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Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive 
 
 in 2009 witii funding from 
 
 Princeton Tlieological Seminary Library 
 
 http://www.arcliive.org/details/briefmemoirofrevOOdimm 
 
A BRIEF MEMOIR 
 
 OF 
 
 J ' 
 
 EEV. PAUL COUCH: 
 
 AN UNUSUAL SUFFERER. 
 
 BY KEV. L. F. DIMMICK, D. D,, 
 
 PASIOK OP THE NORTH CHURCH, NEWBURYPOBT. 
 
 "Who best 
 Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best." 
 
 Milton^ Sonnets, idx. 
 
 NEWBURYPORT : 
 MOULTON & CLARK, 29 MARKET SQUARK 
 
 Newburyport Herald Press— 3 State st, 
 
 1858. 
 
"' Charteris, [a Scotch divine,] lived to a great age, and 
 died in the end of the year 1700, having in his last years 
 suffered unspeakable torment from the stone, which the 
 operators would not venture to cut. But all that saw 
 
 WHAT HE SUFFERED, AND HOW HE BORE IT, ACKNOW- 
 LEDGED THAT IN HIM THEY SAW A MOST PERFECT PAT- 
 TERN OF PATIENCE AND SUBMISSION TO THE WILL OP 
 
 OOD." — Bp. Burnet. 
 
BRIEF MEMOIR, &c. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 " I "Will show him how great things he must suffer for 
 my name's sake. * — Acts 9:16. 
 
 A Human Life, well begun, well con- 
 ducted, and well closed, is the noblest thing 
 below the skies. It matters not so much as 
 is sometimes imagined, in what particular 
 line of duty that life is employed. He that 
 sweeps the street may be as worthy of honor 
 as he who guides the state. He that suffers 
 the will of God, bearjng calamities rightly, 
 may be as deserving of commendation, and 
 as useful in the scene of things of which he 
 forms a part, as he who does the highest 
 exploits in active service. 
 
 The USES of suffering, in the economy of 
 the world, are often not duly considered. 
 
6 MEMOIR OF 
 
 The objects to be accomplished by suffering 
 are probably quite as great and as valuable 
 as those which are to be accomplished by 
 action. 
 
 The sufferer himself, who suffers rightly, 
 is always benefited by what he endures. 
 Even of the greatest Sufferer the world has 
 ever seen — the world's Redeemer — it is said 
 that he " learned obedience by the things 
 which he suffered ;" and again, that it be- 
 came the Infinite One, '' in bringing many 
 sons unto glory, to make the Captain of 
 their salvation perfect through sufferings.'* 
 In such respects as the Humanity of the 
 Redeemer could receive maturing, and 
 strength, and qualification for his great 
 work — in such respects as he could be 
 brought to have a deeper sympathy with 
 his people in their^ wants and trials — a 
 greater adaptedness to their nature and 
 condition, and many branches of the work 
 he was to perform for them — this object was 
 accomplished, extensively, by his sufferings. 
 " Touched with the feeling of our infirmi- 
 ties/' it is said ; and the more as he " was 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. T 
 
 in all points tempted like as we are, yet 
 without sin.'^ 
 
 In this he was, in an important sense, an 
 example for his people ; an illustration, in- 
 deed, of a process which is still more appro* 
 priate — and even necessar}^ — in regard to- 
 them. Human nature, in its sinful, rugged 
 and wayward state, could hardly be expect- 
 ed to be subdued, reclaimed, purified, and 
 raised up to a life of holiness and meetness 
 for heaven, without a discipline made up, in 
 part, at least, of suffering. And very man- 
 fest it is, in the experience of the church, 
 that some of the choicest affections that 
 even a sanctified humanity ever exhibits, — 
 some of the finest, purest, and most impress- 
 ive developements it ever makes, — are, 
 through grace, produced by processes of suf- 
 ering ; as *' the crushed flower gives forth 
 the sweetest fragrance." Such is the law. 
 God " chastens us for our profit, that we 
 may be partakers of his holiness." 
 
 There is a public benefit, also, from suf- 
 fering, as well as a private. Most eminently 
 was this the case in respect to the Savior. 
 
? MEMOIR OP 
 
 He suffered, indeed, as no one of his disci- 
 ples, and no other being but Himself, can 
 suffer. He suffered as an Atoning Sacrifice 
 for the sins of men. He '' bare our sins in 
 his own body on the tree.*' He ''gave him- 
 self a ransom for all." He was " the Lamb 
 of God, which taketh away the ?in of the 
 ■world.'' In this his great work — the chief 
 work for which he came into the world — 
 no one can have a share with him. It is his 
 Alone. 
 
 But besides this, there is a public benefit 
 from his sufferings, in which his people can 
 bear some resemblance to him. In his suf- 
 ferings shine with special effulgence, some 
 of the brightest features of a perfect holi- 
 ness. His resignation, his patience, his for- 
 giveness of injuries, his prayer for his mur- 
 derers, and, in general, his meekness and 
 fortitude amidst the contradictions he met 
 with, and amidst the waves of sorrow that 
 rolled over him, — these things are an exam- 
 ple for all time. They are a great means of 
 teaching the world many of the prime ele- 
 ments of a true godliness. Take away the 
 
REV. PAUL COTJCH. 9 
 
 Life of Christ, and leave only his naked 
 teachings, and the gospel is deprived of no 
 small part of its power to impress and move 
 men. And a large share of the power of 
 the Life of Christ is contained in the suf- 
 ferings it included. 
 
 And in this aspect of the case, disciples 
 have responsibility, as well as Christ him- 
 self. As an apostle has expressed it :— 
 *^' Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an 
 example, that ye should follow his steps." 
 And another apostle, in still stronger 
 terms : — " Who now rejoice in my suffer- 
 ings for you, and fill up that which is 
 
 BEHIND OF THE AFFLICTIONS OF ChRIST, in 
 
 my flesh, for his body's sake, which is the 
 church.'' Even the sufferings of Christ did 
 not constitute the whole amount of suffering 
 needful for the church's welfare — needful 
 for the illustration of truth, and the power 
 of grace — needful for the carrying out of 
 the gospel to its designed consummation. 
 There are the kft behind, things lacking, to 
 be done by his disciples. Resignation, and 
 patience, and forgiveness of injuries, and 
 
10 MEMOIR OP 
 
 prayer for enemies, and. in general, meek 
 ness and fortitude amidst contradictions and 
 burdens of sorrow — sometimes heavy and 
 long continued scenes of anguish and pain — 
 these are to be acted over again, in all times 
 and all places, for the church's benefit and 
 the world's benefit. And in very few 
 ways do the disciples of Christ honor 
 religion more, than by imitating their 
 great Master in his example of suff'ering. 
 The Martyrs are to be put in this category. 
 A light has come down from their sufferings, 
 which they could have transmitted in no 
 other way ; in many respects, the brightest 
 light of those early times. And so a light 
 shines forth at this day, from many a cham- 
 ber of sickness ; from many an instance of 
 heroic endurance of protracted and heavy 
 calamity ; from many a triumphant dying 
 bed, — a light of the highest consequence to 
 the life and power of religion among men. 
 It strongly arrests attention, and produces 
 a deep and wide-spread impression, favoring 
 truth, and righteousness, and human salva- 
 tion. The sufferers in the kingdom of God, 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 11 
 
 therefore, perforin a work, who can say, of 
 any less value, or moment, than the actors 
 in the kingdom of God ? Perhaps it is a 
 more difficult service to render : but for this 
 very reason, when rightly rendered, it may 
 possess some peculiar preciousness in the 
 sight of God, and receive from Him some 
 peculiar recompense in the day when His 
 awards are given. 
 
 To the former class — the sufferers — be- 
 longed the individual, whose case we are 
 now briefly to consider. — And there is the 
 more appropriateness in introducing the 
 foregoing remarks in regard to suffering, in 
 this place, as they are expressive of that 
 view of the subject, which was ever very 
 prominent with him ; and from which he 
 derived great consolation and support under 
 the many severe pains appointed him, and 
 heavy burdens laid upon him. To use, sub- 
 stantially, his own language ; why should 
 not some be appointed to suffer for the gen- 
 eral good, as well as some appointed to act 
 for the general good ? Why should not 
 suffering have its use, on the broad and 
 
12 MEMOIR OP 
 
 general scale, as well as action ? And 
 when he took this view of himself as a suf- 
 ferer, he was comforted, and aided in bear- 
 ing his burdens. 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 18 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 " And that from a child thou hast known the Holy 
 Scriptores."— 2 Tim. 3 : 15. 
 
 Paul Couch was born in Newburyport, 
 (Mass.,) September 23rd, 1777. His parents 
 were Joseph and Mary Couch, worthy citi- 
 zens of the place. He was the third of ten 
 children. 
 
 When an individual, in subsequent life, 
 becomes distinguished in any way, we in- 
 quire with special interest in regard to his 
 childhood and youth, looking to see a com- 
 mencement marked with features foreshad- 
 owing what is to come. Of the early life 
 of Mr. Couch, little is known of a specially 
 remarkable character. Yet some things it 
 presents not unworthy of mention. He be- 
 gan life with an unusual degree of buoyancy 
 and energy. A friend, writing of him, says: 
 " His boyhood I well remember, having been 
 
14 MEMOIR OF 
 
 a schoolmate with him. He possessed a 
 warm and ardent temperament ; was full of 
 energy and sprightliness ; but was ever kind 
 and obliging : and, what may be specially 
 noticed to his praise, was not addicted to 
 any profane or improper language, or any 
 immoral behavior. His temper and man- 
 ners," continues this friend, " obtained for 
 him influence among his associates, and did 
 not a little to impart a tone of thought and 
 feeling to the circle in which he moved." 
 The bold, strong features of his character 
 made him a sort of leader among those of 
 his age. 
 
 Young Couch's early advantages for edu- 
 cation were only those afforded by the com- 
 mon schools of his native town, which, 
 though very good for that day, were yet 
 much behind what are now enjoyed through 
 the improvements introduced into the public 
 school system. Still a mind like his could 
 hardly fail to make good proficiency. He 
 was brought up, too, in a sober and religious 
 community, and received not a little relig- 
 ious instruction. His parents, though not 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 15 
 
 members of the church of Christ, were yet 
 friends of good order ; connected them- 
 selves and family with the public worship 
 of God, and retained and cherished in their 
 house many influences from the Bible and its 
 ordinances. And from a child this son 
 seems to have been a subject of occasional 
 religious impressions. 
 
 At a suitable age, young Couch was ap- 
 prenticed to the trade of a house-carpenter. 
 While an apprentice, he became hopefully 
 pious ; though he did not make a public 
 profession of religion till 1799, when he 
 was twenty-two years of age : uniting then 
 with the 4th church in his native town, 
 under the pastoral care of Rev. Charles W. 
 Milton. 
 
 Mr. Couch's early religious experience is 
 presented in the following brief Narrative 
 from his own hand, read to the church at 
 the time of his admission as a member. 
 Such was the practice. 
 
16 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " To THE Independent Calvinist Church 
 IN Newburyport : — 
 
 " Sirs : — Counting it a high privilege 
 and duty of all the adopted children of God 
 to join some branch of His cnurch militant 
 on earth, in order to partake with them of 
 the mutual intercourse in the ordinance of 
 the Lord's Supper, and keep up a remem- 
 brance of Christ, and hoping the Lord has 
 done one of his greatest works for me, I 
 would, after mentioning some part of what 
 I humbly trust have been his dealings with 
 my soul, offer myself to your charitable 
 acceptance. 
 
