^m\ ^sJwyiH^ L^ \ *^^;^.^ A. 'rf: vaSi yy^yy\i^' M^Mmmmtmmk SsMt, .''.,•' /\m'.w.nnnn -in^^^Mi^'^ FRED LOCKLEY W RARE WESTERN BOOKS ^- 4227 S. E. Stark St. PORTLAND ORE. M mm Wml LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY PRINCETON, N. J. Z'lsion.'.lim...'.'...' X- - " Section 'W^i'^ciBS' "r^'^r^."A '^' ^#fljw mf ■»'--?, ;r h -. . i-//^. -" ', '^" ^ 0/^,^/1 1 ,.^i,^/5/!^ ^"~:a-::^; ^«i«a!S^^ ""^nA' 0«-flw' V-€*i^#gP^f.^''' ^ V $^mMi '■K^'<\. c. ^V..^.'"* ;-.:;.^,ftW" . ,A'!^:l\.<^'>. •!:2;s!2:^^n-c^;'~''^ ' n F f/'! ;,,R^''^^^' m^0P^^^'^^^:^^ h^i^MiP Mm P, 'iMm^im ^kS'\^ .. - IftftWiMH ^n^imm^B^^kMm ■2:.«» / Qy^^/^ * ■^^ /J y/// ■V L u ^■ dd'U-^^ :v MEMORIAL l^^^ov 5 1941 ■■ -a V KEY. AEPiAHAM POLHEMUS, D.D, intc iVIinistcr of tfit Xortf) 3^t{. jButd) €burr)i of Ntbjart. noxTAJxixc; A BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH, A SELECTION OF DISCOURSES DEMVKRKD TO HIS LATE CHARGK. NEWARK, N. J. : PUBLISHKD BY THE CONSISTORY OF SAID CHURCH. 18 5 8. JOHN A. OHAY, PHINTER AND STEREOTTPElt, 16 4 IS Jacob Street, N. Y. CONTENTS. PAGE Memoir, 5 Resolutions at Newark and Hopewell, 21 Tribute to Dr. Polhemus, 24 Funeral Discourse. By Dr. Forsyth, 27 SERMONS BY DR. POLHEMUS. I. The Preacher's Theme, ........ 45 "I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." — 1 Oor. 2 : 2. II. The Penitent Thief, gj "And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Yerily, I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise." — Luke 23 : 42, 43. III. Dark Dispensations known hereafter, 73 " What I do thou knowest not now ; but thou shalt know here- after."— John 13 : 7. IV. The Law magnified, 84 " He will magnify the law, and make it honorable." — ISA. 42 : 21. V. The Martyrdom of Stephen, 95 " And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." — Acts V : 59, 60. VI. The Life to come, 106 " The life which is to come."— 1 Tim. 4 : 8. VII. The Victory OF Faith, 119 " Whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the world : and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." — 1 John 5 : 4. ly CONTENTS. PAOB VIII. The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus, 131 "And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ? And he said, Who art thou, Lord ? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. And he trembling and astonished, said. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? And the Lord said unto him. Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do." — Acts 9 : 3-6. IX. Christ in tue midst of the Golden Candlesticks, . , . 141 "And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle." — Rev. 1 : 12, 13, X. Christ precious to Believers, 153 " Unto you, therefore, which believe, he is precious." — 1 Pet. 2 : 7. XI. A door opened in Heaven, 163 "I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven." — Rev. 4 : 1. XII. The Resurrection of the Body, 173 "Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." — Phil. 3 : 21. Ihstallation Sermon. By Rev. Dr. Riddle, 189 Resolutioxs of the Coxsistoey of the Xorth Reformed Dutch Church of the City of Newark : Hesolved, That as a mark of our high regard for our late pastor, Rev. Abraham Polhemus, D.D., and with a view to the spiritual advancement of the people of his charge, and of all who may peruse the work, a memorial, consisting of a brief biogra- phical sketch, and a selection from the edifying and scriptural sermons Avhich he delivered to us during his brief ministry, be published under the direction of Consistory. Resolved, That the thanks of the Consistory be given to Rev. John Forsyth, D.D., for his aid in the preparation of such me- morial, and for the valuable discourse, delivered by him on the death of our pastor ; and that the same be also published. Hesolved, That the Rev. Dr. Riddle be also requested to furnish, for publication, a copy of the sermon delivered by him at the installation of Dr. Polhemus. MEMOIR. The Rev. Abraham Polhemus, D.D., was born at Hallett's Cove, (now Astoria,) Long Island, in 1812. He was em- phatically a son of the Reformed Dutch Church, for both his paternal and maternal ancestors during nearly two centu- ries had lived and died in her fellowship. He was a lineal descendant of the Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemus, who had been sent by the Church of Holland, as a missionary to Itamarca, in Brazil. Leaving this field — for what reason we know not — he came to New-JSTetherland in 1654, and was soon after installed minister of Midwout,'^ (now Flatbush,) or rather" of the whole region now known as the County of Kingsj The parents of Dr. Polhemus, during his early years, were mem bers