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 Memorial, Rev. John Hall 
 
Rev. John Hall, D.D. 
 
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Rev. JOHN Hall. D.D. 
 
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 Rev. John Hall, D.D 
 
 Born August 11, 1806. 
 Died May 10, 1894. 
 
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 SEP 15 198; 
 
Rev. John Hall, D.D. 
 
 The Rev. John Hall, D.D., died at his residence, 
 224 West State street, Trenton, N. J., on the morning 
 of Thursday, May loth, 1894. His funeral took place 
 on Saturday, May 12th. At the house a short service 
 was conducted at 10:30 A. M. by the Rev. John Dixon, 
 D.D., after which the remains were taken to the First 
 Presbyterian Church, where the funeral service was 
 held. The church was appropriately draped in mourn- 
 ing. The body as it was carried into the church was pre- 
 ceded by the Rev. John Dixon, D.D., the Rev. Frank 
 B. Everitt, the Rev. S. M. Studdiford, D.D., the Rev. 
 Walter A. Brooks, D.D., the Rev. A. Gosman, D.D., 
 and the elders, deacons and trustees of the church, 
 viz.: William J. Owens, John D. Cochrane, Dr. Wm. 
 Elmer, Robert P. Stoll, Barker Gummere, Hugh H. 
 Hamill, Charles E. Green, Judge Edward T. Green, 
 Henry D. Oliphant, Lewis C. Wooley, Enoch G. 
 Hendrickson, Joseph T. Ridgway, James Hughes, 
 
MEMORIA L. 
 
 William S. Covert, Barton B. Hutchinson, Edward 
 Grant Cook, William L. Dayton, Abner R. Chambers, 
 General William S. Stryker, Frank O. Briggs, and 
 also Thomas S. Chambers, Lewis W. Scott, Elmer 
 Ewing Green. 
 
 The service was begun by the choir singing — 
 
 Art thou weary, art thou languid, 
 Art thou sore distrest ? 
 "Come to me," saith One, "and coming 
 Be at rest ! " 
 
 The following selections from the Scriptures were 
 prepared and read by the Rev. S. M. Studdi- 
 ford, D.D. : 
 
 Mark the perfect man and behold the upright; for the end of that 
 man is peace. 
 
 Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn 
 Cometh in in his season. 
 
 And even to your old age I am he, saith the Lord, and even to 
 hoar hairs I will carry you: I have made and I will bear; even I will 
 carry and will deliver you. 
 
 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace ; thou shalt be buried in 
 a good old age. 
 
 Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty. Let me die the death 
 of the righteous, and let my last end be like his. 
 
JOHN HALL, n.D. 
 
 Remembor them which have the rule over you, who have spoken 
 unto you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of 
 their conversation. 
 
 For he was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost and of ftxith. 
 
 After he had served his own generation by the will of God he fell 
 on sleep. 
 
 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 righteous- 
 ness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day : 
 and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. 
 
 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the deatli of liis saints. 
 
 He that is our God is the God of salvation ; and unto God the 
 Lord belong the issues from death. 
 
 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitietli them that 
 fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are 
 dust. 
 
 As fur man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the Held so he 
 flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it and it is gone; and the place 
 thereof shall know it no more. 
 
 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon 
 them that fear him, and his rigliteousne.^8 unto children's children; 
 to such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his com- 
 mandments to do tliem. 
 
 The righteous liath hope in his death. 
 
MEMORIAL. 
 
 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting 
 arms; he will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will 
 wipe away tears from ofi' all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall 
 he take aAvay from off all the earth ; for the Lord hath spoken it. 
 
 Jesus said, I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in 
 me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and 
 believeth in me shall never die. 
 
 Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy 
 God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold 
 thee with the right hand of my righteousness. 
 
 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 burned ; neither shall the flame 
 kindle upon thee. 
 
 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye 
 are in heaviness through manifold temptations; that the trial of your 
 faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it 
 be tried with fire might be found unto praise and honor and glory at 
 the appearing of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father 
 of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our 
 tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any 
 trouble, l)y the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. 
 
 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also 
 aboundeth by Christ. 
 
JOHN HA LL, ]).J). 
 
 For he hath iu)t despised nor ahhorred the allliction of the afMicted ; 
 neither lialh he hid his face IVoni him; but when he cried unto him, 
 he heard. 
 
 The Lord is nit^h unto them that are of a broken heart; and savetli 
 such as be of a contrite spirit. 
 
 He shall deliver thee in six troubles ; yea, in seven there shall no 
 evil touch thee. 
 
 Now, no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but 
 grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of 
 righteousness unto them which are exei'cised thereby. 
 
 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord ; and whether we die, we 
 die unto the Lord ; whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. 
 
 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he 
 might be Lord l)Oth of the dead and living. 
 
 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them 
 which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others whiih have no 
 hope. 
 
 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also 
 which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 
 
 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are 
 alive, and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them 
 which are asleep. 
 
 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with 
 the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead 
 in Christ shall rise first. 
 
MEMORIAL. 
 
 Then we wliicli are alive and remain, shall be caught up together 
 with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air ; and so shall we 
 ever be with the Lord. 
 