 "When going on careless and unconcerned 
 in the sports of giddy youth, I was, at about 
 the age of 13 years, much affected with cer- 
 tain words of the Psalmist. My feelings I 
 cannot well describe. The pangs were 
 keen, but short. They soon wore off, and I 
 returned to my former practice, flattering 
 myself that if I lifted up a cry to God in 
 my old age, or on a dying bed, he would 
 save me, because I was not so bad as some 
 others. Some time after this, I was visited 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 17 
 
 with sickness, and brought apparently to 
 death's door. But though, through the sig- 
 nal mercy of God, I recovered, I thought 
 not on his kindness, but still went on in my 
 sinful and rebellious course. But not long 
 after, having my eyes opened in some mea- 
 sure, I saw what an awful sinner I had been. 
 I saw that I was justly condemned, and that 
 if I died in this condition, I was undone for 
 ever. I betook myself to duties to recom- 
 mend me to God and gain his favor. Hav- 
 ing proceeded some time thus, I thought 
 God was under obligation to save me. But 
 soon after, having the enmity of my heart 
 and corruption of my nature discovered to 
 me, I found all the duties I had done were 
 defective. They were not of love : but sin 
 still reigned in my soul. Being thus cut off 
 from all hope, I knew not what to do, but 
 lay trembling as before the jaws of death 
 and hell, which seemed opened to receiva 
 me. Beins; commanded to look to Christ 
 and believe on him, I think I was, by expe- 
 rience, convinced that I could help myself 
 no more by the Gospel, than by the Law, 
 2 
 
18 MEMOIR OF 
 
 No tongue can tell the distress I was now 
 in. Thoiigli hell was not the place of my 
 residence, vet it seemed to move before me, 
 and towards me. And the torments of 
 my awakened conscience ! Will the excru- 
 ciating pains of a man on the rack serve as 
 a comparison? Methinks the latter is to 
 the former, as the shadow to the substance. 
 But though my state was thus forlorn, yet I 
 was convinced from the word of God, that 
 Christ was able to save me, if he would : for 
 he '' qukkeneth whom he wilL''' Now my 
 anxiety was great to get an interest in 
 Christ, though I doubted much his willing- 
 ness to save me, because I was so great a 
 Binner. Yet I could not help crying, '• Mer- 
 cy, Lord, for thine own sake !" thus contin- 
 uing to plead at the footstool of sovereign 
 grace. I was at last almost driven to de- 
 spair. In this state, I felt myself moved to 
 go to the Bible : which I took, and opened, 
 and cast my eyes on these words, in the 2d 
 chapter of Hosea, 20th verse, " I will even 
 betroth thee unto me in faithfulness ; and 
 thou shalt know the Lord." These words 
 
EEY. PAUL COUCH. 19 
 
 came to me, I trust, with the sweet con- 
 straining power of the Holy Ghost. I felt 
 transported at the thought of knowing God, 
 and ray whole soul was filled with joy and 
 praise. Since then, I have been down and 
 up, sometimes doubting whether I was 
 united to the blessed Jesus, and sometimes 
 fearing the Lord would leave and foivake 
 me. But. thanks be to God, he has, 1 hope, 
 now and then caused his blessed Spirit to 
 visit me, to exert his influences upon my 
 spirit, and bring his precious word and pro- 
 mises to my remembrance ; so that ir. has 
 caused my hard heart, in some measure, as I 
 hope, to gush out in streams of love and de- 
 sires towards him. And now I think 1 can 
 say, from the bottom of my heart, tliat, 
 " whereas I was once blind, now I see " a 
 little. '' My hope is in Christ." 
 
 Paul Couch. 
 
 Mr. Couch's religion did not lead him to 
 undervalue his secular duties, but mude him 
 more attentive to all their claims upon him. 
 "In his labors and business," says the Irlend 
 
20 MEMOIR OF 
 
 before quoted, " he was remarkably indus- 
 trious, upright, conscieatious, and faithful to 
 his employers, and was esteemed a good 
 workman at his trade/' 
 
 Even before his connexion with the church, 
 however, and before the close of his appren- 
 ticeship, the natural ardor of his character 
 began strikingly to manifest itself in the 
 new direction whkh his thoughts and feel- 
 ings hxtd-tKTW assumed — in the new life he 
 had now begun to live. A young convert, 
 he was at once very earnest and active in 
 the services of religion, and, especially, ere- 
 long, in exhortations and prayers in small 
 religious meetings. As a good lady, who 
 had well known him, expressed it : " He 
 was an independent, sprightly, high-spirited 
 youth ; and when he was converted, he turn- 
 ed it all into religion." 
 
 " The Great Reformation,'' as it has been 
 called, which occurred in the place about 
 the time now mentioned, was a scene in 
 which Mr. Couch took a very active part. 
 
 The year 1800, with portions of the sub- 
 iequent year, is referred to frequently by 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 21 
 
 some of our aged Christians, as a very re- 
 markable time for the outpouring of God's 
 Spirit ou this community. Numbers, still 
 with us, trace their first religious impres- 
 Bions and the beginning of their hopes, to 
 that period. Some of the churches, as ap- 
 pears from their records, received then, and 
 shortly afterwards, very great accessions to 
 their numbers. And among the instruments 
 in promoting this work, none were more 
 conspicuous than Mr. Couch. Some speak 
 of his labors particularly as the means 
 blessed to their spiritual welfare. His zeal 
 knew no bounds. While engaged daily in 
 his ordinary occupation, he was accustomed, 
 at this period, to rise early, and commence 
 labor before the usual hour, that he might 
 gain time for religious services and meet- 
 ings, the after part, or evening of the day. 
 That he might better qualify himself for 
 these religious services, he was much en- 
 gaged in the study of the Scriptures. Ho 
 was accustomed frequently to have his Bible 
 open before him while at his work, that he 
 might cast his eye often upon its sacred 
 
22 MEMOIR OF 
 
 pajro. and render himself more familiar with 
 its truth. Sometimes particular passages, 
 written or printed, were tacked up on some 
 post, or other conspicuous place, near his 
 work bench, that he might be aided thus in 
 committing- them to memory, or acquiring a 
 fulloi- understanding of their import. All 
 this was done, not only because he loved 
 the truth, but with the further view, that he 
 migiit bo more effective and useful as an ex- 
 horter at the religious meetings which it 
 was !io\v his passion to attend.* 
 
 In 1797, a society was formed by a few 
 younu" men, for religious purposes, of which 
 Mr. Couch was one. At first, it consisted 
 of only ^ye members ; afterwards of more, 
 
 * It is remarkable how knowledge is often sought, and 
 obtained, amidst difficulties. Iloger Sherman was accus- 
 tomed to work, on his shoemaker's bench, with a book 
 open hufore him. 
 
 Dr. l>ivingstone, the recent distinguished African Mis- 
 ■ioiiai V and Explorer, while in a factory, in his youth, 
 "pUctd a book on a portion of the spinning jenny, so 
 that,'' lie tfays, " I could ca.ch sentence after sentence as 
 I passed at my work." 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 23 
 
 reaching at last the number of thirteen. It 
 met weekly for prayer and conference. The 
 members bound themselves by strict rules, 
 to walk uprightly ; to seek to know the will 
 of God, and do it ; and affectionately and 
 faithfully to watcli over one another. The 
 measure could not but have been a great 
 assistance to those engaged in it, in their 
 early attempts to understand religious 
 things, and to live the religious life. 
 
 In this societv oricrinated some schemes of 
 benevolence, which, long after, were of ben- 
 efit to the place. Particularly, says the 
 friend repeatedly quoted, " here originated 
 the first efficient movement for the instruc- 
 tion and improvement of the colored popu- 
 lation in and about the town. Means were 
 solicited and obtained, to establish a school 
 for the colored children, and a regular Sab- 
 bath evening meeting for the adults. A 
 colored schoolmaster was procured ; a build- 
 ing purchased, and removed to an appropri- 
 ate location ; and for several years, a grant 
 was obtained from the town to support the 
 institution. — It was here,'' continues the 
 
24 MEMOIR OP 
 
 narrator, " that we ourselves learned to feel 
 more than we had ever felt before, the evil 
 of depriving the poor blacks of instruction 
 and liberty. We felt that they had souls as 
 precious as our own, and as capable of being 
 made glorified spirits, as we hope some of 
 them have already realized.'' Some other 
 plans of beneficence were devised and car- 
 ried forward by that little association of 
 young men, '' by which aid and instruction 
 to the poor were imparted, both among the 
 white and the colored people." In a poor 
 and destitute place, some four miles from 
 town, religious meetings were established^ 
 and for some time sustained, and otlier ben- 
 efactions bestowed. In these things, the 
 early mind of Mr. Couch is manifested. 
 His mind, indeed, was the leading mind in 
 the origination of the plans, and in their 
 execution. 
 
 The following is a fuller statement of the 
 revival of religion mentioned in the forego- 
 ing pages, and of Mr. Couch's connexion 
 with it, along with the young men with whom 
 he was associated. 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 25 
 
 " In the latter part of 1800,'- continues 
 the above named friend, " I recollect meet- 
 ing Mr. Couch at Stratham, N. H., where I 
 was visiting, and where there was then a 
 revival ot religion. There Mr. Couch's 
 heart received a new impulse of warm and 
 ardent feeling, which he brought with him 
 to his native town. During the autumn and 
 early part of the winter of that year, Mr. 
 Couch and his associates had kept up meet- 
 ings in private houses in Newburyport. 
 And after his return from Stratham, he be- 
 came more conspicuous as a leader in such 
 meetings. A particular scene on one of 
 these occasions, I can never forget. It was 
 in the last week of December, and I think 
 on the last day of the year. On this occa- 
 sion, the power of the Holy Spirit was man- 
 ifested in a very remarkable manner. In 
 the course of the meeting, many minds be- 
 came deeply affected, and some were even 
 stricken to the floor. This proved the be- 
 ginning, the opening scene, of an extensive 
 revival : one of the most powerful of any 
 that had taken place in that community 
 
26 MEMOIR OP 
 
 after the days, of Wiiitefield. It spread 
 mostly through the town : meetings were 
 multiplied, and it became the absorbing 
 question with the impenitent, * What shall I 
 do to he saved V and among the Christian 
 portion of the community, ' What has God 
 wrought?' Brother Couch was a leading 
 spirit in all these movements. He had a 
 fluency of speech, and a warm-hearted zeal, 
 which greatly interested the people. Wher- 
 ever he went, there was sure to be a crowd- 
 ed meeting. So deeply was the community 
 moved, that it became a serious question, 
 what should be done to regulate and com- 
 pose the public feeling. Some of the pas- 
 tors and leading members of the churches 
 thought there were irregularities and indis- 
 cretions connected with these scenes." Par- 
 ticularly they objected to the late hours to 
 which the meetings were often kept. It 
 seemed to them also that the young and 
 untaught were manifesting too much for- 
 wardness ; were assuming to be instructors 
 and guides beyond what their qualifications 
 fitted them for, and what the order and wel- 
 
REV. PxVUL COUCH. 27 
 
 fare of the church would permit. It is not 
 to be wondered at, that a young man cf 
 Mr. Couch's temperament should have been 
 among those who were deemed to need som.o 
 modifying, restraining influence. 
 
 " At length an arrangement was made be- 
 tween the pastors and the young men, to this 
 effect : that the meeting-houses of the four 
 Orthodox societies should be opened in ro- 
 tation four or live evenings in the week, and 
 that the young men should be invited to 
 take part in the services at each meeting. 
 This arrangement was continued for some 
 time : the pastors occupying the pulpit, and 
 opening the services by prayer and preach- 
 ing, and the young men occupying the 
 elders' seats below, and filling up the last 
 half of the evening with prayer and exhorta- 
 tion. Many clergymen visited Newburyport 
 during that period, and assisted in these 
 public services. A good degree of harmony 
 prevailed in the movements, the young men 
 being regarded as auxiliaries, at least, in the 
 great and good work.''* 
 
 *0f this "great revival" some accouut was given, 
 
2S MEMOIR OP 
 
 Mr. Couch was all this time, notwithstand- 
 ing his many religious labors, working still 
 
 shortly afterwards, by Rev. Mr. Milton, one of the pas- 
 tors of the town, and Mr. Couch's pastor, at the time 
 when the scene occurred. A portion of that communica- 
 tion the reader may be glad to see here. " Newburyport, 
 'Oct. U, 1801. * * * I think I can now safely testify 
 that we have had a glorious revival of religion in this 
 town, especially among the people of my charge. Prior 
 to this, it was a time of great deadness ; for though the 
 people of this town were very attentive to the Sabbath, 
 and the public worship of God, yet but little of the power 
 of religion was experienced, until God was pleased to 
 'dispose a number of young men, chiefly of my charge" — 
 the young men mentioned above — " to open a number 
 ■of private meetings in different parts of this town and vi- 
 cinity. The most remarkable was Jan. 15, 1801, when, 
 •after a number of petitions had been fervently presented 
 to God, in the name of Christ, for the outpouring of the 
 Holy Spirit, he was graciously pleased to answer ; for the 
 Spirit came down with invincible power ; so that a num- 
 ber of poor sinners were brought to solemn consideration ; 
 they now saw what a holy God they had offended — what 
 ■a perfect law they had transgressed — how just God 
 would remain should he send them to hell ; but they were 
 not willing to be damned ; they therefore cried for mercy. 
 It was supposed that several persons were savingly chang- 
 ed ; private Christians were called in' to converse and 
 pray with them ; and as indisposition prevented me from 
 being with them, they called in the llev. Mr. Boddily. 
 