of the church of iSTewtown, which, in connection witli that of Jamaica, was then under the pastoral care of the late venerable and Rev. Dr. Schoonmaker. When at a proper age he was sent to a classical school taught by the Rev. Mr. Whit- ing, under whose care he remained until his admission to the Sophomore class of Rutgers College, in 1828. During his residence at College, Dr. Polhemus was noted for his joyous temperament, and his exceedingly companionable qualities, and as may be inferred, he was a decided favorite * The church at Midwout — tlie first Reformed Dutch Church on Long Island — was erected in the form of a cross. It was about 60 feet long, and 28 wide. Dominie Polhemus preached in it every Sunday morning, and in the afternoon ;it Ereuckelen and Amersfort (Flatlands) alternately, until the installation of Henry Belyns at Breuckelen. He labored here until 1676. — Brodhead Hiit, 530, G1.5. 6 with his fellow-students. He always maintained a most re- spectable position in his class. His genial disposition laid him open to temptation ; but tliough a mere youth, and one who made at that time no profession of religion, he was mercifully kept by God's restraining grace from the follies and vices which are more or less incident to academic life. He was graduated in 1831. During the ensuing year his mind was arrested by the subject of his religious condition and prospects, and having obtained a good hope through grace, he resolved to consecrate himself to the ministry of reconciliation. He united with the Collegiate Dutch Church of New-York,^ in 1831 or 1832, and soon afterwards returned to :^rew-Brunswick. to join the Theological Seminary, in which he took the full course of study under Drs. Milledoler, Cannon, and McCel- land. He received licensure from the Classis of Xew-lork m July, 1835, and soon after he accepted the call of the congre- gation of Hopewell to become their pastor. Over this pleasant rural charge he was ordained and installed on the 28th Octo- ber, 1835. In the same year he was married to Miss Eliza 13. Heyer, daughter of the late Isaac Heyer, long an active and must useful member of the Collegiate Church of New-York. The life of the Christian pastor, whether in town or country, who is exclusively occupied with the duties of his ministry, is not usually diversified by very striking incidents; it is apt to flow on in an even current. Such was particularly the case with the ministry of Dr. Polhemus at Hopewell. There were periods when the Lord gave testimony to the word of his grace, vet there was at no time a revival of so remarkable a charac- ter as to call for a special history of it. Month by month, and vear after year, he went out and in among the people of his charge, preaching to them publicly and from house to house, growing in their affections, and having good reason to believe that his labors were not in vain. Though called to mourn the loss of relatives near and dear to him — his father, and an only sister — his own immediate family was never invaded bv death during his residence there. In 1846, he visited Europe, partially w-ith a view to attend the Evangelical Alliance, which met in London in August of that year. The tour embraced the most interesting portions of England, Scotland, France, and Holland. It is needless to say that he enjoyed it exceedingly, and often delighted his friends by his graphic accounts of the incidents of travel, humorous or otherwise, and by his iK^ely recollections of the men whom he met during the sessions of the Alliance. After his return home, he received several invitations, formal and informal, to remove to other fields of labor — to Utica, to Xewburgh, and to Belleville — all of which he deemed it his duty to decline. Considerations, certainly, were not wanting to induce him to accept one or other of these calls, such as fa- cilities for the education of his children, and the more abund- ant means of intellectual culture aiforded by a town, as com- pared with those to which the rural pastor has access. But when the moment for decision came, his own love for Hope- well, and the manifold evidences of his people's warm affection for himself, carried the day. The region covered by the parish is in what may well be styled the garden of Dutchess county, one of the oldest and best cultivated portions of the State of !N"ew-Tork, and abounds in scenery at once beautiful and grand. The view from the parsonage belongs to the class of which it may be said, " the eye is not satisfied with seeing," as new points of attraction are perpetually presenting themselves. N'or is the region less at- tractive in its social and moral