 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me write. Blessed 
 are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth ; Yea, saith the 
 Spirit, that they ma}^ rest from their labors ; and their works do follow 
 them. 
 
 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, pro- 
 ceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 
 
 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was 
 there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded 
 her fruit every month : and the leaves of the tree were for the healing 
 of the nations. 
 
 And there shall be no more curse ; but the throne of God and of the 
 Lamb shall be in it ; and his servants shall serve him ; and they shall 
 see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 
 
 And there shall be no night there ; and they need no candle, neither 
 light of the sun ; for the Lord God giveth them light ; and they shall 
 reign forever and ever. 
 
 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firma- 
 ment ; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever 
 and ever. 
 
 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude which no man could 
 number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood 
 before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and 
 palms in their hands. 
 
JOHN HALL, D.D. 
 
 And cried witli :i loud voice, saying : Salvation to our God which 
 sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lanih. 
 
 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the 
 elders and the tour beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, 
 and worshiped God. 
 
 Saying, Amen ; Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, 
 and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God forever, and ever. 
 Amen. 
 
 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these 
 which are arrayed in white robes, and whence came they ? 
 
 And I said unto him, 8ir, thou knowest. And he said unto me. 
 These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed 
 their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 
 
 Therefore, are the}' before the throne of God, and serve him day 
 and night in his temple; and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell 
 among them. 
 
 They shall hunger no more; neither thirst anymore; neither shall 
 the sun light on them, nor any heat. 
 
 For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, 
 and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters ; and God shall 
 wipe away all tears from their eyes. 
 
 Dr. Dixon then spoke as follows : 
 
 It is both my desire and my duty to preach to morrow morning a 
 memorial discourse. It seemed to me titling then that the address on 
 
10 MEMORIAL. 
 
 this occasion should be made by some intimate friend of our beloved 
 pastor ; and this suggestion being acceptable to the family, the choice 
 of the Eev. Dr. Hall, of New York city, was quickly made. Our Dr. 
 Hall, and he who comes to speak to us to-day the word of instruction 
 and comfoi't, have been intimate friends for more than a quarter of a 
 century. 
 
 Dr. John Hall, of New York city, made the follow- 
 ing address : 
 
 Let us not forget the great purpose of a service like this; it is first of 
 all for the acknowledgment of God, of His goodness, His wisdom and 
 His grace. It is secondly, for the comfort of those who .shed the tears 
 of natural aflection because of the bereavement. And thirdly, it is for 
 the edification of those who are gatlured together here in sympathy 
 with them in their sorrow, and in tender and loving memory of God's 
 servant who has been taken home to his heavenly rest. These things 
 you will keep in mind, I trust, as you listen to the few sentences that 
 it is my duty now to speak to you ; and I think you will be prepared 
 to make some degree of allowance for the tender feeling that I cannot 
 keep from my own mind as I think of the removal of him for whom I 
 had so much affection and so much veneration. 
 
 Dear friends, we frequently speak of the journey of life; and the 
 phrase is very suggestive. The journey is sometimes long. It was so 
 in this case, extending over eighty-seven years ; it is sometimes brief. 
 There are frequently difficulties on the way ; part of the road is some- 
 times uphill ; there are frequently precipices, and there are sometimes 
 perils; but the Christian has this advantage : he has the Lord for his 
 
JOHN HALL, D.D. 11 
 
 leader, and his steps arc directed, one by one, by that good leader; and 
 the end is the eternal home, and into that home God has taken His 
 servant. The journey is completed. Let the lesson be impressed upon 
 your heart and mine that if we want to make this journey of life 
 hupiiily and succes.^fully wc must take tliis same Loader for our Guide, 
 even the Lord Jesus. Let us run with patience the race that is set 
 before us ; looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. 
 
 Life is sometimes spoken of as a battle, and the word is justified. 
 There are many enemies, including the world, the flesh and the devil ; 
 but thanks be to God, Christians are under a Leader; a competent 
 leader. Christ is our leader in the battle of life. The armor of God is 
 provided for us; we have to put it on, and to fight the good fight of 
 faith, and the day will come when we shall say also, "Thanks be to 
 God who givcth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." His 
 servant had gained this victory ; the fear of death had l)ecn put away; 
 faith conquered. He was taught to rejoice in the hope of the glory of 
 God, and when the end comes, when the battle is over, it is to take 
 one's place in the company from which there comes up the song, 
 "Thou has redeemed us and made us kings and priests unto God, and 
 we shall reign forever and forever." 
 
 There is another aspect, brethren, in which life may be looked at by 
 us; it is the period of education for the eternal world into which we 
 are going. The lessons are sometimes hard ; but the Christian has a 
 blessed teacher. "Come unto me all ye that labor, and are heavy 
 laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn 
 of me." That is the Son of God speaking to us. Learn of Him, and 
 when we come and sit at His feet we are put in the way of getting the 
 training that we need for the life that is everlasting. When we are 
 being educated in the world here for this life there are appropriate books 
 
12 MEMORIAL. 
 
 put into our hancb, and there are books provided for us, dear friends, 
 as we thinlc of the Hfe that is to come. There is the great vokime of 
 Providence. We study the work that God does, and we see His attri- 
 butes. There is the great vokime of Creation ; " the heavens declare 
 His glory, and the firmament showeth His handiwork." There is this 
 woi'k before me — the volume of revelation ; and as we study it we see 
 Creation and Providence in a new and clear light ; and as we believe it, 
 and take its truths to our hearts, the spirit of consecration is wrought 
 in us by the power of the Holy Ghost, and we are prepared tor the joy 
 and for the employments of that eternal world into which God is gather- 
 ing His people. 
 