SEV. PAUL COUCH. 29» 
 
 at his trade as a carpenter. He began, 
 however, in connexion with these scenes, to 
 
 This meeting lasted all night. — Jan. 16., I attended one 
 of these private meetings, and preached from Isa. li : 22. 
 God evidently was with us. Some could not keep silent 
 during the exercises, but frequently cried out for mercy, 
 while others were praising God for the sovereign triumphs 
 of his free grace ; at the same time they exhorted sinners 
 to flee to Christ for salvation. The private houses were 
 now found too small to hold the people : so great was the 
 attention of distressed souls, that with the advice of our 
 elders I opened our meeting-house in the evening. The 
 Rev. Mr. Boddily addressed the congregation ; one of the 
 young men prayed ; and I preached from Prov. xiv : 32. 
 Almighty power appeared to me to attend the word, so 
 that it cut its way to the hearts of sinners ; and then such 
 a scene was exhibited as I never saw nor heard before in 
 public." He speaks of some outcries and demonstrations, 
 of feeling, more than would be deemed desirable at the 
 present day : more, indeed, than w«uld have been chosen 
 by himself. He was " fearful that many would be preju- 
 diced against the revival because of these" things. Some» 
 he says, did " ascribe the whole to enthusiasm, and op- 
 posed " it. " For these reasons," he says, " after mildly 
 requesting those that could, to keep silent while I was 
 preaching and praying, which in general they did, I left 
 the whole in the hands of God for him to take care of his 
 own cause ; and blessed be God, I have no just cause to 
 repent." 
 
30 MEMOIR OP 
 
 query, wbothcr there was not a hii^her busi- 
 ness for him to pursue. And, after eonsul- 
 
 He mentions another scene. " February 10, our church 
 observed as a day of fasting- and prayer, for the coatin- 
 nance of God's Spirit, &c. Rev. Mr. Boddily preached 
 in the morning from Johnix: 19. In the afternoon I 
 preached from John iii : 7, 8. After T had done, the out- 
 cries ware great, indeed, in different parts of tho house ; 
 many were awakened and converted this afternoon by the 
 blessed Spirit of God." 
 
 Of the character of this work, Mr. Milton says : " Those 
 who have given good evidence of a real change from sin 
 to holiness, ascribe all to sovereign grace — they had in 
 general a short, but keen work of the law — they appear 
 full of love to God, his word and ordinances, especially 
 praying, hearing, reading, and singing ; the souls of sin- 
 ners appear to them of great worth, and in great danger; 
 this leads them to fiCqucnt private prayer meetings, to 
 pray for the con veil io a of them. Many of them have in- 
 formed me that they were brought into a state of grace 
 thus — they were brought to see the sinfulness of their 
 lives and hearts, and here the fountain of origiuai corrup- 
 tion was discovered— their guilt and helplessness was 
 now clearly seen and felt — they were brought to see the 
 justice of God should he cast them off forever — in fact, 
 they were brought to despair of salvation by the law — 
 they were brought to see the glory and sufficiency of 
 Christ, as exhibited in the gospel — they were sweetly 
 disposed and enabled to embrace Jesus Christ for all, in 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 31 
 
 tation with friends, and particularly with 
 the late Dr. Spring, on whose ministry he 
 about this time began to attend, and seek- 
 ing the Divine guidance, he determined on 
 relinquishing his secular pursuits, and be- 
 coming a preacher of the gospel. 
 
 As his education had been limited ■ — only 
 Buch as the common public schools afforded 
 at that time — he resolved to study more, 
 before entering upon his newly chosen w^ork. 
 In pursuance of this purpose, he passed sev- 
 eral terms at Dummcr Academy, at that pe- 
 
 order to grace and glory. Here is the foundation on 
 which they build, the atonement and imputed righteous- 
 ness of Cdrist — the complaints of the awakened were, 
 their hard hearts, unbtlief, enmity, ignorance. They 
 Bought relief by reading and hearing God's word, and by 
 prayer. Our meetings were every night for some time. 
 From the best information I can obtain, h is supposed 
 that in tbis town and vicinity, one hundred and seventy 
 souls have been born again, during the revi/al. A very 
 large number belong to my charge — some have joined 
 the church of Christ in full communion. April 9, w« 
 had added to our church twenty-nine, and Jane 24, sev- 
 enteen more: there have been additions to other chuches 
 in this town. Thus I have endeavored to state facts, as 
 far as I have been acquainted with this revival." 
 
32 MEMOIR OP 
 
 riod one of the best institutions of the kind in 
 the country. This accomplished, he studied 
 theology, first, with Rev. Dr. Woods, then of 
 West Newbury ; afterwards, with Rev. Na- 
 thaniel Noyes, of West Newbury, East Par- 
 ish ; and shortly after, was licensed by the 
 Essex Middle, now Essex North Association, 
 as a candidate for the Christian ministry. 
 He preached his first sermon in the North 
 Church in his native town, whose minister 
 had become his chosen pastor, in 1802, when 
 he was twenty-five years of age. He never 
 was ordained : so that the term Reverend 
 was applied to him only by courtesy ; a 
 courtesy, however, well merited. 
 
BEV. PAUL COUCH. 33 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 " Whereas it was in [thy heart to build a house unto 
 my name, thou didst well that it was in thy heart. — 
 [I. Kings, viii : 18. 
 
 Mr. Couch, after being licensed, preached, 
 occasionally, in several of the churches in 
 his native place, and vicinity, for a short 
 time : and in 1803, received a commission 
 from the Massachusetts Missionary Society, 
 to labor as a missionary in the State (then 
 Province) of Maine. Canaan, and the sur- 
 rounding region, on the Kennebec river, in 
 Somerset county, was the chief scene of his 
 labors ; though those labors extended some- 
 times farther east, even to the Penobscot 
 river. 
 
 In this new sphere, Mr. Couch addressed 
 himself to his duties with his characteristic 
 ardor. He never knew how to be at rest. 
 And now, having found the business, which, 
 
 a 
 
34 MEMOIR OP 
 
 above all others, he loved, he gave himself 
 to it with all his heart. In the summer of 
 the above mentioned year, he wrote to his 
 employers : " I have been engaged 19 weeks 
 in the service of the Massachusetts Mission- 
 ary Society. Rode 706 miles. Preached 
 116 sermons. Made 68 family visits. At- 
 tended 2 funerals. Visited 7 sick persons. 
 Attended 4 conferences, and 2 church meet- 
 ings. Received 7 dolls, and 50 cents, for 
 the benefit of the Society. I have endeavor- 
 ed to do what I could to promote the be- 
 nevolent objects of the Society, and thereby 
 advance the glorious cause of Christ." — 
 Mass. Miss. Mag. vol. ii. p. 101. 
 
 His labors appear to have been well re- 
 ceived, and to have made a deep and valua- 
 ble impression on those among whom they 
 were performed. "I have reason to be- 
 lieve," he adds, " that God in his abounding 
 goodness, has aided my feeble endeavors, so 
 far as to make them influential, in public 
 and private, for the awakening of a number 
 of souls, in different places, who, I have rea- 
 son to hope, have been brought to the sav- 
 ing knowledge of the truth." — lb. 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 35 
 
 In a letter from Mr. Couch to his friends * 
 dated Vassalborough, December 9, 1803, ia 
 some more particular development of his 
 feelings amidst his work, and reference to 
 the impressions his labors were making. 
 ** brethren ! keep near to the throne of 
 grace ; and do not forget your poor unwor- 
 thy brother. Pray tliat I may be an instru- 
 ment of building up the Savior's cauie ; and 
 that 1 may see, and meet with you once more 
 in this world, if it be the will of our pre- 
 cious Savior. But the will of the Lord 
 be done. * * i preach 8 times a week. 
 People come from all quarters to hear the 
 poor child. They "wonder/ and I fear they 
 will ' perish.' that God would convert 
 them ! They yoke up their oxen, and bi'ing 
 in their families to hear the gospel. 
 brethren, again I entreat, pray for me !" 
 
 Mr. Couch, it will be seen, as in his for- 
 mer labors, so in these, was full of ardor. 
 It was in his nature to need checks, often- 
 times, rather than incitements. Hence the 
 
 * Tne jouQg men with whom he had been associated- 
 
36 MEMOIR OP 
 
 quaint but significant caution which his pas- 
 tor, Dr. Spring, gave him, as he was depart- 
 ing on his missionary tour : 
 
 "Paul, Paul, first of all be sure you're right ; 
 
 " For when you run, you run with all your might." 
 
 " And this is the way," as a friend has 
 said, " in which he did up all his work for 
 God, and Christ, and souls. He did it with 
 all his might." 
 
 Further testimony to the nature and value 
 of Mr. Couch's missionary labors may be 
 gathered from several sources. 
 
 In the Memoir of Rev. Jotham Sewall,. 
 — " father Sewall," the Patriarch Missionary 
 of Maine — is the following paragraph : *' In 
 Orrington [on the Penobscot] he found per- 
 sons under serious impressions, whose atten- 
 tion had been arrested by the preaching of 
 a Mr. Couch, who was laboring in that re- 
 gion under the auspices of the same Society 
 with himself."— ;?. 136. 
 
 From some of Mr. Couch's early friends, 
 reminiscences of him have been received of 
 particular interest. The late Rev. Kiah 
 
HEV. PAUL COUCH. 3T 
 
 Bayley, of East Hardwick, Yt., writing of 
 him a little before his own death, gives sev- 
 eral items of this description. Mr. Bayley, 
 at the time of his early acquaintance with 
 Mr. Couch, was settled at New Castle, Lin- 
 coln county, Me. Mrs. Bayley was a New- 
 buryport lady, and a particular friend of 
 Mr. Couch. This brought Mr. C. often at 
 their house. Mr. Bayley, being desired to 
 give his recollections of Mr. Couch, and re- 
 plying under date of July 18, 1857, says : 
 " I should be glad to oblige you, and help 
 my old friend [Couch] to speak to living 
 men of the great salvation." Then, a few 
 days later, July 22, he writes more at length: 
 "Soon after he [Mr. Couch] came into 
 Maine, he visited some old friends in Alna, 
 and went np into Kennebec county, every 
 where preaching the gospel with great zeal, 
 urging sinners to repentance, and beseech- 
 ing them day and night to become recon- 
 ciled unto God." 
 
 Mr. Bayley continues, noticing the inter- 
 est Mr. Couch's preaching awakened, the 
 concern of some good men, at first, as to the 
 
38 MEMOIR OF 
 
 gemiincncss of the work he was perform-- 
 inff, and the incipient disease which his ex- 
 cessive labors were thus early bringing upon 
 himself : " He was ardent, and imprudent," 
 he says, " and nature soon flagged. Colds 
 ne<:lected settled into rheumatism incura- 
 ble. Pic was compelled to leave the field 
 of his labors ; and he repaired to his friendfl 
 at Alna. 
 
 He was not, however, long contented m 
 his confinement. Though pressed with dis- 
 ease, lie was soon again making some at- 
 tempts in his favorite work. Mr. Bayley, 
 in continuing his narrative, gives some 
 graphic descriptions of Mr. Couch's preach- 
 ing. 
 
 " In the winter," he says, '' soon after he 
 returned to Alna, I was told that Paul 
 Couch had preached on the Sabbath at my 
 meeting house, and had appointed a third 
 meeting at my dwelling-house. [Mr. B., it 
 would seem, having been absent from his 
 own [)lace of worship on that day.] Good 
 father McLean had heard him during the 
 day, said the man appeared quite unwell, 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 39 
 
 and was so lame that he had to crawl up the 
 pulpit stairs. The old Scotch divine," re- 
 Buraes Mr. Bay ley, " the long-tried and faith- 
 ful missionary who had for years labored in 
 the new settlements in Maine, wished to 
 hear the young evangelist from Newbury- 
 port, of whom he had heard reports widely- 
 different. He saw that he was crippled ; 
 but he soon found that he could yet wield 
 both sword and spear ; and resolved to let 
 him work. The old warrior," — so Mr. B. 
 expresses it, — " was pleased, and hastened 
 to report, [to bear tidings to Mr. B. the 
 pastor.] As the pastor's house was two 
 miles from the meeting-house, and Mr. 
 Couch was feeble, he did not arrive for 
 some time. But when he did arrive, he 
 found the people gathered and waiting for 
 him. The little assembly heard, and listen- 
 ed to the message, with deep interest. The 
 text chosen was Acts v. first clause of 2d 
 verse, — ' And kept back part of the price.^ 
 Feeble as the preacher was, he spoke with 
 energy and power, and direct application.'' 
 In Mr. B.'s spirited language, pointing out 
 
40 MEMOIR OF 
 
 the character of the sermon : " While pour- 
 ing grape-shot upon sinners, 'who are ready, 
 under conviction, to part with many things 
 for Christ, but cannot give up all,^ he threw 
 a bomb-shell at those Christians, who pro- 
 fess to give up all, but kept back their chil- 
 dren, the most precious part ; who lay down 
 what cost them nothing — say they have giv- 
 en up all, but reserve their children — will 
 not give their children to God, who claims 
 them specially as his. [Are there not too 
 many in the church, who keep back thus a 
 part more precious than gold ?] Mr. Mc 
 Lean heard the lecture that evening, and 
 ever after manifested a cordial respect for 
 the young apostle, and was ready to give 
 unto him the right hand of fellowship." 
 This " good father McLean " was the 
 "Rev. Alexander McLean," who was born 
 in Scotland about the middle of the last 
 century. He was educated at the Univer- 
 sity of Aberdeen, and was a talented as well 
 as learned divine. In his early life he em- 
 igrated to this country, and was installed as 
 the first pastor of the Congregational church 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 41 
 
 at Bristol, Lincoln county, Maine, July 4, 
 1773 ; and died January 11, 1808, at the age 
 of 64. 
 
