm of the dust presuming to come, with the story of his griefs
and sorrows, into the presence of that dread and incomprehensi¬
ble Being, who sits, enveloped in awful and mysterious Majesty
[ 10 )
upon the throne of the universe, overlooking1 and directing its
mighty movements, he is there graciously reminded that though
heaven be indeed his throne and earth his footstool, yet that he
bends a tender and minute regard upon the humblest and obscu¬
rest of his creatures, even upon him who is poor and of a contrite
spirit, and who trembles at his word : and especially he is there
assured, that that merciful High Priest and Intercessor through
whom his humble suit is preferred, having once been tempted
like as he himself is, can be the more easily touched with a feel¬
ing of his infirmities.
My Brethren, our condition in this world is such as ought to
cause us to prize beyond all price, these precious teachings of
God's Law. Our lot has been cast in a world of sorrow and
affliction ; and unhappy, indeed, must they be, who are destitute
of faith in that word of God which alone furnishes a clue
to what were otherwise so mysterious, at times, in the ways of
Providence. For what is our condition here ? Care and anxi¬
ety agitate our spirits and mar our tranquility. Disappointment
in endless forms, is perpetually overshadowing with gloom, our
brightest anticipations of happiness, and almost rebuking, as
folly, the indulgence of those earthly hopes which appear so
uniformly destined to frustration. Riches, yea the very means
of comfortable subsistence, often take to themselves wings and
fly away, consigning us to the mortifications, discomforts, and
embarrassments of poverty. Disease saps the springs of physi¬
cal health and comfort, and prostrates our emaciated frames upon
the bed of helpless languishment. But—saddest of all our afflic¬
tions—those endeared to our hearts by the most tender ties, our
parents, our children, our near and dear kindred, our beloved
friends, are ravished from us by the hand of Death, and grief
and anguish over their loss, prey upon our desolated spirits.—
My Brethren, do we want illustrations of this sad truth 1 i refer
you to a recent mysterious dispensation of Divine Providence,
under which hundreds of hearts, and some of them in our
'[11]
own community, are at this moment bleeding. About a fortnight
since, He who holds in his hands the winds of heaven, let loose
these his ministers, for a work of destruction. They scoured
the bosom of the deep. Faithfully, fearfully did they there exe¬
cute their dread commission. Thence they passed forth over
the land. With gradually abating fury they reached, and passed
over our city. We heard them, as in fitful gusts, they howled
around our dwellings ; but, safe housed and sheltered, we heard
them with comparative indifference. But methinks had we
listened with a more attentive ear, we might have perceived in
them a certain moaning sound, of unwonted sadness. Ah ! they
were even then wafting to us the last subdued cry of anguish
which had risen up, amid the din and uproar of the elements,
from one hundred voices of our fellow-beings, tossing upon the
furious billows, before being engulfed in the caverns of the
deep ! Geeat God ! mysterious are thy ways !—Bat we adore
thy Majesty, we revere thy righteousness-^ we would bow sub'
missive to this thine awful chastisement. My Brethren.—with
reference to the lamented victims of this catastrophe, I shall
not attempt the hopeless task of giving adequate expression, in
language, to the intense emotions which their melancholy fate
awakens in the bosom. And indeed this were superfluous :—for
that is not a heart of flesh, which the contemplation of that fate
has not already melted and overwhelmed with pity, But could
I succeed in a more practicable undertaking, and which has
reference to the living—could I tell you, how many hearts, have
been wrung with bitter anguish by this mysterious dispensa*
tion,—could I depict to you, in terms at all adequate to the occa¬
sion, the tears which are at this moment flowing, the sighs and
lamentations which ^4. are at this moment ascending, over this
catastrophe, from parents, brothers, sisters, children, wives, hus¬
bands, friends, throughoulthe wide extent of our country,-—I am
sure I should present you with a most moving illustration of our
(subject. But I will not attempt even this, I will not go abroad
[12]
in imagination, over the length and breadth of our land, and
attempt to take the gauge of this mighty mass of sorrows. I
will confine myself to our own community. I look in front of
me, two or three pews from the chancel, and I see, there, a vacant
seat, that was wont to be occupied by a young, lovely, and inter¬
esting female, an habitual worshipper in our congregation.* O
ravenous, insatiate billows ! Could not youth, beauty, delica¬
cy,—could not genius, intelligence, and piety,—could not the
anticipated pangs of the hearts of bereaved parents, brothers,
sisters, friends, in the home of her nativity—nor the tears of
tender sympathy, from those, in this land of her adoption, whom
her many excellences had taught to love her even as with the
love of kindred—could not all suffice to stay your fearful onset!