 Has it ever occurred to you what a beautiful unity is given to the 
 life here, and the life beyond it, by being in the school of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ? A text was read to you that suggested the idea 
 "whether we live we live unto the Lord, or whether we die we die 
 unto the Lord. Whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's." 
 Here He is training us, teaching us, educating us, sanctifying us as 
 His children ; putting into our hearts the spirit of adoption ; there we 
 shall have the inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled, and 
 that fadeth not away. Need I tell you, dear friends, that these are 
 the sources of true comfort and consolation when God takes from us 
 those to whom we look with tenderness and gratitude and aflection ? 
 T know how many of you there are here that have just these feelings 
 toward our brotlier, whose course on tlie earth has closed. It is no 
 wonder that you do so regard him ; his life from the beginning of it 
 has been a process of happy and effective training; and it has been 
 a blessing to many. He has served his generation by the will of God. 
 
 Born in Philadelphia, near to which his remains are to be deposited, 
 he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania apparently at the 
 
JOHX HALL. D.D. 13 
 
 early age of seventeen. In the course of four or five years more he 
 was brought to, and accepted at the bar of the State, as a lawyer; he 
 was led, apparently by his own tastes and convictions, into diligent 
 and earnest work in the interest of Sunday Schools. In the course of 
 time, after some five years of work of this nature, he decided that the 
 work of the ministry was his appropriate calling, and he was ordained 
 and installed in this First Church ; and in that First Church, notwith- 
 standing many indu'^ements to go elsewhere, he continued to prose- 
 cute the work that the Lord liad given him. He had been doing 
 much on the field of literature, eight or nine original volumes of his, 
 and six or seven compiled by him are in the literature to this day of 
 the American Sunday School Union, and eight or nine more volumes 
 prepared by him are in the literature of the Presbyterian Board of 
 Publication. He was a precise thinker; he was a thoroughly 
 scholarly man; he was sound in his judgment; he was devoted to his 
 people. If I am not mistaken in what I have read of the literature of 
 thirty or forty years ago, there were few men in those days who did so 
 much in a systematic and methodical manner to spread the word of 
 the living God as did His servant whom He has taken to Himself. 
 
 What he was as a minister I do not need, dear friends, to recall to 
 you. When that text was read, " He was full of the Holy Ghost and 
 of faith," I thought of that which follows ; which speaks of many 
 being " added to the Lord " through him. I do not doubt that I am 
 speaking to some here, who, as they look back on the past, will say to 
 their own hearts : His teaching, his preaching, under God, brought me 
 to the knowledge of Jesus, and to the acknowledgment of the truth. 
 
 It is not the purpose of this service to eulogize him. I am sure if he 
 had been consulted upon the matter beforehand we would have been 
 warned against any such eulogy ; what I am magnifying is the grace 
 
14 MEMORIAL. 
 
 of God through his work. That is what he praised and honored; that 
 is what we are permitted to recognize and to magnify, now that he 
 sees the King in His beauty and is with the general assembly and 
 church of the first born in Heaven. 
 
 You will not wonder that I have been permitted to come here and 
 speak these words, not merely, I am sure, because of the identity of 
 name, but still more because of my being the successor of the dear 
 friend of his life for forty years — Dr. James W. Alexander— he was 
 kind enough always to take an interest in me and in the work that 
 God gave me to do, and for this I was thankful. May I give to you a 
 single experience, that is essentially my own. For more than a quar- 
 ter of a century I have been working in the one field in the city of 
 New York. When I came to this land there were not a few saintly 
 men older than myself from whom I received the utmost brotherly 
 kindness, whom I learned to count not only friends, but more ; one 
 by one, one by one, they have been taken away, and oh ! how often 
 my mind goes up to that prospect of the communion of saints, that is 
 opened up to us in the Bible. We shall be reunited; we shall be 
 gathered together again. We shall be in the presence of the King. 
 We shall be free from the troubles, sufferings and pains; there will be 
 no separation forever. 
 
 Dear friends, there are some of you on whose heads are signs of age. 
 There are some of you who, as you look round about you, see but few 
 of your own generation; look upward and forward, and in the pros- 
 pect of this glorious and eternal fellowship, rejoice in the prospect of 
 being reunited in Heaven. Only one thing more shall I recall to your 
 thoughts : the familiar figure of our beloved friend, so long associated 
 with this city, was well known to all of you— that you will see here no 
 more; but, dear friends, Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life; He 
 
JOJIX HALL, D.D. . 15 
 
 condescended to lie in tlie grave ; lie left in it tlie odor and fragrance 
 of His holy presence ; He made it a fitting resting place for the bodies 
 of the redeemed ; He will come again in His glory, and He will raise 
 up these mortal bodies, beautified, strengthened, dignified ; made like 
 unto the angels, like unto His own glorified body, and so shall we be 
 forever with the Lord. Let us dwell upon this; it will give us comfort; 
 it will impart strength to us. 
 