 '' The church at Bristol was limited in 
 numbers and feeble in resources. Hence 
 Mr. McL., early in his pastorate, engaged, 
 a portion of the time, in missionary labors^ 
 and travelled extensively over many parts 
 of the State. He greatly aided the late 
 Father Sewall in the organization of many 
 of the churches in new and destitute places, 
 and was thus greatly beloved, and highly 
 useful. 
 
 " Some of the people of Bristol emigrating 
 to this region [the north-western part of 
 Kennebec Co.]* he often visited it, and did 
 much to lay the foundations of truth and 
 righteousness among us on a solid basis. 
 He was a sound, and discreet, doctrinal and 
 instructive preacher, and had his catecheti- 
 cal and theological classes of young people, 
 
 * These items have been kindly furnished by the Rev. 
 Isaac Rogers, of Farmington, Me., to whom grateful ac- 
 knowledgementB are here rendered. 
 
42 MEMOIR OP 
 
 that issued in the hopeful and vigorous 
 piety and steadfast faith of most of them. 
 Those of them in this region who have died, 
 lived the lives and died the death of the 
 righteous : and those of them who remain 
 unto the present time, are '* looking for the 
 mercy of God unto eternal life," being 
 " ready to depart and be with Christ, Avhich 
 is far better." 
 
 Such was the man, to whose searching 
 Bcrutiny the young evangelist was subjected ; 
 by whose sound and thorough judgment, the 
 character, doctrine and talent of the young 
 aspirant, and the nature of the work he was 
 doing, were estimated. The result was 
 most satisfactory. 
 
 Mr. Bayley, having spoken of the strong 
 friendship which sprung up between these 
 two earnest and devoted servants of Christ, 
 exclaims " Dear men ! They have long 
 since met in a better land, where suf- 
 ferings for Christ and his cause will be 
 rewarded with crowns and thrones by those 
 hands that were pierced on Calvary, that all 
 his people might reign on Mount Zion !" 
 
REr. ];»AUL cotJCH. 43 
 
 And since the above sentence was penned 
 by Mr. Bayley, with the preceding notices 
 of Mr. Couch, the author of them has him- 
 self joined the same great assembly. The 
 public papers have announced " the death of 
 the Rev. Kiah Bayley, which took place at 
 his residence in East Hardwick, on the 17th 
 of August, 1857, at the age of 87 years. He 
 formerly labored in Maine, and was one of 
 the fathers of Bangor Seminary." The " fa- 
 thers, wliere are they ? and the prophets, do 
 they live for ever ?" 
 
 Mr. Bayley retained, in a remarkable de- 
 gree, for a man of his years, his mental 
 clearness and sprightliness. To some en- 
 quiries made of him respecting Mr. Couch's 
 missionary labors, by the compiler of this 
 Memoir, he answered with great prompt- 
 ness — the very next day — observing, even 
 playfully, " I hasten to reply, as I have never 
 allowed myself to waif for the last bell." 
 Subsequently, he gave a description of him- 
 self, as under a load of infirmities, marked 
 yet with a terseness, vivacity, raciness, truly 
 worthy of observation. "A recluse — sel- 
 
44 MEMOIR OF 
 
 dom go to tlie door — feeble, palsy hanging 
 over me — shattered brain ; yet suffer little 
 pain — slide along, read, write a little, should 
 not — a wreck — unprofitable — thankful if 
 my Master will give me a lodging in his 
 kitchen." This, but some four weeks pre- 
 vious to his departure to other scenes : in 
 spirit and manner, not a little like his friend 
 Couch, of whom he had been so approvingly 
 speaking. 
 
 " After a few days' sojourn at Newcastle," 
 to quote Mr. Bayley's concluding remarks, 
 ^' Mr. Couch left a good name with us, and 
 returned to Alna, where he preached one 
 private lecture, and took his bed at the 
 house of his friends, Mr. D. Carton and 
 family, hoping that under their kind nursing 
 he would soon be able to take the field 
 again. But no : the young giant was too 
 deeply wounded to rise. There he was 
 chained. It was, I think, more than a year 
 before he was able to return to his home." 
 Yet, even in confinement, he was not useless* 
 He " preached to all who came to his lodg- 
 ings, and left a good impression on the minds 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 45 
 
 of saints and sinners. His ' light did so 
 shine, that others saw it, and were con- 
 strained to glorify God.' " 
 
 " Mr. Couch had a good voice, spoke with 
 power, as one having authority, and a divine 
 power seemed to attend his messages. He 
 was, in a word, no ordinary man. In a 
 short period, he rose from a humble situa- 
 tion, and took a high position among learn- 
 ed divines. Had he been allowed to labor 
 in the field, he would, without question, have 
 proved himself a sound, able, and popular 
 preacher, bold as a lion, and mighty through 
 God to the pulling down of the strong holds 
 of Satan. But such was not God's design. 
 He had appointed him another field of con- 
 flict, where he battled long and manfully." 
 Mr. Couch often had an originality of 
 manner, and a pointedness of expression, 
 which not a little increased his attractiveness 
 as a preacher. Among the anecdotes related 
 of him, is the following, illustrative of the 
 point in question. As he was prosecuting 
 his missionary work, in the new settlements, 
 and making deep impressions by his own 
 
45 MEMOIR OF 
 
 labors, he met sometimes with strong excite- 
 ment arising- from other causes. People 
 called New Lights, were scattered tlu-ough 
 many places. These people attended exten- 
 sively on his meetings, and, by endeavoring 
 to introduce their own irrcgidarities, occa- 
 sioned liim no small annoyance. On one 
 occasion, he came in contact, as a friend has 
 expressed it, " with one ot those wild, hur- 
 ricane revivals," wdiich this people laijored 
 to produce, in which there was not only 
 groaning, shouting and clapping, but jerk- 
 ing, leaping, screaming, swooning, falling 
 into trances, &c. Mr. C. was invited to 
 preach, and after some hesitation consented. 
 He took for his text, Acts xix: 13 — 15: 
 " Then certain vagabond Jews," &c. He 
 introduced the subject historically, and at 
 some length, making prominent the last 
 verse, " The evil spirit answered and said, 
 Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who 
 are ye?" and then drew from the whole this 
 doctrine ; Some professed servants of Christ 
 have such a strangle way cf doing things, that 
 even the devil himself do it know what to make 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. . 47 
 
 of them.r [How lie applied his subject, we 
 are Dot iDformcd ; but we may presume 
 with the same bold unsparing hand which 
 seemed shadowed forth by the text itself.] 
 Rev. D. M. Mitchell, now City Missionary 
 in Roxbury, after leaving- the Theological 
 Seminary (Andovcr) in 1814, labored for a 
 short time as missionary in Maine, on a part 
 of the same field where Mr. Couch's early 
 missionary labors had been bestowed. Mr. 
 Mitchell bears testimony harmonious with 
 that which has gone before. He speaks of 
 Mr Couch's having left upon all the region 
 the impress of his "indefatigable zeal." 
 " He was often," he says, " referred to as a 
 pattern of ministerial zeal and fidelity ; as 
 one who spared not himself. Night and 
 day, in the coldest season of the winter, he 
 preached in crowded school-houses, and. in 
 private dwellings, till his blood often be- 
 came greatly heated ;. and then by exposure 
 in going perhaps some miles to his lodgings, 
 he laid the foundation of the illness that 
 followed. The people called him Boanerges. 
 He was hated, indeed, by the enemies of the 
 
48 MEMOIR OP 
 
 truth ; but was greatly beloved by Chris- 
 tians ; and souls not a few were given him 
 as seals of his ministry. Mrs. Mitchell 
 recollects his preaching at her father^s 
 house — Gen. Crosby's, of Hampden, Me. — 
 She says, he was considered then a second 
 Whitefield, and great numbers flocked to 
 hear him. Two, at least, then members of 
 her father's family were believed to be sav- 
 ingly benefited by his preaching." 
 
 These things exhibited sufficiently the 
 spirit with which Mr. Couch entered upon 
 and prosecuted his short missionary work. 
 The one thought of preaching the gospel 
 filled his mind. He laid himself on the al- 
 tar, for God's service and glory, and labored 
 in all things to " make full proof of his 
 ministry." 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 49 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 " I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. — [Isa. 
 xlyiii: 10. 
 
 But the light in which Mr. Couch is 
 mainly to be viewed is that of a sufferer. 
 
 In previous years, even in his youth, he 
 had been afflicted, at times, with rheumatic 
 tendencies and complaints. In one instance, 
 a severe rheumatic fever had made some in- 
 roads upon his general health. His late 
 hours, and early hours, and vigils, in the 
 zeal of his first love, could not but leave 
 some effects behind. And the labors and 
 exposures of his missionary life, were fear- 
 fully suited to bring on the grand result that 
 ensued. 
 
 After the severe illness at Alna, related 
 in the preceding chapter, he did indeed so 
 far recover as to be able to preach a few 
 times, and to revive the hope that he might 
 yet be permitted to resume his labors. In 
 4 
 
50 MEMOIR OF 
 
 the summer succeeding, (1804,) he preached 
 sparingly, in New Milford, in the neighbor- 
 hood of Alna, and seems to have spent a 
 part of the summer in that place. And the 
 people of Canaan, among whom a large share 
 of his missionary labors had been performed, 
 had hopes of his restoration : in which case, 
 they were desirous of his settlement with 
 them as their minister. Dr. Spring, being 
 consulted in regard to the matter, wrote 
 Mr. Couch in reply : " There appears no 
 prospect of your going [to Canaan] at pre- 
 sent. * * But it is hoped you will re- 
 cruit ; and I hope you will settle yet. * * 
 I can freely and heartily recommend you to 
 the people of Canaan, if they will promise 
 one thing, and fulfil that promise, viz. : that 
 they will not suffer you to labor too much. 
 God bless you, and succeed you in the great 
 work." 
 
 But the flickering hopes Mr. Couch cher- 
 ished, that he should be well again, were in- 
 termingled with many fears. His sun had 
 scarcely risen, ere it was obscured by clouds. 
 His future appeared to him dark and 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 61 
 
 gloomy. " I would gladly have done more/' 
 he said, " if health and strength had allow- 
 ed." In a letter, dated New Milford, Aug. 
 6, 1804, addressed to the society of young 
 men, his former associates, he says : " You 
 won't forget me in your prayers, and I hope 
 I shall not forget you. God, I fear, is an- 
 gry with me : and, brethren, what shall I 
 do ? ' When I suffer his terrors, I am dis- 
 tracted.' But * though he slay me, yet will 
 I trust in him.' " The lesson of suffering, 
 with his temperament, was a hard lesson to 
 learn. 
 
 In the autumn of this year, he returned 
 again to his home, where, what he had fear- 
 ed began to be more fully realized. His 
 home soon became, in a sense, his prison : 
 where, for thirty-eight years, with very lit- 
 tle exception, he was confined to his house ; 
 and for twenty-eight years, entirely to his 
 chamber. During some of the earlier of 
 these years, he made occasionally an effort 
 to get abroad. In 1807, he was, with diffi- 
 culty, conveyed to Saratoga Springs, in 
 hope of advantage from the waters there, 
 
52 MEMOIR OP 
 
 but returned without benefit. In 1811 he 
 was conveyed to Reading, (Mass.) some 
 twenty-five miles from his home, to try the 
 practice of an eminent physician residing 
 there. But nothing was of any avail. Two 
 or three times, during these years, he was 
 carried to the sanctuary, having a chair set 
 for him in the aisle, with proper fixtures, he 
 being unable to sit as other people sat. The 
 last time was on a communion day, that he 
 might enjoy once more the fellowship ot his 
 beloved brethren and sisters at the Lord's 
 table. A very few times, during these early 
 years, he went to the house of a relative or 
 friend, being aided into a carriage, and out 
 of it, by two or three individuals, who 
 mainly bore him in their arms. 
 
 These incidents afforded a little relief 
 from absolute confinement. But even these 
 soon ceased, and the confinement, first to the 
 house, and then to the chamber, was com- 
 plete. And it was marked with many try- 
 ing circumstances. For the whole period of 
 thirty-eight years, he never put off, or put 
 on, his clothes, nor even lifted a foot, with- 
 
REV. PAUL COtJCH. 53 
 
 out assistance ; — assistance rendered mainly 
 by a SISTER, a little older than himself, and 
 whose attentions to him were as assiduous, 
 as his own necessities were remarkable.* 
 His limbs, especially at the joints, were 
 drawn out of shape and distorted by his 
 disease ; his feet were swollen, though his 
 general frame was emaciated ; his hands 
 were so drawn up by extreme pain, that it 
 was with much difficulty he could hold a 
 small book or a pen — in the latter years 
 not at all ; his neck was stiff, so that he 
 could turn his head in but the slightest de- 
 gree. He sat, or lay, encased in flannels, 
 and his strength almost entirely destroyed. 
 He was the subject of constant pains, till 
 pains became a second nature. Powerful 
 anodynes alone would give relief; which, 
 
 * The assiduities of this sister can never be too much 
 commended. She lived in her brother, and for him, and 
 never seemed to think any thing a burden she was called 
 on to do for him. He was her charge ; and she gave her- 
 self, with entireness and with great cheerfulness, to the 
 care of him as her life's business. 
 