aspects. It is in the main oc- cupied by a homogeneous population, whose fathers for several generations have lived and died in the faith and fellowship of the Eeformed Dutch Church. And as there is only a limited admixture of race in the population, so is there comparatively little diversity of religious profession. The church of Hope- well may properly be styled the parish church of the precinct 8 of that name, for the great mass of the people resident witliia its bounds belong to it as members or adherents. The minis- ter in such a locality, who efficiently discharges the functions of the pastor and the preacher, holds a position, in some re- spects at least, much more patriarchal and potential in influ- ence, than is that of a pastor in town or city. Such was the position of Dr. Polheraus in Hopewell, after he had lived there long enough to become known to the community, and the labors of years had won for him the Ibve and confidence of those among whom he went preaching the Gospel of Christ. Nor should we omit to mention here, his pleasant relations with his brethren of the Classis of Poughkeepsie. With his immediate neighbors, the ministers of Fishkill and Ilackcn- sack, his acquaintance began about the time of his licensure, and their mutual affection was of the strongest kind. As their parishes were contiguous, they were near enough to eacli to become in a special sense co-laborers in the work of the Lord, to sympathize with each other's sorrows, and to be helpers of eacli other's joy. > Other members resided at too great a distance to admit of very frequent intercourse witli them, yet when it did occur, it was eminently cordial and con- fidential. " Often," says the Eev. Dr. Kip, in a letter to a mutual friend — " often has our dear brother remarked to me, that he anticipated the meetings of Classis with great delight, as the seasons of reiinion with beloved friends." It may with safety be said, that no member of the body held a higher place in the esteem of his associates, or exerted a more com- manding influence in the discussions of the Classis, than Dr. Polhemus. P>y his congregation. Dr. Polhemus was esteemed very highly, in love for his work's sake, and also for his own sake. Ordinarily, the church was, on the Sabbath, filled with an at- tentive audience. The pastor's wishes and counsels in regard to things spiritual, or to " the outward business" of the house of God, were sought and respected. His comfort was studied ; and what is far better, he had from time to time the joy of knowing that his labors in the Lord were not in vain.* He would have been a strangely constituted man, if he had not felt himself strongly bound to such a field, and such a people. But it was clearly the Master's will that the ties which bound Dr. Polhemus to Hopewell should be broken. In December, 1856, the scheme of erecting the North Dutch Church of New- ark, which had been for some time under consideration, was formally set on foot, and prosecuted with much energy, and with a success that fully vindicates the wisdom of the enterprise. From the outset the attention of the persons engaged in it, had been turned toward Dr. Polherrius, whom they regarded as be- ing specially qualified, both as a man and as a minister, to be- come a co-worker with' them in the arduous undertaking of building up a new congregation in the city of Newark. Ac- cordingly, as soon as the church was organized, and the requi- site forms and notices could be observed, a unanimous call was presented to him in January, 1857. There were considerations which strongly drew him to Newark; and yet for reasons al- ready suggested, he hesitated as to the path of duty. But after a prayerful consideration of the whole matter, he believed that Providence j)ointed him to Newark, and he was accordingly released from his charge by the Classis of Poughkeepsie on the 23d March, 1857. Dr. Polhemus was installed pastor of the North Church of Newark on the evening of the 3d of May, 1857.t With what views and feelings he entered this new field of labor — in many respects so difierent from that which he had left — maybe seen in the sermon he delivered on the succeeding Sabbath. He was not free from anxieties of various kinds, but he had a * The number added to the church of Hopewell during his ministry, was 225. Of tliese, 200 -were on confession of their faith. * The service took place in the First Dutch Churcli. The sermon was preached, by the Rev. Dr. Riddle of Jersey City, and it was a most impressive and scriptural discourse. It is inserted in this volume, at the request of the Consistory of the North Dutch Church. 