 It was said by a venerable minister who, like him, served the Lord 
 for a generation in the city of London, that one Sabbath evening, the 
 services being over and the congregation dismissed, lie was walking 
 slowly out of the minister's room, down the aisle. There was a gentle- 
 man there who lingered to get a word with him, but the minister did 
 not notice his i)resence; he thought himself alone, and as he slowly 
 walked down the aisle he was heard by this friend repeating to himself 
 these words : 
 
 " And when I am to die, 
 
 Receive me, I'll cry ; 
 
 For Jesus hath loved me, I cannot tell why ; 
 
 But this I do find, 
 
 We two are so joined 
 
 That He'll not be in glory and leave me behind." 
 Every true believer is warranted in taking this consolation. My dea 
 friends, make sure that you are in Christ; that you are living by the 
 faith of Christ; that you are on the journey to the Heavenly home ; 
 that you are fighting the good fight of faith, sitting at Christ's feet and 
 learning of Him, and when you are taken hence, they who love you 
 the most will be able to say without misgivings, over your name, 
 " Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord; they rest from their la- 
 bors, and their works do follow them." 
 
16 MEMORIAL. 
 
 Prayer was offered by the Rev. Dr. A. Gosman, of 
 LawrenQeville, N. J., and the choir sang ^' Rock of 
 Ages, cleft for Me," and then the benediction was 
 pronounced by the Rev. Walter A. Brooks, D.D. 
 
 The interment was at Laurel Hill Cemetery, Phila- 
 adelphia. 
 
CQBMOr^IAIi DlSGOUl^SE. 
 
 In the First Presbyterian Church, on Sabbath morn- 
 ing, May 13th, the Rev. John Dixon, D.D., pastor of 
 the church, preached a memorial discourse from the 
 
 text : 
 
 Hebrews xiii, 7. Remember them which have the rule over you, 
 who have spoken unto you the word of God ; whose faith follow, 
 considering the end of their conversation. 
 
 God speaks to our hearts to-day in these inspired words. We have 
 carried to his last resting place our beloved and honored dead, and we 
 are deeply moved by the fact that we shall see his face and hear his 
 voice no more on earth. The long ministry, the devoted service and 
 consecrated life of Dr. Hall make us most willing to yield obedience to 
 the divine command to " remember them who have spoken unto us 
 the word of God." 
 
 Dr. Hall was born in riiiladeliihia on the eleventh of August, 180G. 
 He was, therefore, at the time of his death eighty-seven years and nine 
 months old. He was baptized by the Rev. Albert Barnes, of Philadel- 
 phia, and admitted to the membership of the First Presbyterian 
 Church of that city, on September 24th, 1830. He obtained his colle- 
 giate education at the University of Pennsylvania, and graduated from 
 that institution in 1823. After studying law he was admitted to prac- 
 
18 3IEM0RIAL. 
 
 tice at the bar in Philadelphia in December, 1827. He did not long 
 continue the practice of the law, for he heard the Divine Voice calling 
 him to the work of the ministry. In 1832 he gave up the profession 
 for which he had prepared himself, and in which he remained for five 
 years, and accepted the position of Secretary of the American Sunday 
 School Union. It was during this period that the Presbyterian church 
 was greatl}" disturbed by doctrinal controversies, which culminated in 
 the trial of Albert Barnes for heresy, and in the division of the church 
 -in 1837 into Old School and New School. After the ecclesiastical 
 storm had somewhat subsided he made application to the Presbytery 
 of Philadelphia in 1839 for licensure. He was never a student in a theo- 
 logical seminary. His academic and legal training, together with his 
 business experience, and his connection with the Sunday School Union 
 had furnished him with a preparation for the ministry which stood 
 him in stead of the professional training of the seminary. He was 
 always fond of literature, and when but twenty-three years of age he 
 made his first attempt at authorship. He published in 1829 a transla- 
 tion of Milton's Latin Letters, with notes. In his position of editor of 
 the " Sunday School Journal " and " Youths' Friend," he had fre- 
 quent opportunity to wield the pen of a ready writer. He revised 
 the first five volumes of the "Union Questions on the Bible" and 
 prepared the seven subsequent volumes of the series. He pro- 
 duced nine original works and compiled six others for the " Sun- 
 day School Union," which brought him a good degree of fame. 
 