54 MEMOIR OP 
 
 however, were resorted to less and less, 
 scarcely half the quantity being used in his 
 latter years, that was formerly employed. 
 For the first twelve or thirteen years of 
 Mr. Couch's confinement, his vision, which 
 had always been remarkably clear and dis- 
 tinct, continued unimpaired. At the end of 
 this time, a pain of great severity seized 
 him in the eyes. This, for about two years, 
 was the heaviest part of the affliction he was 
 called to bear. His eyes could endure no 
 light, and were the seat of unceasing suffer- 
 ing ; till, at length, the sight was almost 
 wholly destroyed. For more than twenty 
 years, he was able only to discover very 
 dimly some of the forms before him, without 
 ever distinguishing countenances or fea- 
 tures, or enjoying any of the solid advan- 
 tages of vision. The language of Milton, 
 with little abatement, he could make his 
 own : 
 
 " Thus with the year 
 Seasons return ; but not to me returns 
 Day, or the sweet approach of e'en or morn 
 Or sight of vernal bloom, or summer's rose, 
 Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine." 
 
 Par. I. B. Hi. 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 55 
 
 Even the dim vision of Mr. Couch, how- 
 ever, discerning but the most shadowy 
 forms, set him at a great remove from the 
 deep gloom of total blindness. To have 
 only this assurance of the light, was a great 
 source of comfort and encouragement to 
 him, amidst his many trials. 
 
 In the absence of vision, his hearing be- 
 came very acute. He would distinguish his 
 friends, who were in the habit of calling, by 
 their step on the stairs in ascending to his 
 room. Even their rap at the door, would 
 acquaint him often beforehand, who was the 
 individual he was about to see. 
 
56 MEMOIR OF 
 
 CHAPTER y. 
 
 " Do thyself no harm." — [Acts xvi : 28. 
 
 It has been already signified, that the suf- 
 ferings which Mr. Couch endured were, in 
 part, at least, the fruit of his own indiscre- 
 tion, of his own want of care of himself at 
 the beginning of his active life. While yet 
 working at his trade, besides the early and 
 late hours, as already mentioned, he imbibed 
 the idea, that, for him, four hours in his 
 twenty-four were sufficient to be devoted to 
 sleep. Hence, not unfrequently, considera- 
 ble portions of the night were employed by 
 him in secret devotion : sometimes in the 
 chamber ; sometimes abroad in the open air 
 — at the burying-ground, or other solitary 
 place, favoring deep religious impression. 
 The lines uttered of our Savior, — 
 
 " Cold mountains and the midnight air 
 Witnessed the fervor of thy prayer," &e. — 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 67 
 
 had a charm for him, and it seemed to him 
 becoming in a disciple, to attempt to imitate 
 the example of his Lord. 
 
 When he entered upon labors more ap- 
 propriately ministerial, we have seen, he 
 was equally unsparing of himself. When 
 remonstrated with, and warned that he was 
 doing himself injury, he was accustomed to 
 reply, that " He thought it likely be should 
 get through soon, but that he had rather 
 wear out than rust out f and then would 
 urge on again his imprudent course. For 
 this temerity and want of a right estimate 
 of things ho paid a great price. Near for- 
 ty YEARS of suffering was the penalty of the 
 violated law which he had so fearfully ig- 
 nored and broken ! We cannot die when 
 we please, nor rise above the appointed con- 
 ditions of our existence. And God may 
 hold us to the consequences of our actions 
 much longer than we, when we are perform- 
 ing them, imagine. 
 
 Mr. Couch himself often dwelt on this 
 general subject in subsequent life. He 
 clearly saw his error, and bitterly deplored 
 
58 MEMOIR OF 
 
 it, and warned young ministers particularly, 
 and with great earnestness, when he saw 
 the warning needed, against a course which, 
 to him, had proved so disastrous. There is, 
 indeed, he well knew, an error on the other 
 Bide : an excessive carefulness of one's self; 
 a kind of sentimental delicacy, that fears a 
 true apostolic earnestness ; that shrinks 
 from grappling boldly with the grand evils 
 of the time, and studies unduly its own ease 
 and comfort. But while this error should 
 be sedulously avoided, there should be, on 
 the other hand, equal care, not to throw life 
 needlessly away. No man has a right, in 
 ordinary circumstances, to undermine his 
 constitution by excessive labors, or incon- 
 siderate exposures, and thus bring him.self 
 to a premature grave, or disable himself 
 ever after for active usefulness in the world. 
 But God forgives our follies and mistakes, 
 when repented of before him. So he did in 
 the case of his suffering servant, of whom we 
 are speaking, and overruled th^ affliction 
 that followed, for his own glory, and the 
 good of the sufferer, and many others. 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 59 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 
 " Thy vows are upon me, God." — [Ps. Ivi : 12. 
 
 Mr. Couch, eyen through all his confine- 
 ment, viewed himself as a public man. When 
 he gave himself to the ministry, he gave 
 himself to an office, high and sacred in his 
 eyes : and though he was never ordained 
 strictly according to the forms in use, yet 
 was his consecration of himself so earnest 
 and full, and the recognition of him by oth- 
 er ministers and churches so cordial and 
 decided, and the approving testimony of the 
 Divine Spirit owning his labors so marked 
 and precious to him, that he wished ever to 
 retain the position in which ho had, he con- 
 ceived, been virtually placed. The idea, as 
 a-whole. was one of great value to him. 
 
 Mr. Couch, from the beginning, was care- 
 ful in his scrutiny of his motives of action. 
 He believed that he had given himself to 
 
00 MEMOIR OF 
 
 the ministry for the glory of God, and the 
 good of the world. The necessity of this 
 motive was ever much with him ; as ex- 
 pressed in a letter to a friend, " That you 
 may have the comfort of knowing, and being 
 sure, that your motives are solely for the 
 glory of God.'' This was the basis of his 
 private Christian life, and he endeavored to 
 make it the basis of his public acts, and to 
 carry it also into his life of confinement and 
 suffering. This it was which shone out in 
 his temporary illness at Alna.* And this 
 gave life and power to the longer scene of 
 suffering to which he was appointed. As 
 one of his early and long-observing friends 
 has expressed it : " Deprived of the privi- 
 lege of preaching in public, or visiting from 
 house to house, he preached loudly in his 
 chamber, and was, manifestly, blessed not a 
 little in his labors there." 
 The poet has sung : 
 
 " The chamber where the good man meets his fate' 
 
 Is privileged beyond the common walk 
 
 Of virtuous life, quite in the verge of heaven," 
 
 * See pp. 44 and 45. 
 
EEV. PAUL COUCH. 61 
 
 Such was the chamber of the subject of 
 our narrative for nearly forty years : for 
 during that whole period he viewed himself, 
 and was viewed by others, as, in some sense, 
 a dying man. 
 
 Of Mr. Couch's life of confinement, it has 
 been already observed, that he had uncom- 
 monly clear views of his sufferings, and of 
 Bufferings generally, as constituting a part of 
 the divine plan, ordained alike for the good 
 of the sufferer, and for great ends of public 
 utility. The illustrations of truth, and the 
 moral impressions to be made on beholders, 
 by means of suffering, were, in his view, 
 along with personal benefit, a great element 
 in the divine economy of the world. And 
 this, more than any thing, it was, that sus- 
 tained him under the severe trials to which 
 he was appointed. This doctrine filled his 
 mind with some of the grandest thoughts ; 
 made him feel that his life, though shut up 
 within a narrow chamber, was yet, in fact, 
 connected with the grand whole around 
 him, and with all succeeding duration. If 
 he experienced pain, and suffered, in a sense, 
 
62 MEMOIR OF 
 
 the loss of all things, it was for a great end, 
 which he believed would yet be revealed as 
 worthy of God, and promotive of the inter- 
 ests of his kingdom. Need it surprise us, 
 that he found in these views some of his 
 choicest comforts and supports under the 
 heavy burdens laid upon him ? While he 
 had yet some faint hope of relief and restora- 
 tion, he said : " God can, and if it be besM;, 
 he will restore me ; otherwise, I do not de- 
 sire it. It is a pleasant duty, submissively 
 to bow before God, and give up our will, in 
 all things, to him." The first concern of 
 Mr. Couch, therefore, was to suffer rightly. 
 This was his mission, to suffer. And he 
 would suffer rightly. 
 
 It may well be supposed, that a man of 
 Mr. Couch's temperament — his character 
 fitting him for the active, rather than the 
 passive graces — should have found it diffi- 
 cult, at first, to bear the yoke of afiliction 
 with patience. And doubtless failures some- 
 times marked his way, especially in its 
 earlier stages. It is to be observed, howev- 
 er, in relation to this matter, that Mr. 
 
EEV. PAUL COUCH. 63 
 
 Couch's manner sometimes made him wrong* 
 ly interpreted. He was bold and strong in 
 his expressions, and notunfrequently inclin- 
 ed to paradox. In the earlier days of his 
 illness especially he was often expressing 
 his wish to depart — and sometimes it would 
 seem impatiently. When intelligence was 
 brought him of the death of acquaintances, 
 one and another, he would wonder why it 
 should be so, that others could die, but he 
 could not. '' Every body can die but me !" 
 To which the faithful sister would reply, 
 *' Paul, you will never die, till you are will- 
 ing to live.'*' The following incident is of 
 similar complexion. On one occasion, the 
 Rev. Mr. Noyes, who had, for a time, been 
 his theological teacher, entered his room, 
 and, approaching his bed-side, said familiar- 
 ly, " Well, Paul, how do you do r " Oh, 
 sir," said Paul, " if my head was off, I should 
 be well enough !" alluding to the terrible 
 pain he had constantly in his head and stiff 
 neck. Expressions of this kind, in his lips, 
 it is believed, were rather in his icay — the 
 fruit of his peculiarity — than any real dC' 
 
f>4 MEMOIR OF 
 
 €ided complaint of the providence of God. 
 In the latter j^ears of his life, such language 
 was less frequent, and uttered, if uttered at 
 all, in a milder tone : and, in all respects, he 
 manifested a much more subdued and child- 
 like disposition. Mr. Couch suffered, in- 
 deed, in a manly way. He did not faint 
 and sink under his burdens. He breasted 
 the billows nobly. He had good courage. 
 He rested on great truths, and on God : and 
 God helped him, and gave him acquiescence 
 in his will, and triumph over the pain. 
 Considering the greatness of his sufferings, 
 and the long continuance of them, it is truly 
 wonderful, with what cheerfulness and re- 
 signation he bore them. For thirty-eight 
 years, he was like the bush that " burned 
 with fire, and yet was not consumed." 
 
 In another respect Mr. Couch was re- 
 markable in connexion with his sufferings. 
 He was never inclined to make his suffer- 
 ings a subject of protracted conversation. 
 In this he differed from many. What affects 
 us, we think must equally interest others. 
 Standing invalids and sufferers hence often 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 65 
 
 fall into the habit of talking excessively of 
 their maladies. There are some, of whom 
 70U can scarce inquire how they do, but you 
 must hear in reply a long description of 
 their aches and pains, and this repeated as 
 often as you visit them. Our friend had no 
 relish for this. To the inquiry after his 
 health, his reply was generally very brief; 
 often like the following : " Oh, full of pain 
 as I can live !" and he would then pass im- 
 mediately to other topics. He was unwil- 
 ling, also, that the family should entertain 
 visitors with protracted accounts of his 
 daily sufferings. He thought there should 
 be more profitable conversation. 
 
46 MEMOIR OP 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 " And behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush 
 was not consumed." — [Exod. iii : 2. 
 
 Mr. Couch was a man of strong original 
 powers of mind. His education, as we have 
 seen, was limited ; but it was sufficient ot 
 set those powers in vigorous motion. He 
 was eminently a self-made man, and was al- 
 ways eminently himself. His memory was 
 tenacious. In the earlier years of his con- 
 finement, he commited to memory the whole 
 of Young's Night Thoughts ; and, as weari- 
 some nights were appointed to him, he 
 would often beguile the tedious hours, as he 
 lay alone, by repeating passages of that 
 grand and inestimable work, and in prayer. 
 His mind, though ardent, was yet well-bal- 
 anced ; — was a mind of good proportions. 
 