10 clieerful hope that the results would be good. Depending upon promised grace, he concentrated all his energies upon the work to which his Master had called him ; and brief as was his career, it was long enough to bring out the sterling qualities of the man, and to prove his peculiar fitness for the post to which he had been invited. His congregation was in its in- fancy, in point of numbers only a little band, with the costly work before them of erecting a suitable house of worship ; but Dr. Polhemns had not been among them a week, before he had reason to feel as Paul did among the Koman brethren, who came to meet him at Appii Forum, " whom when he saw, he thanked God and took courage^ His people rallied round him, and inspired the pastor with confidence. And from that mo- ment until the sad evening, when they bore his lifeless remains to the sepulchre, they felt for him and his an untiring and de- voted affection. That affection is unabated. He labored with diligence and most encouraging success, until the 12th of August, when he left ISTewark to get a few weeks' relaxation, and to visit his friends at ISTewburgh and Hopewell. Before he reached ISTewburgh, which he did on the evening of the 12th, he complained of feeling ill, the result, probably, of getting over-heated when on his way to the steam- boat in New-York ; but for several days, though confined to the house, the case was not deemed serious enough to require medical aid. On the following Monday, however, a physician was called in, who found him suffering under an aggravated form of dysentery, which increased in virulence to such a de- gree by the end of the week, that it was thought advisable to seek the counsel of his old Christian friend and family physician. Dr. Wortman, of Hopewell. From that time he never left the house, nor even his room, until he was borne from it to his long home. The crisis of the disease was thought to have been reached early in September, and for a time the prospect of his recovery was encouraging ; but a relapse occurred, and with occasional intervals of seeming improvement, which kept up 11 the hopes of his friends, he continned to decline, until he calmly fell asleep in Jesns, about 11 A.M., on tlie 28th of October. From an earlj period of his illness, which so quickly put on a serious aspect, Dr. Polhenius was impressed with the feeling, that his work on earth was done, and that his sickness would be unto death. This was the view of his case which he habit- ually took, though at times, as the symptoms improved, he would speak of getting better, and, no doubt, had occasional liopes of recovery. On one occasion he expressed himself that the sickness was a discipline. Yiewing it as such, he accepted it in a meek and filial temper, with the earnest prayer, and the confident assurance that, if raised up, he might be a more zeal- ous and devoted pastor. At another time, referring to the dealings of his heavenly Fathejr, he said: "God has made me to know more of myself, then I ever knew before. I have had many precious views of my Saviour on this bed, and I thank Him for it. I can commit all into His hands, and know no will but His. Oh ! that I had been a more faithful minister of Christ ! But it is not by worksof righteousness which we have done, but by tlie precious blood of Jesus, that we are saved." At another time he said : " Blessed God ! if thou hast more work for me to do, raise me up and let me glorify thee. If my work is done, let me, like Stephen, see Thee standing on the right hand of God. There I shall join dear friends that have gone before, and be joined by dear ones I now leave behind, loving and praising the precious Saviour. Blessed union ! the Church on earth and the Church in heaven are one." The sermon on the Death of Stephen was one of the latest preached by him, before he was taken ill, and it was very evident that the sub- ject was one which had deeply impressed his own heart. At an early period of the disease, when a fatal termination was first apprehended, he prayed : " If my work is done, let me, like Stephen, see Thee standing on the right hand of God.'" We have good reason to believe that his prayer was answered. The interest manifested for him by the religious community of 12 Newark generally, and the many tokens he received of the warm sympathy and love of his own people, very sensibly affected him. Kepeatedly he said to liis brother-in-law, Dr. Forsyth : " I wish I could tell them how much I love them." Once, when speaking of his own people, he said : " Those are good, noble men. That church will be blessed, whoever may be called to preach to them. If I never preach in that new church, yet