 While he was thus engaged, Dr. John W. Yeomans, who had 
 been the pastor of this church for seven years, tendered his resigna- 
 tion in order to accept the Presidency of Lafixyette College. Dr. 
 Yeomans was one of the remarkable men of his day. He was 
 Moderator of the General Assembly in 1860, and the three colleges of 
 
JOHN HALL, D.D. 19 
 
 New Jersey, Miami and Williams conferred the degree of Doctor of 
 Divinity upon him at the same time. His desire for knowledge was 
 very great, and he was specially fond of logic and metaphysics. He 
 was one of the little company who met frequently in the study of Dr. 
 (Charles Hodge, in Princeton, and discussed the great questions of 
 philosoi)hy and the theology. The immediate predecessor of Dr. Yeo- 
 mans in the pastorate of this church was Dr. James W. Alexander, the 
 accomplished scholar, the eloquent writer and preacher, and the dis- 
 tinguished professor. Dr. Alexander and Dr. Hall were warm friends 
 from boyhood, and began early in life that remarkable correspondence 
 which lasted for forty years until the death of Dr. Alexander. The let- 
 ters of Dr. Alexander were published by Dr. Hall with the title of 
 " Familiar Letters." It was natural, therefore, that Dr. Alexander, who 
 was at the time a professor in Princeton College, should recommend to 
 this church the name of his friend, Mr. John Hall, of Philadelphia, as 
 one in every way worthy of being called as pastor. A meeting of the 
 congregation was called for ]\Ionday, May 31st, 1841, to elect a pastor, 
 and Mr. Hall was the unanimous choice of the people. With his 
 characteristic promptness he began work on the very next Sabbath, 
 and thus was begun a ministry which continued for nearly fifty-three 
 years. Being only a licentiate it wns necessary that he should be 
 ordained as well as installed. He tixed upon his birthday, August 
 11th, 1841, as the time for this service, and on the evening of that day, 
 according to the record made by himself in the Session Book, "The 
 Presbytery of New Brunswick met in Trenton and ordained John 
 Hall, and installed him as the pastor of this church. The Rev. Eli 
 F. Cooley was the presiding bishop. The sermon was preached by 
 the Rev. J. W. Yeomans from the words 'He gave some pastors and 
 teachers.' The Rev. J. W. Alexander delivered the charge to the 
 
20 MEMORIAL. 
 
 pastor, and the Rev. Symnies C. Henry the charge to the peo- 
 ple." 
 
 At the time of his taking charge of this church it was the only Presby- 
 terian congregation in the city, but shortly afterwards the Second 
 Church was started with his cordial approval and co-operation. He 
 lived to see seven Presbyterian churches organized, and to have an 
 active part in their establishment and up-building, with the exception 
 of Bethany, which received his hearty good will, but the infirmities of 
 age forbade his taking part in the organization. He was deeply inter- 
 ested in the Chapel, and watched with great satisfaction the progress of 
 the work there. In his last message to us, which was read at the 
 annual meeting in January, he spoke of the Chapel as follows : " I 
 would drop this hint with special reference to our work in East 
 Trenton, and would suggest the thought, whether, as many are giving 
 their active co-operation in that work, and are doing so as punctually 
 by their presence or substitutes as the extent of the service requires." 
 Dr. Hall deserves the title of the Father of Trenton Presbyterianism 
 because of the policy which he pursued from the begining of his pas- 
 torate. Instead of opposing new organizations he encouraged them 
 and gave freely for their support both in members and money. The 
 Church, to him, was one, and it is mainly due to his wisdom and sj^irit 
 that the Presbyterian churches of this city have the warmest interest 
 in each others welfare and prosperity. As with the churches so with 
 the pastors of these churches. It would simply be impossible to find 
 a body of men whose relations could be more cordial and friendly. 
 Though such wisdom and unselfish devotion to the highest interests 
 of the cause of Christ are not as common as they might be, yet this 
 ancient church has been amply repaid for all her sacrifices of mem- 
 bers and money, by the filial and reverential regard in which she is 
 
JOHN HALL, n.J). 21 
 
 held by these households of Preshyteriiinisin. If Dr. Hall had done 
 nothing more than simply shape and stam pour denominational policy 
 with his own broad, catholic, heavenly spirit he had done enough to 
 be held in grateful and lasting remembrance. These churches are his 
 best monument. 
 
 After he had been pastor of the church for eighteen years he began 
 writing the history of the Presbyterian church of Trenton. He spared 
 neither effort nor trouble in order to set forth an accurate as well as 
 interesting history of the Presbyterian church here. It has been so 
 well done that it will never need to be done again. His history prac- 
 tically concludes with the beginning of his ministry, though a few 
 pages are given to the other churches. After his retirement from the 
 active work of the ministry, he was urged to prepare a second volume 
 and bring the history down to the close of his ministry. The late 
 Judge Caleb S. Green oflered to pay the entire expense involved, but 
 Dr. Hall felt himself to be in such uncertain health that he decided 
 not to attempt it. The coming years will only deepen our regret that 
 it must forever remain undone by him. 
 
 In 1850 the College of New Jersey conferred on him the degree of 
 Doctor of Divinity. In 1852-3 he delivered a course of lectures in the 
 Theological Seminary at Princeton upon " Pastoral Theology." This 
 chair had been filled by the illustrious Dr. Archibal Alexander. Dr. 
 Hall was called upon to temporarily fill the vacancy caused by Dr. 
 Alexander's death, and did it so acceptably that the General Assembly 
 that year elected him Professor of Pastoral Theology aiul Sacred 
 Rhetoric in the Western Theological Seminary at Allegheny City. 
 This appointment Dr. Hall declined, preferring to remain with this 
 congregation. In 1SG8 he was chosen a Trustee of the Theological 
 
22 MEMORIAL. 
 
 Seminary at Princeton, and continued to serve in tliat capacity until 
 1883, wlien lie resigned his position on account of ill health. 
 