 Mr. Couch was remarkable for the clear- 
 ness and comprehension of his views of the 
 ifundamental doctrines of religion. He had 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 67 
 
 very exalted conceptions of God, and of the 
 government of God. He had deep views of 
 sin, as opposition to God, and the welfare 
 of the universe. He gave the highest honor 
 to Christ, as a Divine and glorious Savior ; 
 and attached the highest importance to his 
 atoning sacrifice for the sins- of men. He 
 honored the Holy Spirit, and saw and felt 
 the necessity of the Spirit's influences in or- 
 der to eternal life. No man moves in the 
 right direction, without the Spirit's breath- 
 ing upon his heart. These doctrines, and 
 others kindred to them, constituting what 
 is generally called the Evangelical system, 
 he held in the very highest esteem. He 
 held them, not as empty speculations, but 
 as truths of the utmost practical importance. 
 In his theological views, and in his gen- 
 eral habits of thought and feeling, Mr. 
 Couch belonged rather to the party of pro- 
 gress, than to that of undue conservatism ; 
 — not, however, a blind and unintelligent 
 progress. His own belief was too firmly 
 fixed, to be easily shaken. His doctrinal 
 views were of an elevated tone, — in gen- 
 
68 MEMOIR OP 
 
 eral, what would be deemed of the strongest 
 character. He formed his judgments rapid- 
 ly, yet not without care ; and his mind 
 moved steadily and vigorously along, with 
 the progress of the world. He loved know- 
 ledge — secular knowledge, such as is adapt- 
 ed to useful — as well as that pertaining 
 to higher themes. He had a liberal mind, 
 and kept it conversant with high and liberal 
 things. He read much, while his eye-sight 
 allowed it. And, after his vision failed 
 him, many were the friends who devoted 
 time cheerfully to read to him the publica- 
 tions of the day, as well as many standard 
 and profounder works. Thus he kept his 
 mind in a course of improvement : which 
 was a great aid to him in struggling under 
 the heavy burdens he was appointed to bear. 
 Truth, and the God of truth, are always the 
 support of the upright in heart. 
 
BEV. PAUL COUCH. 69 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 " Wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the fires V* — [l8a» 
 xxiv : 15. 
 
 But though Mr. Couch's mission was emi- 
 nently that of s ffering, he yet by no means 
 ceased to make contributions to the cause of 
 Christ by such activities as were still within 
 his ability. 
 
 From the beginning of his confinement, 
 he uniformly and very faithfully maintained 
 family religion and worship, till within a 
 few of his last years, when his debility be- 
 came so great that he could not longer per- 
 form this service. Though he had not a 
 family of his own, yet he had a separate es- 
 tablishment, the sister before mentioned, and 
 usually one or two young persons, his rela- 
 tives, with himself, constituting the house- 
 hold. He believed in the Covenant respect- 
 ing families. And a strength and deep se- 
 
to MEMOIR 05^ 
 
 riousncss ever marked his family devotions. 
 The little band of brothers, which he had 
 aided to form, augmented from time to time 
 by new members, as well as diminished by 
 the death or removal of old ones, held fre- 
 quent meetings in his chamber, till near the 
 close of his life. These meetings were em- 
 ployed in prayer and praise, and religious 
 remark and discussion. The discussions 
 often involved some of the higher doctrines 
 of religion. The little fraternity were lov- 
 ers of doctrine. Sometimes Mr. Couch, be- 
 fore he was disabled from holding a pen, 
 would write a brief essay on some point of 
 interest, and read it to the meeting, which 
 would usually furnish new themes for re- 
 mark. These meetings were highly inter- 
 esting and improving. The brotherly at- 
 tachment which existed within this circle, 
 was a very striking feature of its character. 
 Commenced in youth, it seemed to strength- 
 en in every bosom, with growing years^ 
 Some of the members, who lived within 
 convenient distance, were in the habit of 
 visiting their afflicted brother nearly every 
 
REV. PAUL COTJCH:. 71 
 
 day, a short season after dinner. Two or 
 more frequently thus meeting, prayer usually 
 followed. When any one returned from a 
 journey, or one residing abroad visited the 
 place, one of the first things was, " to see 
 brother Couch." Strangers were attracted 
 to his chamber, that they might see a signal 
 sufierer, and witness the supports of grace 
 which he found in the furnace of affliction ; 
 and usually they went away impressed and 
 quickened in a manner favorable to their 
 highest interests. 
 
 Besides the meetings and occasions now 
 mentioned, others of a more formal charac- 
 ter were frequently had in the same place : 
 sometimes prayer meetings for Christians 
 alone ; sometimes others, inclined, being ad-- 
 mitted with them. Of these meeticgs, Mr. 
 Couch assumed the chief management ; read- 
 ing, while his sight was continued ; leading 
 in prayer often, though he could not rise 
 from his seat ; and leading also in the sing- 
 ing, which he did with much spirit and ani- 
 mation. The songs of Zion were no small 
 solace to him in his trials, and his sick room 
 
72 
 
 MEMOIR OP 
 
 was one of praise, as well as pra5^er. In 
 general, the same ardor which had marked 
 his course abroad in health, now appeared 
 in his sick chamber. He felt himself a pub- 
 lic man still, and wished to carry through, 
 as far as practicable, the duties appropriate 
 to his public character. Individuals of se- 
 rious minds, — inquirers, or young converts, 
 — often visited him, to converse with him 
 about points that troubled them ; to get a 
 solution of their doubts, a clearing up of 
 their difficulties ; to obtain assistance in 
 finding the right way, or in walking in it 
 safely when found. He was faithful and 
 skilful as an adviser. And many were 
 the cases in which benefit was obtained 
 from his counsel. The burdened went away 
 relieved ; the wavering confirmed. From 
 his upper room, of weakness and pain, 
 strength was derived for the duties and 
 trials of the Christian life abroad. 
 
 He embraced the world in his views and 
 desires. He sympathized strongly with the 
 suffering and needy ; and often, when the 
 case of such was related to him, did he in- 
 
' REV. PAUL COUCH. 73 
 
 terest himself in tlieir behalf, and from 
 some of his more able friends obtain for 
 them the desired relief. The young among 
 his own relatives received much of his 
 thought and care, and to some of them he 
 was particularly beneficial.* He entered 
 into the valuable reforms and moral enter- 
 prises of the day. He was a friend to the 
 temperance cause. He sighed over the op'- 
 pressions that exist, and prayed for the 
 emancipation of the slave. The missionary 
 cause, which, about this time rising into no- 
 tice in the country, awakened its most thril- 
 ling thoughts, lay near his heart. With 
 those thoughts and movements he sympa- 
 thized most fully. During no small part of 
 his confinement, he had charity-boxes lor the 
 aid of missions, and education, and Bible 
 and tract societies, standing in his room ; 
 and considerable sums were thus collected 
 
 * A promising nephew he took under his own charge 
 as an adopted son ; and by counsel, and other means, 
 aided him into the ministry. He is now filling one of 
 the important posts on the heights of Ziou. 
 
M ilEMOIR OF 
 
 by him, from his numerous visitors, for thes6 
 benevolent objects. 
 
 In a letter from Mr. Couch to Dr. Woods, 
 his former theological teacher, his earnest 
 Christian spirit shines out in a manner strik- 
 ingly characteristic. A part of this letter 
 the reader will not be displeased to see. — 
 » Newburyport, Sept. 12, 1818. My Dear 
 and Rev. Father in Christ : — Having been 
 very ill (with a cholera) for more than forty 
 days, I am now pressed with gracious obli- 
 gation for recovery, insomuch that I am able 
 to address a line to you. I hope, dear sir, 
 that you, and all dear to you, are in good 
 health, and enjoying all spiritual blessings. 
 The blessed news from Capt. Paul Titcomb, 
 I doubt not, has gladdened your heart, as it 
 has the hearts of many, causing them to leap 
 for joy.* the wonders of God's marvel- 
 lous love to a dead and lost world ! God 
 be praised for the rich displays of his un- 
 speakable grace in saving some who do busi- 
 
 * Capt. Titcomb, on an India voyage, had a precions 
 revival of religion on board his vessel. 
 
RET. PAtJL COtrCH. 75 
 
 liess upon the great waters. I received a 
 letter from Calcutta, dated 30tli April, 1818, 
 which states the number of hopeful converts 
 to be seven, and all the other part of the 
 ship's company to be serious, and very at- 
 tentive to reading the scriptures and good- 
 books,, and to religious meetings. let U3 
 give glory to God our Savior ! And shall 
 we not see greater things than these ? I 
 believe greater, and still greater things, 
 would have been wrought, if the church had 
 been full in her expectation, according to the 
 fulness of the promise of the faithfulness of 
 God. Has he not said to Zion, that he will 
 fill her whole desire, regulated by his word ? 
 And can we ask in faith what we do not ex- 
 pect ? 
 
 " May God fill and greatly bless your nur- 
 sery of young men, who are designed to be 
 ' angels of the churches,' and whose pinions 
 you, under him, are forming, with which they 
 are to 'fly through the midst of heaven, hav- 
 ing the everlasting gospel to preach to them' 
 that dwell on the earth ;' and whose now 
 tender voices you are preparing for ' that 
 
76 MEMOIR OF 
 
 blast of the great trumpet which shall soon 
 shake the seat of the beast, with old Satan, 
 into the bottomless pit !' Give them that 
 fulness of expectation which the promises of 
 God warrant and ought to inspire, and grant 
 them to triumph overall opposition ! And, 
 my dear sir, if they who turn many to right- 
 eousness ' shall shine as the stars,' what shall 
 they resemble who prepare those very stars 
 to shine in their courses ? 
 
 " As my nephew has a vacation of a week 
 from school, I remember your very kind in- 
 vitation to him to come up to the pleasant 
 hill ; and as a good opportunity offers for 
 him to go, I send him to spend a few days 
 with you in your dear family. I hope it will 
 not occasion you inconvenience. I am very 
 confident that this visit will be of great 
 benefit to him. that I may please God, 
 my very dear sir, to bless thee to Paul, jr., 
 as he has blessed thee to me, who am less 
 than the least of all his friends, if indeed I 
 am in any degree his friend. 
 
 " Do, dear sir, remember me in your 
 prayers, and forget not my dear boy. 
 
 " Yours truly, P. Couch." 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 77 
 
 I may insert here a few brief notices of 
 his sick chamber, from other hands, enlarg- 
 ing a little on some of the points already 
 stated. The following is from a friend, a 
 member of the same religious society with 
 Mr. Couch, though considerably younger, at 
 that time serious minded, and often visiting 
 Mr. C. for his spiritual counsel — Rev. Isaac 
 Rogers, of Farmington, Maine. In a letter 
 recently received, Mr. Rogers says : " My 
 recollections of Mr. Couch are of the most 
 interesting character. I think of him, as he 
 was lying on that bed of pain, when I was 
 a young man, and when, evening after even- 
 ing, I used, after the labors of the day were 
 over, to call in to see him, in order to ' hear 
 of heaven and learn the way.' For at that 
 time my mind was deeply concerned in re- 
 ference to its state before God, and I felt 
 that I could look to Mr. C. as a safe spirit- 
 ual counsellor. And I can truly say, that 
 he was made of signal benefit to me ; and 
 that, if I was not as one 'new born,' I was 
 as one ' truly nourished,' in that sick cham- 
 ber : where this good man, after years of 
 
78 MEMOIR OF 
 
 painful suffering, ' met his fate ;' and whick 
 was emphatically ' quite on the verge of 
 heaven.' It was an antepast often of that 
 * better land/ to hear him pray, and sing, as 
 well as converse on the things of the king- 
 dom of God. Such prayers I have seldom 
 heard, as those that flowed from his heart. 
 They seemed so near the throne of grace and 
 glory, and brought you so near to heavenly 
 scenes, that you would love to linger long 
 under the blessed sound. Then his singing 
 was equally striking. Particularly have I 
 often heard him sing that hymn of Watts, 
 <H. 13, B. 3) — 
 
 * How sweet and awful is the place 
 With Christ within the door/ &c., 
 
 to the old tune of " The Feast," sometimes 
 by himself alone, and sometimes with others 
 joining, in strains so sweet and heavenly, 
 that even now the recollection does not fail 
 to thrill my soul. He had such thorough 
 knowledge of the Bible and of systematic 
 divinity, that it was * a feast of fat things ' 
 to the inquiring mind to be often with him 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. "79 
 
 in that hallowed and consecrated chamber. 
 He had a great memory — comprehensive 
 and tenacious. I have heard him repeat, not 
 only hundreds of lines, but book after book, 
 of Young's Night Thoughts, which was one 
 of his favorites. And, in fact, whatever he 
 read, or heard read, he remembered in a re- 
 markable degree and with great accuracy. 
 He also was possessed, through his suffer- 
 ings, of a strong and living faith in all the 
 rich promises of the covenant of grace. As 
 an illustration, I well remember his confi- 
 dent expressions in reference to his nephew, 
 and namesake, whom he had adopted. Be- 
 fore his conversion to Christ, Mr. Coucli 
 was, by the aid of friends, helping him to an 
 education. Said he to me one day, * I have 
 given him up to God, and am daily praying 
 for his conversion, and I verily believe that 
 it will take place, and that he will actually 
 become a minister of Christ.' And this is 
 what the event has proved." 
 