there is another church built for God's worship, and some of God's servants will preach in it. Souls will be converted, and I shall rejoice over them in heaven." During his long sickness that gracious promise was fulfilled to him : " Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace wliose mind is staid on Thee." "I am," said he, "waiting and willing to do the will of my heavenly Father. ISTot a thing on earth troubles me. I have committed all into his hands, and only wait his will." He had many ties to bind him to earth, and for the sake of his newly formed church, of his dear partner, and their beloved children, several of whom were of too tender an age to appreciate the loss of a father, he doubtless desired to live, yet for himself he found that it was better to depart, and to be with Christ. Only once, some two days before his decease, was the sunshine of his soul obscured, and then only for a moment. After a very bad night, in the course of which lie at one time thought he was dying, but afterwards had a refreshing: sleep of some hours, he said : " I feel as if I were better." Waiting a moment he added : " Is it not strange that one so low as I was last night, should, after that, hope to get well again ? I do not know that I ought to say liope^ for it is better to depart and be with Christ." After a short pause he added : " Oh ! that I had been more faithful as a minister of Christ." One of those present said: " You must only look to the righteousness of the Saviour as the ground of hope." " Yes," said he, " but God says, Give an account of thy stewardship." Then, waiting a 13 moment, he exclaimed in a tone of joy : " Behold, O God ! my sliield, look upon me in the face of thine Anointed." At another time, addressing one dear to him, he said : " I am going to the mansion of my Father, and there is a house prepared there for you, and you will come too." On being asked, "How can we spare you? How can we do without you?" he replied, with a pleasant smile: "Oh! God will far more than fill up my place. I have a hope. It is like an anchor to my soul. Is not this better than all else ? Is not this better than all the world ? Is ^t not f Yes, the world can never take it away." When in pain, he said: "Father, O holy Father! let this cup pass from me if it be possible ; nevertheless, not my will but thine be done. Lord Jesus, take me to Thyself. Receive my spirit: do not keep me here. Hinder me not; I long to go." On being told he appeared easier, he said : " "Well, but I had longed to go over and see that good land, that goodly mountain and Lebanon. To depart and be with Christ is far ])etter. I would be absent from the body, and present with the Lord." There was hardly a time during his protracted illness when lie was free from pain. When upon the bed he was obliged to lie constantly upon his back. Frequently his sufferings were intense. During one of these paroxysms, he said : " Oh ! the fellowship of His sufferings. 'Now I know what this means. N^ow I taste the bitterness of His soul. Who is it that says : ' The fellowship of his sufferings f Paul the apostle. Oh I I would love to give to my people the expe- rience I have gained on this bed. I could preach it to them." He then repeated the words : " Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ?" About 3 A.M. of the day on which he died, and when it had become evident that the hand of death was upon him, he exclaimed : " I see Jesus, l^ow that I have seen him, I never 14 can come back again. I see Jesus. Did I not tell you that I should see Jesus? My soul is ravished with the sight." Not long after he added : " I have a perfect assurance, not a doubt nor a fear." During the whole period of Dr. Polhemus' sickness, prayer was made for him without ceasing, at the family altar, at as- semblies of his own flock convened for this express purpose, and by the fathers and brethren in the General Synod, which held a special meeting at Newark, in October. But they availed not in arresting his disease. Though in the full vigor of a noble manhood, though he had just entered upon a new and import- ant sphere of labor, one for which he seemed to be particularly fitted, his work was done, and his sun went down while it was yet noon. It is one of those providences, which to our short- sightedness appear to be exceeding strange. And yet our Divine Master may have made, and, we trust, did make, the death of this devoted servant of Christ the means of accom- plishing more good than would have been eflected, had he been spared for years. His removal, we believe, has told upon thousands in the city to Avhich he had so lately come, and whom