 The years passed away in busy, delightful, and faithful service for 
 the Master. In 1881 the congregation celebrated the fortieth anni- 
 versary of his coming among them. He was then seventy-five years 
 of age, and not his years alone, but ailments of long standing soon 
 compelled him to be frequently absent from the jjulpit. The Reverend 
 Richard A. Greene was chosen as his assistant, but it became increas- 
 ingly evident to Dr. Hall that he must urge and insist upon the accep- 
 tance of his resignation. It was a sad and sorrowful duty on the part 
 the congregation to accept it, but this they did not do until every 
 resource was exhausted which could, by any possibility, postpone 
 the day. On May 4th, 1884, his resignation was accepted, and the 
 pastoral relation was dissolved. It was dissolved only in form. The 
 congregation testified to their love and veneration for him by making 
 him Pastor Emeritus, and providing for the continuance of his support 
 so long as he should live. This action and provision of the congre- 
 gation reflected great credit upon them. It was a noble act, worthy 
 alike of him who had so long and so faithfully served them, and of the 
 congregation who thereby proved the gracious improvement they had 
 made of his teaching. Dr. Hall appreciated fully this evidence of the 
 love and loyalty of his people, and in his last letter to the congre- 
 gation says: "It is a subject of sincere gratitude, as well as of some 
 surprise, that, notwithstanding my being so much out of sight and the 
 changes of personality in the congregation, the generous allowance 
 of income since my retirement is undiminished." 
 
 After the choice of your present pastor. Dr. Hall was accustomed to 
 attend divine service with us, as frequently as the state of his health 
 permitted. He always took part in the service when present, and fre- 
 
JOHN HA LL, J). J). 23 
 
 quently prouc-hod. The last time he preached was on llie occasion of 
 his fiftieth anniversary. It was on the thirty-lh'st day of May, 1891, a 
 most beautiful Sabbatli. Dr. Hall was not strong enough to stand 
 while preaching, and so read his discourse sitting. His voice was 
 clear, and the entire tVeedoni from unusual weakness, coupled with the 
 fact that his mind was as strong and bright as it had ever been, gave 
 to the congregation great satisfaction. The rarity of such an occasion 
 and the extent and character of his services to this church and com- 
 munity, would have fully warranted his i)reparing a discourse which 
 would have set forth what had been done during the long i)eri()d of 
 fifty years. Though j)erhaps somewhat disap2)ointed, we were not 
 surprised when he told us that his discourse would be in no sense a 
 review, and least of all a self glorification, but that as always, so then, 
 it would be concerning truth and duty. The next evening a reception 
 was tendered him in the church, when Judge Edward T. Green, on 
 behalf of the congregation, assured him of our love and high regard 
 and gave him a purse of gold as a token of afiection. His reply was 
 simple and short, expressing his gratitude for the kindness, and his 
 desire for the temporal and spiritual prosperity of the entire church. 
 The last time he attended divine service was on July oth, 1S91. 
 
 The burden of years pressed heavily upon him, and the progress of 
 disease gradually sapped his strength. In his diary under date of 
 March loth. 1804, we find this entr}' : " About these times I am suffer- 
 ing greatly from general debility, loss of appetite, insomnia, nervous 
 prostration, pains in legs and knees; but no severe or continuous pain. 
 My weakness is shown in easy crying, indisposition to leave the house, 
 loss of breath in exercise, and depression. But let me be more thank- 
 ful than complaining. My comforts are many, and my spiritual hopes 
 more sanguine than usual. I cannot pray for life or death, but in the 
 
24 MEMORIAL. 
 
 extremity of my dejection, feel that departure has no terror, but would 
 be a happy release." 
 
 On Saturday last, having spent part of the day in his study, he 
 returned to his room and his bed, quietly, and almost painlessly to 
 breathe his life away. He laid as in a sleep, but in fall possession of 
 his faculties, until about midnight of Wednesday. At 2 o'clock on 
 Thursday morning his spirit was released from the tabernacle of clay, 
 which it had so long tenanted, and he was with Jesus. Absent from 
 the body, he is present with the Lord. What a glorious company of 
 sainted ones have greeted him on the further shore. Our loss is their 
 gain, and his also. 
 
 Thus has ended on earth a pastorate of fifty-three years of distinc- 
 tion, success, uninterrupted prosperty and unalloyed peace. Through 
 changes, civil and ecclesiastical, he carried himself so as to command 
 the respect and secure the regard of all. Thus has ended a life of 
 nearly eighty-eight years, blameless, unspotted, and without serious 
 criticism or censure. No man could justly speak ill of him. Of 
 splendid physique, dignified bearing, courteous, aflfectionate and 
 conscientious, he was the soul of honor. Neither in the freedom 
 of private intercourse, nor in any public place, did he for a moment 
 forget that, as a minister of Jesus Christ, he should walk worthy 
 of his high vocation. Always genial, and even when worn and weary 
 with years and pain, he would frequently flash out some bright 
 saying, some witty remark, that told his friends his heart was as 
 warm and his mind as acute as ever. As a preacher, he took a 
 high rank. One of his last sermons, in which he described Mary 
 Magdalene coming to the Lord, that the demons might be cast out, 
 was one of the most vivid and impressive pieces of word painting I 
 ever heard. He preached the Word. The Bible to him Avas God's 
 