 Rev. Mr. Mitchell, who has already borne 
 testimony of Mr. Couch's missionary labors, 
 .has a passage in relation to his sick cham- 
 
80 MEMOIR OP 
 
 ber, in wliicli the reader will feel an inter- 
 est. " When a member of the Seminary at 
 Andover," says Mr. M., '' I yisited, several 
 times, this most patient and cheerful suffer- 
 er. He sat there in his easy chair, as an 
 oracle. The experienced Christian, in sea- 
 sons of darkness and perplexity, came to him 
 for advice. The anxious inquirer came to 
 him to ask what he should do to be saved. 
 The student in theology loved to hear him 
 explain the deep mysteries of the kingdom 
 
 of God. I called once with Dr. L , and 
 
 at another time with my beloved classmate, 
 Gallaudet ; and never shall I forget the 
 manner of our friend, or the eagerness and 
 pleasure with which we listened to him, as 
 he expounded Bible doctrines, and revealed 
 to us the experimental knowledge of a tried 
 and faithful Christian. I think of him now 
 as one eminently taught in the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, and ' apt to teach ' the inquirer after 
 truth. Though deeply sympathizing with 
 him in his bonds and imprisonment, which he 
 gained by his zealous devotion to the ser- 
 vice of Christ, I love to think of his cheer- 
 
REY. PAUL COUCH. 81 
 
 ful, animated countenance, shining like that 
 of Moses, by reason of his familiar inter- 
 course with heaven.'"' 
 
 Mr. Bayley has a word, on the point now 
 before us, in keeping with the above. " I 
 saw him several times in his chamber," says 
 Mr. B., " in circumstances very trying, but 
 his soul was not bound. He was pleasant, 
 inquisitive about the house of God, and 
 deeply interested in the religious movements 
 of the day, in which he was well posted." 
 His chamber was a Bethel : and these 
 prayers were often offered. " Happy man, 
 made perfect through sufferings, now with 
 his Lord !" 
 
 In the autumn of 1815, the second com- 
 pany of missionaries sent forth by the Amer- 
 ican Board, sailed for their destination in 
 India, from Newburyport. They were nine 
 in number, — Messrs. Richards, Poor, Bard- 
 well, Meigs, with their wives, and Edward 
 Warren. Some days' detention of the ves- 
 sel, beyond its appointed time for sailing, 
 gave them a longer stay in the place than 
 they had expected. It is not to be supposed, 
 6 
 
82 MEMOIR OF 
 
 that, under the circumstances, they would 
 fail to become acquainted with a Christian 
 sufferer such as Mr. Couch. They found 
 him of kindred spirit with themselves ; often 
 visited him ; met together in his room sev- 
 eral times for prayer ; and it is not too much 
 to believe that, from his sick chamber they 
 derived fresh courage and strength for the 
 great work before them. When Dr. Poor 
 returned to this country on a visit, in 1849, 
 and came to the place of his former embark- 
 ation, one of his early enquiries was in re- 
 gard to Mr. Couch : of whom he retained 
 lively and interested recollections, though 
 the lapse of time had been thirty-four 
 years.* At a later date, another of this 
 missionary company! ^i^s given his recollec- 
 tions of Mr. Couch, in a manner very conso- 
 nant with the things stated in the preceding 
 pages of this Memoir. Referring to the de- 
 lay of the ship in sailing, he says : " During 
 
 ♦ Mr. C. had been more than seven years in his grave, 
 t Rev. Horatio Bardwell, D. D., of Oxford, Mass. 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 8S 
 
 these days of detention, the missionaries be- 
 came acquainted with Mr, Couch, who was 
 then confined to his bed, and in constant 
 pain night and day. But I do not remem- 
 ber that he ever spoke of his sufferings, un- 
 less in reply to a definite question on the 
 subject. There was much in the person and 
 character of Mr, C. that was suited to make 
 a deep impression on the mind of a stranger. 
 His person large and muscular" — he became 
 afterwards emaciated — " his features pro- 
 minent, manly and commanding, his mind 
 vigorous and well stored with Christian 
 knowledge, and his heart earnestly devoted 
 to right things, no one could fail to see in 
 him an eminent servant of God. The fea- 
 tures of his piety were not emotional, but, 
 like the stern principles of his theology, 
 they were definite, bold and uncompromising. 
 Faith in God was distinguished among the 
 Christian graces, as they appeared in him. 
 It was by this, that to him the truths reveal- 
 ed and the things hoped for, had a real and 
 living existence, and bore him above the se- 
 Tere pains of the body. — More than forty 
 
84 MEMOIR OP 
 
 years have passed, and yet the recollections 
 of those hallowed prayer-meetings in Mr. 
 C/s room, are fresh in my mind. I seem 
 now to see his manly form, sustained by pil- 
 lows in nearly a sitting posture, and to hear 
 his strong utterances of faith and hope in 
 Israel's God. I remember, too, with what 
 admiration he spoke of the wisdom and the 
 goodness of God in the scheme of human 
 redemption, and with what joy (he said) he 
 would go to the ends of the earth in the 
 service of Christ, if God would but enable 
 him and send him. — No one scene connect- 
 ed with the trying hour of our departure 
 was more suited to give firmness to our faith 
 and hope, in the self-denials and toils of the 
 missionary work, than our frequent meet- 
 ings for conference and prayer in the room 
 of this servant of Christ." 
 
EEV. PAUL COUCH. 85 
 
 CHAPTER ^IX. 
 
 " For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the 
 beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end." — 
 [Heb. iii : 14. 
 
 It will be perceived, from the foregoing 
 chapters, that the subject of this brief Me- 
 moir was fitted, by the natural elements of 
 his character, to make a strong impression 
 on the minds of his fellow men. Eyen in 
 early youth this was apparent. He was ar- 
 dent, impulsive, and controlling among his 
 associates. As years advanced, and in his 
 first religious experience, and in the short 
 term of activity he was permitted to enjoy, 
 this same characteristic continued to be 
 strikingly manifest. And even when the 
 hand of suffering was laid upon him, and 
 for near forty years he had felt its pressure, 
 still the great energy of his character re- 
 mained but little impaired. 
 
 It was but a few weeks before Mr. Couches 
 
86> MEMOIR OF 
 
 death, that decided marks of mental decay 
 were manifested in him. Well does the 
 writer recollect the impression made on him 
 when first these indications appeared, on 
 entering his room. It cannot be said that 
 the eye had lost its fire ; for that had been 
 all but quenched for many years, and was 
 DOW, as for a long time, guarded by screens 
 and green spectacles. But still the power 
 of the destroyer was showing the beginning 
 of his work. The muscles of the face were 
 i*elaxed. The motion of the hand was feeble. 
 The tone of the voice indicated lassitude. 
 The whole air and manner showed an in- 
 cipient yielding of a strong constitution and 
 a strong mind, under the long continued at- 
 tacks that had been made Upon them. Must 
 this sufferer, who has withstood so long, and 
 go much, and seemed triumphant in the very 
 jaws of the devourer, at length bow, and 
 submit to the power that conquers all ? The 
 thought was sad. Yet to the sufferer, such 
 termination would be gain. He was pre- 
 pared to meet it. He had been used for 
 Heaven's glory, and would be still. 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 87 
 
 it may have been expected by those who 
 knew the case, that this great sufferer would 
 die in a manner consonant with his earnest 
 character, — triumphing visibly over the 
 destroyer, and his tongue filled with raptur- 
 ous praise. But so divine wisdom had not 
 appointed respecting him. He had borne 
 his testimony before. His chamber, for 
 many years, had been, in some sense, a dy- 
 ing chamber. He had spoken from it, as 
 few men have spoken under such circum- 
 stances. Was any thing farther needful, to 
 the completeness of his life ? Might it not 
 close here, and yet be left a luminous life, 
 for the benefit of those who had witnessed it, 
 or might learn of it ? 
 
 One can hardly fail to be reminded here, 
 of the case of Whitefield. The anecdote is 
 related in the Memoirs of Whitefield, by Dr, 
 Gillies, p. 218, note. Toward the close of 
 that wonderful man's life, as he was on a 
 visit to Princeton, N. J., Dr. Finley, presi- 
 dent of the college there, said to him : " Mr. 
 Whitefield, I hope it will be very long be- 
 fore you will be called home, but when that 
 
58 MEMOIR OF 
 
 event shall arrive, I should be glad to h6ar 
 the noble testimony you will bear for God." 
 "You would be disappointed, doctor," said 
 Whitefield, " I shall die silent. It has 
 pleased God to enable me to bear so many 
 testimonies for him during my life, that he 
 will require none from me when I die. No, 
 no," he continued, '• it is your dumb Chris- 
 tians, that have walked in fear and dark- 
 ness, and thereby been unable to bear a 
 testimony for God during their lives, that he 
 compels to speak out for him on their death 
 beds." Whitefield's departure was as he 
 himself had said. 
 
 And, without any prediction known, so, 
 substantially, was the departure of Mr. 
 Couch. He continued gradually to sink, 
 and more and more gradually, till death, in 
 a very few days, closed the scene. An in- 
 visible, silent, mysterious power, seemed to 
 envelop him, and take him away. He died 
 March 19th, 1842 : aged 64. 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. 89 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 " The eye of him that hath seen me, shall see me nb 
 more." Job, vii : 8. 
 
 Few men have been ordained to a severer 
 life-battle, than Mr. Couch. And few have 
 met their appointed lot, more worthily. His 
 sufferings, indeed, killed him ; but they did 
 not conquer him. He bore manfully the 
 burden, under which he sank to rest. He 
 bore it, sustained by the great ideas of relig- 
 ious truth, which he cherished ; aided and 
 cheered by such services as he could yet 
 render to the cause of Christ ; and we may 
 not doubt, upheld by the special presence 
 and grace of that Almighty Spirit from 
 whom are all good gifts. 
 
 The religion of Mr. Couch, it will be seen, 
 was a practical, and not a mere theoretical 
 religion. All along through life, from the 
 brief period of his activity to the close of 
 
90 MEMOIR OP 
 
 his protracted and painful course, he ap- 
 peared habitually, the man of prayer,the man 
 of faith, the man of Christian sympathies 
 and comprehensive benevolence, the man of 
 ready obedience. He shone as one in in 
 whom strong elements of character were 
 controlled by the power of grace. 
 
 " Behold therefore the goodness and se- 
 verity of God," says the apostle ; which 
 may have application to the case before us, 
 and to that of many pious sufferers. In 
 their affliction is severity ; severity that ap- 
 pears fearful. God appoints them great 
 afflictions. He looks steadily and unre- 
 lentingly on while they suffer. He perse- 
 Teres in his course. He lightens not his 
 hand for their tears. He alters not his 
 purpose for their groaning. In the heavy, 
 dark night, he permits them to see no light 
 this side the grave. But in the result, there 
 is goodness. The sufferers are " purified 
 and made white." The last moral obliq- 
 nities are wrought out of their souls. The 
 last stains arc removed. The image of the 
 Savior within them is rendered complete. 
 
REV. PAUL coucff. 91: 
 
 As has been beautifully sung of the 
 " Great Refiner : ''* 
 
 'Tis good to think how well he knows 
 The silver's power to bear 
 The ordeal to which it goes ; 
 And that, with skill and care, 
 He'll take it from the fire, when fit 
 For his own hand to polish it, 
 
 ' Tis blessedness to know that he 
 The piece he has begun 
 Tf ill not forsake, till he can see. 
 To prove the work well done, 
 An image, by its brightness shown. 
 The perfect likeness of his own. 
 
 [Miss H. E. Gould. 
 
 These stanzas are from a fine piece by the 
 hand of this gifted authoress ; and by 
 permission, they are quoted here with the' 
 greater satisfaction, as the piece is one 
 which Mr. Couch himself often read, (or 
 heard read,) and admired, and with which 
 he encouraged himself in the sharp conflicts 
 he was called to endure. 
 
 * Mai. iii : 3. " He shall sit as a refiaer and purifier of 
 iilver. 
 