he never might have reached with the living voice ; and in regard to the whole community of Newark, it may in this sense be true, that " he being dead yet speaketh." Tlie funeral services at Newburgh, on the afternoon of the 29th October Avere conducted by the Kev. Drs. McLaren and McCarroll of that place, and the Eev. Mr. Suydam of Fishkill Landing, and were attended by many of Dr. Polhe- mus' old parishioners of Hopewell. The body was then con- veyed to Newark, and on the afternoon of the 30th, the more formal funeral services were held in the First Eeformed Dutch Church, which was crowded in every part by a multitude of mourners, including a large number of his clerical brethren. There, where a few months before, he had stood, the image of liealth and vigor, to assume the responsibilities and make the promises of a pastor, on that very spot his coffined remains 15 were placed. The sermon was preached by the Kev. Dr. De Witt of New-York, from John 17 : 4. The devotional ser- vices were conducted by Drs. Scott, Stearns, and Kip of Fishkill. Tlie body was then conveyed to the cemetery on the banks of the Passaic. There the precious remains of our dear pastor sleep in Jesus in the sure hope of a glorious resurrec- tion. Dr. Polhemus was a man, whose unpretending dignity and genial manners could not fail to make a favorable im- pression upon all who were brought into contact with him. The casual acquaintance would have discovered no reason to modify his first estimate of his character, however intimate with him he might subsequently have become. The traits that struck a stranger upon a first interview, and which would not fail to win his regard, were not put on for the occasion, but were really characteristic of the man. Hence the strocg personal attachment which he won for himself, not only from his own people, but the whole community in the midst of which he lived. " It would be impossible," says the Eev. Mr. Cobb, his successor at Hopewell, " almost to over-estimate the 'extent of the attachment felt for him, not only by his own im- mediate charge, but throughout the whole community ; and his death seemed like a household affliction to all that enjoyed his friendship while here. Each one has some precious remi- niscence of ' the Dominie,' and the evidences of his kindness, his cordiality, his attention to the poor, his devotion to the sick, are everywhere apparent. His urbanity of manners exerted a most remarkable power, winning the esteem and afifection of every class of persons, and I frequently hear those in humble life, speak with pride of his affability to them and his interest in their affairs." So it was in Newark. Though a resident here only for a few months, and the pastor of an infant church, he had many ardent friends, and few have so strongly im- pressed this community in so brief a period. Dr. Polhemus, though neither bashful nor timid, was a man 16 of unaifected modesty, lie esteemed others better than him- self; yet, when called to the performance of a public duty, he did not hesitate to go forward, and the manner in which he discharged the duty was in the highest degree creditable. We might refer, in illustration of this remark, to his Address before the Alumni of Eutgei"s College, which was one of the most acceptable and useful ever delivered before that body ; and to his speech before the General Assembly of the Presby- terian Church, in 1856, as the representative of the Reformed Dutch Church. Indeed his sound judgment, his energetic zeal, combined as they were with perfect frankness, and cor- dial manners, eminently fitted him to take a large share in the public business of the Church. He was a true son of the Dutch Church. Born and bred in lier communion, he loved her principles, her polity, her dis- tinctive usages, and ever felt the warmest interest in all that concerned her welfare. He was ever ready for any effort to build up her institutions and to enlarge her limits. After his election as a Trustee of Rutgers College, he was rarely absent from the meetings of the Board, and with equal cheerfulness and efficiency, performed every service that was laid upon him. At the same time he loved the whole household of faith, and was at the furthest remove from the narrow-minded secta- rian. As a preacher and pastor, he sought to commend himself to every man's conscience, making known to his hearers the whole counsel of God, keeping nothing back that would be profitable unto them. He loved to hear and he loved to preach that good old Gospel whose sum and substance is Christ Jesus the Lord, made of God unto us wisdom, right- eousness, sanctification, and redemption. His