Gentle, departed spirit! can we forget that time, when our own
hand beckoned thee up to that sacred altar, there to ratify, in
the pious sincerity of thy young heart, the solemn baptismal
vow by which thou hadst been dedicated to that gracious Re¬
deemer who bought thee with his blood 1 And O! in that dis¬
tracting moment when thy tender and delicate frame was going
down amidst the roar of the waters, say, did not memory bear
thee back, too, to this familiar spot, and to that consecrated
hour—and did not some gentle, heavenly whisper soothe thee
with the blessed assurance, that that venerated voice was heard
in heaven, which then besought thy God, u that thou mightest
continue his forever, and come at last to his everlasting king¬
dom."—I next cast my eyes to my right, and there I behold
another seat without its wonted occupant.t Alas! that place
which knew him so well, shall know him no more forever! In
his case, the health and strength of vigorous youth, just ripened
into manhood, sunk to infant weakness in'the vain struggle with
* Miss Cynthia Stow. She received the holy rite of confirmation, in the spring
of 1834, from the hands of the Right Rev. Bishop Bowen.
+ Mr. Levi S. Benedict.
[ 13 ]
the infuriate wave. The heart of a bereaved sister, with that
of her companion, both of them highly esteemed members of
our congregation, are wrung with grief; fond parents and rela¬
tives at a distance are weeping over a son, a brother, a relative,
cut off in the morning of his days ; whilst the heart of many a
friend and associate in this community, is paying a generous
tribute of tears to the memory of one, who, by many amiable
traits of character, had won their friendship and esteem.—I next
look up at the place of our choir, and I am reminded of anoth¬
er, the mellow tones of whose voice have oft times kindled our
devotions in the musical praises of our sanctuary. He also,
with the amiable partner of his bosom,* has found a watery
grave : and although removed, within the last year, to a distant
part of the country, yet over their memory, too, is many a tear
flowing in this community.
But methinksl hear other sighs ascending;—bitter, bitter sighs;
—for they come up from the crushed and desolate heart of the
stranger in our midst. She, with her estimable consort, had
just embarked among us, in the useful undertaking of literary
instruction, with a view to those of her own sex. She had sum¬
moned to her aid, from the home of her nativity, a beloved sister,
together with the husband of the latter, a highly respected cler¬
gyman of the Presbyterian Church.t Together their bodies
have sunk to a watery grave; but together also have their spirits
entered upon the bright rewards of the faithful followers of the
Lamb. With them, the surging billows swallowed up intellect
and accomplishments which would have enlightened and adorn¬
ed, and christian excellence which would have blessed, our com¬
munity;—and O ! they have overwhelmed with bitter sorrow and
* Mr. Willard Whiting and his wife, formerly Miss Bradley.
+ The Rev. George Cowles and his wife. Mr. C. had been Pastor of a congre¬
gational church in Danvers, Mass., for eight or nine years; but had been compelled,
by ill health, to relinquish the active duties of the ministry., about a year since.
[ 14 ]
disappointment, the heart of that affectionate sister, at the very
period when hourly expecting to clasp to her bosom those who
were to aid her by their labors, and to solace her by their coun¬
sels and their sympathy, in the land of strangers.
Such, my brethren, is an imperfect sketch of the sad conse¬
quences of this awful visitation, with reference to its comparative¬
ly few victims in our community: and from a consideration of
these, I leave it to your own reflections to infer, and to your own
hearts to sympathise over, the wide spread anguish which it has
caused elsewhere.
Said we not with truth, then, that in this world we live in the
midst of sorrows and afflictions? Yet if afflictions be our lot,
blessed be God, they are not without mitigation. Blessed are
those subjects of these chastisements, our text assures us, who
will but be persuaded to read them in the light of God's inspired
word. Let this then be a healing balm to those, whose bosoms
have been rent with anguish by the awful dispensation to which
we have alluded. To the word of God we would commend
them. In the doctrines which it proclaims, in the promises which
it makes, in the prospects which it opens, in the hopes which it
inspires—in these let them seek support and comfort in this try¬
ing moment Let them there learn that "affliction cometh not
forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground,"
but from the counsel and purpose of their infinitely righteous
father who is in heaven. Let them there learn that all things
shall work together "for good to those that love God ; and, with
meek submission and humble faith, let them await those future
developements which, either in this life or in the next, shall
fully vindicate not only the righteousness, but even the goodness,
of this now mysterious and inscrutable dispensation. Let them
go in faith to that throne of grace, which that word discloses, and
to which it invites them; and there let them pour out the sorrows
of their hearts to that now risen and ascended Saviour, whom
as having once felt them himself, they can the more easily con-
[ 15 ]
ceive of, as sympathizing in the sorrows and afflictions of hu¬
manity : and above all, let them learn, from that word, by a life
of faith, of penitence and of holiness, to secure for themselves,
when they shall be called to follow their departed friends, a lodg¬
ment in those realms of unbroken and undying bliss, from which
every grief and every disappointment, all tears and sighs and
sorrows, shall be forever banished.