»Z MEMOIR OF 
 
 Although Mr. Couch attracted much at- 
 tention, he was not emulous of human ap- 
 plause, and least of all desired posthumous 
 praise. A few years before his death, he 
 required his papers to be brought him ; 
 which, after he had examined them, he com- 
 mitted to the flames ; and, at the same time, 
 gave strict injunction, that nothing should 
 be written of him after his decease. His 
 right to lay an inhibition thus on the use- 
 fulness of his own example, may certainly 
 be questioned. What the grace of God has 
 wrought in a man, or wrought by him on 
 others, it is not his to dispose of, in such a 
 way as to rob God of the praise. The 
 church has a right to know these things, for 
 its own encouragement. The cause of Christ 
 has a claim for their due manifestation. And 
 to withhold them is to hide the light " under 
 a bushel, or under a bed," and prevent the 
 good effects which might otherwise be real- 
 ized ; contrary to the great Master's teach- 
 ing. The only care needful is, that no injus- 
 tice be done ; that a fair picture be given.* 
 
 * Virgil, the great Roman poet, is a case in point. 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH 93 
 
 Another thing, perhaps, should be men- 
 tioned, to the praise of the Divine promise. 
 Mr. Couch had but slender means to meet 
 such a life-scene as that appointed hira. But 
 through the ever -working Providence, which 
 has said of the righteous, — " bread shall be 
 given him ; his waters shall be sure ; '' " no 
 good thing will be withhold from them that 
 walk uprightly ; '' friends were raised up, 
 as the occasion required, who were most 
 ready, and seemed to feel it a privilege, to 
 render the needful aid. They took upon 
 them cheerfully the burdens of this suffer- 
 ing servant of God, and *' so fulfilled the 
 
 " It is -well known that after having bestowed the labor 
 of twelve years on his immortal poem (the ^-^aeid,) the 
 conviction which he felt of its imperfection determined 
 him, in his last moments, to order it to be committed to 
 the flames; and it was only by a breach of his solemn testa- 
 mentary injunction, that this work has been preserved for 
 the admiration of posterity." ''The Divine Augustus 
 forbade, contrary the modesty of his will, that the songs 
 of Virgil should be burned ; so that it happned to the- 
 bard that he received greater honor, than he would if he 
 had himself approved his own songs." Pliny, lib. yii. ch. 
 30. Rosce's Leo X. vol. i. p. 160. 
 
M MEMOIR OP 
 
 law of Christ." Strangers also, calling, 
 .often added a benefaction. It is remarka- 
 ble, that, for near forty years, this interest 
 in the sufferer should not have tired, nor 
 these streams have ceased to flow. When 
 one fountain was closed, another was opened 
 to supply its place. 
 
 A statement of this matter, for a single 
 year, from Mr. Couch himself, will not be 
 out of place here. The year selected is 
 1810, — of which the account is the fullest 
 that has been discovered. It begins in bus- 
 iness style. 
 
 " PAUL COUCH, IN ACCOUNT WITH THE LORD's 
 
 STEWARDS. " 
 
 Forty different dates are made through 
 the year, wiii sums annexed of live dollars 
 and under, amounting in all to eighty-three 
 dollars and upwards ; besides ninety dol- 
 lars alluded to, not incladed in this specific 
 account. 
 
 " Thus dear Brethren," he says, " you see 
 the goodness and mercy of the Lord, and of 
 His friends in me, as well as His judgments. 
 Surely I have reason to sing of mercy as 
 
EEV. PAUL COUCH. 95 
 
 well as of judgment. Notwithstanding 
 the Lord * has fed me with the bread of 
 tears, and given me tears to drink in great 
 measure/ yet I have reason to say, ' 
 Lord, Thou hast dealt well with Thy ser- 
 vant.' ' I will praise Thee, 0, Lord.' 'And 
 dear brethren, I desire to tender to you a//, 
 but more particularly to those whose signa- 
 tures are above, my most fervent thanks for 
 your attentions and kindnesses. And as a 
 ,cup of cold water, given with gospel mo- 
 tives, will meet the gospel reward, you may 
 rest assured that your kindness to me, the 
 meanest of all, with the same motives, will 
 meet from the lips of our common Lord, the 
 blessed award recorded in the 25th of Mat- 
 thew : ' Inasmuch as ye have done it unto 
 one of the least of these my brethren, ye 
 have done it unto me.' And Oh ! that this 
 may be the happy case of us all. Amen. 
 Yours, P. C." 
 To which is added the following : " My 
 brethren, you will see by this paper, how 
 much our common Lord has given me from 
 His various banks. The stewards of the 
 
96 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Lord have supplied me with $83 10. If 
 you add $90 to that, you will see, ( I be- 
 lieve), our whole expenditures for the past 
 year, except our wood. Our family has 
 consisted of four; and you know we have 
 some company. I will assure you that a full 
 thirtieth of all our income has been devoted 
 to the Lord. I wish you all a happy new 
 year, and the constant presence of Him 
 who dwells in the bush. P. C." Allud- 
 ing, probably, to himself, who was constant- 
 ly in the fire, and was yet not consumed. 
 
 Mr. Couch's benefactors have most of 
 them departed, as well as himself. Some of 
 them before him, and some of them after 
 him ; — and if they are permitted to join 
 each other now, and mingle together in the 
 service and worship there, as they delighted 
 often to do here, they must constitute a 
 bright company in the spirit-land. He re- 
 grets not his sufferings now. They regret 
 not the aid they gave him, in bearing his 
 heavy burdens. 
 
BEV. PAUL COUCH, 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 " Whose faith follow, considering the end of their con- 
 versation ; Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, 
 and for ever." Heb. xiii : 7, 8. 
 
 Sufferers may receive instruction from 
 the example of Mr. Couch, as to the man- 
 ner in which they should regard and bear 
 their sufferings. Few, as already remarked, 
 suffer, as he suffered. And few have borne 
 sufferings, better than he bore them. Some, 
 indeed, have suffered with more quietness of 
 spirit; because they had a nature more 
 quiescent. But few have overcome more in 
 themselves, and reduced a nature all strung 
 for vigorous action, to more unquestioning 
 submission, than he. 
 
 The doctrine of suffering, — That it is ap- 
 pointed by Infinite wisdom and goodness, 
 for grand purposes of public utility, as well 
 as for the sufferer's own particular benefit, is 
 the true doctrine. This sustained him ua- 
 7 
 
'98 MEMOIR OF 
 
 der his great burdens ; and, truly embraced, 
 will sustain all sufferers in equanimity and 
 peace. It fills the mind with great ideas ; 
 it gives the heart sweet trust in God. And 
 thus, though it cannot annihilate pain, yet it 
 can soften its intensity ; it can raise the 
 soul, in a good measure, above its power ; 
 it can so connect the sufferer with the glory 
 of God, and with the results of suffering 
 which eternity will reveal, that he will now 
 forget himself, and the ills of his condition, 
 in the ineffable glories, to which this condi- 
 tion itself is to give rise. 
 
 Another thing sufferers should do. Tliey 
 should keep themselves connected, as far as 
 practicable, with the activities — the benev- 
 olent and religious activities — of the world 
 around them. The sufferer who most goes 
 out of himself ; who, as his circumstances 
 allow, enters most earnestly into the gen- 
 eral enterprises of Christian usefulness, is 
 the one who usually best bears the burdens 
 laid upon him. It is hard to suffer. It is a 
 more difficult calling to be a sufferer, than to 
 &be an actor. Yet God can enable his people 
 
REV. PAUL COtTCH. ^ 
 
 to suffer rightly when he calls them to suffer; 
 as well as enable them to act rightl}^ when 
 he calls them to act. And keeping one's 
 self connected, as far as may be, with 
 God's great scheme of things, is not small 
 among the means by which He accomplishes 
 the desirable object. 
 
 Sufferers should not count it a strange 
 thing, when they find themselves with trials 
 laid upon them. The economy of this world 
 requires that there be suffering, and, conse- 
 quently, that there be sufferers. The illus- 
 trations of truth and grace accomplished by 
 suffering, are equally as important as those 
 accomplished by action. God has occa- 
 sion for sufferers, as well as for actors. " I 
 have chosen thee," He says to some, " in 
 the furnace of afiliction." And, in fact,, 
 none are exempted. 
 
 " The path of sorrow, and that path alone, 
 Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown ; 
 No traveller ever reached that blessed abode, 
 Who found not thorn and briers in his road." 
 
 The cup passes around, and all partake of 
 
100 MEMOIR OP 
 
 its contents, some more, some less. And so, 
 what with the benefit accruing to sufierers, 
 and the benefit accruing to beholders, the 
 condition of the world is improved. "He 
 chastens us for our profit, that we may be 
 partakers of His holiness." He chastens 
 us, that our graces may shine to His praise, 
 and the good of men, in the scenes of afflic- 
 tion. A holy example of suffering illu- 
 mines the darkness around it ; shows the 
 world the worth of godliness ; points to 
 God, the supporter of his people, and to 
 the home he has prepared for them, when 
 'their earthly scenes are closed. 
 
 In conclusion ; sufferers should encourage 
 themselves under their burdens in view of 
 the recompense promised to faithful godly 
 suffering, in the future life. Of right action, 
 the scriptures say, " Great is its reward in 
 heaven." Nor less can be the reward of 
 right suffering. The sufferer shall find the 
 fruits of it in his own character for ever, ev- 
 ery grace shining the brighter for the fiery 
 scenes through which he has passed. "Our 
 light affliction, which is but for a moment, 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH. lOl 
 
 worketh for us a far more exceeding and 
 eternal weight of glory." He shall find 
 the fruits of it in the benefits his bright ex- 
 ample has been the means of imparting to 
 others, the whole results of his right suffer- 
 ing on the minds of those who have wit- 
 nessed it, apixjaring and shining around 
 him in his high abode. The whole grand 
 impulse which his course has produced on 
 creation shall be there. And the recom- 
 penses of such are declared in the most glow- 
 ing terms. " 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 they be- 
 fore the throne of God, and serve him day 
 and night in his temple ; and he that sit- 
 teth on the throne shall dwell among them. 
 They shall hunger no m.ore, neither thirst 
 any more ; 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 livins: foun- 
 tains of waters ; and God shall wipe away 
 all tears from their eyes." So shall submis- 
 
102 MEMOIR OP 
 
 sive godly sufferers be recompensed, by 
 Him, in whose honor, and in imitation of 
 whose example they have suffered. For so 
 his own Spirit has taught us to say, " If we 
 be dead with Him, we shall also live with 
 Him ; if we suffer, we shall also reign with 
 Him f — *' if so be that we suffer with Him, 
 that we may be also glorified together." 
 Sufferers, it would seem, will have some pe- 
 culiar sympathy witli Ghrist,having followed 
 so nearly in His track, and some peculiar 
 sympathies with each other, having been sub- 
 jected to common discipline of so great a 
 severity. And th'e whole heavenly state 
 will probably be enjoyed by them, with a 
 richer satisfaction, a higher rapture, for the 
 deep seas of trial from which they emerged, 
 in gaining their blissful, immortal position. 
 Apply this to the strong-minded sufferer 
 of thirty-eight years, whose case we have 
 reviewed. He must strike the golden harp 
 with some peculiar rapture, with that hand 
 lately so tremulous and powerless. He must 
 swell the notes of redeeming love with some 
 peculiar ecstasy, with that voice lately sink- 
 
REV. PAUL COUCH, 103 
 
 ing in faint whispers amidst the swellings of 
 Jordan. And the same principle holds true 
 of others. Apply it to the martyrs, and all 
 signal sufferers of all time. What a glori- 
 ous company they must constitute before the 
 throne ! Wherefore, sufferers, faint not. 
 Bear up under your trials, and press onward 
 to better things. God has better things 
 for you, if you suffer rightly. It was of 
 times of suffering that that was spoken : 
 
 *'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 MAY REST PROM 
 THEIE LABORS, AND THEIR WORKS DO FOLLOW 
 
 THEM." God puts the tears of His people 
 into His bottle. Their groans, if they come 
 up from pious dispositions, are mere regard- 
 .ed by Him, than the songs of angels. In all 
 their affliction. He is afflicted with them. 
 He looks on them in their struggles, and 
 says : " In your patience possess ye your 
 SOULS." "Behold, I come quickly ; hold 
 
 that FAST WHICH THOU HAST, THAT NO MAN 
 TAKE THY CROWN ! " 
 
104 MEMOIE; 
 
 " What are these in bright array 1 
 This innumerable throng, 
 Eound the altar, night and day, 
 Tuning their triumphant song 1 
 
 * Worthy is the Lamb once slain, 
 Blessing, honor, glory, power. 
 Wisdom, riches, to obtain, 
 New dominion every hour !* 
 
 " These through fiery trials trod ; 
 These from great affliction came ; 
 Now before the throne of God, 
 Sealed with His eternal name. 
 Clad in raiment pure and white, 
 Victor palms in every hand 
 Through their great Redeemer's might. 
 More than conquerors they stand. 
 
 " Hunger, thirst, disease unknown. 
 On immortal piety they feed ; 
 Them the Lamb amidst the throne. 
 Shall to living waters lead. 
 Joy and gladness banish sighs ; 
 Perfect love dispels their fears ; 
 And forever from their eyes, 
 God shall wipe away all tears." 
 
 a* I N I a