sermons were marked by solid sense and sound divinity ; they were clear and concise in style, scriptural in substance, scriptural in form, showing him to be a well furnished workman. He had the It clearest view of the doctrines of grace and of the scriptural grounds on which they rest. He needs no eulogy. The fact that he closed a ministry of twenty-one years with every heart warmly attached to him, and that in his brief ministry of but a few months, he won the warm regard of his own people, and the respect and admiration of the large community to which he came a stranger, is a com- mentary on his worth more forcible than words. The connection of Dr. P. with the North Dutch Church at Kewark, was of a peculiar and marked character. In common with the friends of the denomination generally, he was early impressed with the importance of establishing another Dutch church in this rapidly growing city, and when the enterprise had not yet assumed form or shape, he consented to preach several times for those who had established a stated service, which they trusted might prove to be the embryo of a church. The ardent desire, the fond hope at once took possession of all interested, that he would yet become their pastor ; and this un- authorized anticipation seemed to give new energy to the pro- ject. A site for a church edifice on the main thoroughfare, fronting one of the beautiful parks of the city, in value not less than fourteen thousand dollars, was by the liberality of the friends of the cause in Newark, speedily given to the en- terprise, free from debt. It then appeared to be a possible thing to effect the desired purpose. A church was organized. No other than Dr. Polhemus was, or had been thought of as their pastor. A unanimous call was presented to him. This infant church knew the sacrifice they were asking him to make, and how dear to each of their hearts his memory is, and ever will be, that he made that sacrifice for his Master and for them. The congregation, when the call was accepted, had contem- plated nothing more for two years to come, than the erection of a suitable lecture-room ; but such was the energy given to the work by his accepting their call, that they immediately de- 18 termined on the erection of a church edifice, at an expense of forty thousand dollars — and twenty thousand dollars of that sum was forthwith subscribed. Dr. P. and his family were received at their new home with the warmest affection and with every mark of attention. His ministry among this people — so short, and yet so long to be remembered — so afflicting in its termination, and yet so mo- mentous in its results, continued but little more than three months. During that period the spacious hall in which the congregation worshipped was always well filled, and that too, with most attentive hearers ; his clear scriptural style, com- pressing much well-ordered truth in tlie fewest words, his sin- cerity, manifested by an energy of expression and manner, often thrilling, together with a certain unpretending majesty of presence, fastened the attention of his auditory. The members of his own congregation during the perplexities and cares of the business of the week, looked forward with pleasing antici- pations to the services of the Sabbath to be fed and refreshed by spiritual food ; and the members of other denominations feeling a security offered in his catholic spirit, often waited upon his ministrations, and heard the truth as it is in Jesus. The clergy of the city greeted him as a brother, and cherish his memory with a high regard. During his brief pastorate in ISTewark, he found his way to the garret and to the cellar — to the home of the mechanic and the residence of the ricii. In conversation with the young and the old, he pressed the momentous importance of an interest in Christ ; and since his departure, truly affecting has it been to the officers of his bereaved church to hear those who come to profess their faith in a crucified Eedeemer, trace their first impressions to the words of him who is now in heaven. Perhaps his people, in the freshness of their love, doted on him too much ; and yet they plead the cordiality of his nature, the peculiar beauty of his piety, his freedom from self-aggran- dizement and self-promotion, his frankness, liis manly tender- 19' ness, liis devotion to their best and highest interests as some mitigation of their error. Kever perhaps did a new church proceed with more ap- parent prosperity than the North Dutch Church of l!