JOHN HALL, D.D. 25 
 
 Word. He read it, he believed it, and he preached it, as the very 
 truth of God. His prayers were certainly the most remarkable of any 
 minister within our knowledge. The contrasts were striking. Deepest 
 reverence and unrestrained freedom ever characterized them. They 
 were absoluti>Iy free from stereotyped phrases. He never forgot any- 
 tliing. Things utterly ignored by other ministers were remembered 
 by him, and when he prayed regardhig them, they seemed well worth 
 remembering. Frequently he would carry us into the very presence 
 of God, and our hearts would be melted and tears would overflow as 
 he told God of our inmost need. 
 
 In the conduct of God's house, he hated sham and sensationalism. 
 The sin of sins to him would seem to be the saying or doing anything 
 irreverent in God's house. He wanted no decorations or flowers in 
 the churcli, being almost more Puritan than the Puritans in this 
 respect. As he strikingly put it, to make so much ado about flowers 
 in the church, was to turn Christ inti) a gardener. He resisted to the 
 close of his niinistry the increasing tendency to observe special 
 days. He was always prompt in beginning the service. Many of 
 you will recall that the old bell — which has so long been silent, 
 but awakened from its sleep to toll out its sad and tender 
 farewell to its master, whom it had so long served — that the bell 
 would scarcely have tapped the third time when he would begin the 
 service. Tardiness was to him an inexcusable sin. He delighted to 
 come early to the church, for, as he was accustomed to say, he knew 
 of no better prayer meeting than spending fifteen minutes in silent 
 communion with God litfore the service began. As a pastor, he was 
 diligent, kind, sympathetic and Judicious. He loved you with a fath- 
 erly affection. He took delight in knowing all about you, and was in- 
 terested in everything that affected you. E?pecially in the families 
 
26 MEMORIAL. 
 
 that had hved for a considerable time in the conamunity, his interest 
 was shown by knowing the different branches of the family. He kept 
 track of the children, and of marriages and all important domestic 
 events. When any of the congregation wandered from the right path 
 it was a personal humiliation, as well as a grief, to him. The sick and 
 suffering were his unwearying care, and frequently have I been told of 
 his tender faithfulness during prolonged periods of sickness and afflic- 
 tion. To the poor he was especially drawn. His purse was ever open 
 for their relief, and by word and deed he was ever ready to serve them. 
 In his charge to the congregation at the time of my installation he 
 especially enjoined you to see to it that the poor should not be neg- 
 lected. And I bear witness that j'ou have been obedient to that duty. 
 He took a warm interest in the good work and progress of the other 
 denominations in the city. Not infrequently I am greeted with the re- 
 mark by Methodists, Baptists and Episcopalians, " My parents used to 
 go to Dr. Hall's church," or " I used to attend Dr. Hall's Sunday 
 School," and kindly and warmly would they express their regard for 
 him. His freedom from all uncharitableness, his love of good men, 
 his readiness to see and desire to commend everything that was worthy, 
 his supreme devotion to the cause of philanthropy and religion, his 
 love and loyalty to his Lord, made him a man to be reverenced, loved 
 and admired. He is gone. It is hard to realize it. The good gray 
 head will be seen at the study window, and on the street, and in the 
 church no more. As for many of us, we will not seem to be quite our- 
 selves without him. 
 
 The Lord tells us in our text to " remember him who spake unto us 
 the word of God." The members of that family circle, where children 
 and grandchildren and great-grandchildren delighted to gather, will 
 remember and never forget him. What sweet and pure and bound- 
 
JOHN HALL, D.D. 27 
 
 less aflectioii, what happy and unrestrained freedom, what deep and 
 deepening desire for spiritual good and temporal prosperity', and unal- 
 loyed hapj)ine?s were theirs. The weekly home-coming, the Thanks- 
 giving memories — these centered in and around him. Now that his 
 presence and voice, which were ever a benediction, are to be seen and 
 heard no more, our hearts go out to them to-day in grief and sym- 
 pathy, for seldom have children had such a father. See to it, beloved 
 friends, that, trusting in the atoning merits of the Divine Redeemer, 
 you take his Saviour to be your Saviour, and follow him even as he 
 folU)wed Jesus. A happy household on earth become, in God's good 
 time, and tlu'ough jiromised grace, a reunited, a redeemed and sancti- 
 lied household in Heaven. 
 
 As a church, we will remember him. His faithful preaching of the 
 word of God, his devoted and consecrated life, his unwavering devotion 
 to his Lord and Master will abide with us, a most precious heritage; 
 will ever be to us a beautiful memory. Far distant, yea, may the day 
 never come, when this ancient church — this church which has been 
 ministered to by such illustrious men of God as Cowell and Armstrong 
 and Alexander and Hall — turn away from the faith which they 
 preached and the gospel they proclaimed. As men of learning, cour- 
 age and faith, they preached what they believed, and they believed 
 what they preached. The truth of God is as unchangeable and eternal 
 as its Author. No progress of thought, no advance of civilization, no 
 change of circumstance or scene can bring us a different or better 
 gospel. In that faith our beloved pastor lived and died. So let us live, 
 and when we come to die, in that faith let us go hence. 
 
 If not with quite so much earnestness, yet with no little emphasis 
 would I plead that our church might retain its simplicity of worship. 
 Some may have fancied that perchance the gospel would have addi- 
 
28 MEMORIAL. 
 
 tional attractiveness and power if our simple form of worship and our 
 old-fiisliioned Puritan meeting house might be changed to suit a mod- 
 ern and advancing taste. In the sacredness and solemnity of this holy 
 hour, as we trom this house carried, yesterday, to his last resting 
 place our beloved, our honored dead, let us promise each other that 
 we shall not depart from the faith which he preached. 
 
 Those of you who have been brought under the influence of his life 
 and preaching to accept Jesus Christ, and to confess Him here as your 
 Saviour, your Lord and Master, surely you will remember him. No 
 other minister can be to j^ou what Dr. Hall was. As Paul said to the 
 Corinthians christians : " For though ye have ten thousand instructors 
 in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I have begot- 
 ten you through the Gospel" (I Cor. iv, 15), so could he say to many 
 of you. He preached to you pure doctrine ; he urged you to a full and 
 hearty consecration; he held up before you a lofLy standard; he 
 practiced what he preached. You will bear willing testimony to the 
 fact that as a servant of Jesus Christ he was faithful. Some of you 
 have received ordination to the office of elder or deacon through him. 
 Most of you have received from his hands the broken body and shed 
 blood of the Lord. Will you not one and all remember him? Though 
 he will never again minister to you on earth, yet in heaven I doubt 
 not he bears you on his heart and prays for you at the throne of grace. 
 Your wanderings from duty and the path of holiness will grieve his 
 purified spirit ; and on the other hand as he may come to know of 
 your progress heavenward in holy life, in gentle deeds, in faithfulness 
 to duty, and in likeness to the Lord will he not rejoice with a sweeter 
 joy and praise God with a gladder heart? 
 
 There are others who have sat under Dr. Hall's ministry for many 
 years and yet have not accepted Christ. Oh! my friends, how will you 
 
JOHN HA LL, n.D. 29 
 
 remember him? Will you still continue to forget, neglect or postpone 
 that acceptance of Christ which he so affectionately and earnestly 
 urged upon you? His lips are closed in death, but from yonder 
 heaven he pleads, he waits. Surely your hearts are tender to-day, and 
 conscience is bearing witness against you and for him. Memory 
 recalls that venerable form ; his voice, perchance his words, or at least 
 the impression made on you when he urged you to I)e reconciled to 
 God. Never will it be more vivid than to-day ; never will the heart 
 be more tender or the will more yielding. Fellow sinner, by the love 
 of Jesus, by the memory of that sainted man of God, by all that is 
 good and pure and noble, I plead with you that this very hour you 
 say "Lord Jesus save me!" Make his first Sabbath in heaven doubly 
 happy by the fact of your salvation. 
 
 There is one other who has abundant cause to remember the good 
 man whom we loved to call " pastor." Permit me to bring my tribute 
 of praise and gratitude and lav it humbly at his feet. Ten years ago 
 you honored me with a call to the jja.storateof this church. I need not 
 tell you how I came with fear and trembling. I did not know how 
 you would bear with the manner of my preaching and the way I 
 should conduct the service of God's house, but that which gave me 
 even greater anxiety was, what wuuld be the relation, personal and 
 ministerial, between Dr. Hall and myself. He was then seventy-seven 
 years of age, an old man. Old men, especially as they grow older, are 
 not apt to be tolerant of the ignorance and inexperience of young 
 men, and to bear quietly with the mistakes and blunders that a 
 stranger is almost certain to make. An old man is apt to think that 
 the former times were better tlian these, that things were not going as 
 well as they used to. I was sure I would give too frequent occasion 
 for his rebuke, ir ceitainly his regret. What has been the record of 
 
30 MEMORIAL. 
 
 these years? With a heart overflowing with gratitude to Dr. Hall, I 
 say here and most publicly that from the veiy first hour I came to 
 Trenton I have received only words of cheer, and encouragement and 
 commendation from him and every member of his femily. Never by 
 omission or commission has he ftiiled to say and do all that even a 
 father could say and do for an only son. How beautiful this has been 
 to me words would foil to tell. His death brings to me an unutterable 
 loneliness, but as long as reason abides and memory lasts I will praise 
 God for that kind providence which brought me into such intimate 
 relation to one of the purest and noblest men it has ever been my 
 privilege to kn )w. 
 
 " Servant of God, well done. 
 Rest from thy loved employ; 
 The battle fought, the victory won, 
 
 Enter thy Master's joy. 
 The voice at midnight came, 
 
 He started up to hear; 
 A mortal arrow pierced his frame, 
 He fell, but felt no fear. 
 
 The pains of death are past, 
 
 Labor and sorrow cease. 
 And life's long warfore 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." 
 
Naar, Day & Naau, 
 
 BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS. 
 TRENTON, N. J. 
 
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