^ewark. Every thing was as they would have desired, until suddenly in the month of August the tidings came that the life of their pastor was in peril. Then they felt what before they had not contemplated, that the pastor they loved so much — whom perhaps they were proud to call theirs, might be taken from them. They felt their weakness. They cried to God for help. The closet, the family altar, the meetings of special prayer, can bear witness to the fervency of their supplications. For the two months of Dr. P.'s illness, the infant church, amid light and shadow, hope and fear, passed a severe and salutary discipline. Those prayers were not answered in the manner they desired. But when we remember his triumphant departure, his price- less testimony to our faith, the solemnity his death produced on the brethren of his Church in the city of New- York and on the clergy of Newark, just when God was about to shed abroad the influences of the Spirit ; when we remember the greater devotion induced in his own church, who will say those prayers were not answered? What we know not now, we ' shall know hereafter. The remains of Dr. Polbemus were brought to Newark, where a most impressive discourse was delivered by the Eev. Dr. Thomas De Witt. It was a day of sorrow to the city, and one which will be long remembered. In the latter part of April, his remains were removed from the vault, where thev had been temporarily placed, to a lot selected by his church on the banks of the Passaic. It was a beautiful spring morn- ing, the air was balmy, the birds vocal, and the peaceful river never was more placid. There was the open grave and the coffin, beside it stood the brother, the two little sons and the 20 faithful servant-man of the departed. His Consistory stood around the place of burial, submissive to God's will, but stirred with unspoken sorrow. The Rev. Dr. Scott raised his voice to heaven in the fervent prayer of faith : all seemed to commune with God. Then he, for whom we mourned, was carefully placed in that new tomb, there to rest until the morn- ing of the resurrection. Four weeks from that day, the con- sistory of our sister church gathered at eventide around the death-coucli of him, who on the beautiful morning led our sorrowing thoughts to the throne of all grace. How mysteri- ous ! how impressive are God's ways ! The congregation who were so full of sympathy for our infant church in its grief, are alike desolate. The community in which both walked, radiat- ing the warmth of Christian love, have a new sorrow. The children of him who spoke words of tenderness to the orphan boys at their father's grave, are now also orphans. When Abraham Polhemus and James Scott died, humanity suffered loss. "When they fell, a chasm was made amid the cedars of Lebanon, not soon to close. " And I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, write. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth : Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors : And their works do follow them." 21 RESOLUTIONS OF DR. POLHEMUS' CONSISTORY AT NEWARK. At a meeting of the Consistory of The North Reformed Dutch Church of the city of Newark, held November 13th, 1857, it was Besolvedy That in the death of the Rev. A. Polhemus, D.D., we recognize and bow beneath the chastening hand of our Heavenly Father. Called by the unanimous voice of our infant Church to be our first pastor, his virtues, his talents, his piety, and his labors have made him very dear to our hearts. Furnished for his work, devoted to the cause of his Master, he was a workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Frank, intelligent, and disinterested, his intercourse would win the heart. In his tongue was the law of kindness. Stricken, and bereaved as we are by this afflicting dispensation, we thank our Father that we have been permitted to have such a pastor. His memory is a rich legacy : his short ministry will not be forgotten. While we sorrow that we shall here see his face no more, we rejoice in the precious consolations which were vouchsafed to him when the hour of his departure was at hand. We will strive to profit by the words that he spake unto us, and follow him as he followed Christ. In our deep bereavement, we ask the prayers of the Church of Christ, that we may know and do our Father's will, and that his blessing may abide upon the enterprise so dear to our pastor's heart. Resolved^ That we feel and appreciate the Christian kindness of the church at Hopewell in extending to us their sympathy in this the time of our common sorrow. Our pastor while with us, sought for them our prayers ; and now while we mingle our tears, it is a grateful reflection that our supplications for each other's welfare may ascend together to Heaven. Resolved^ That we extend to the bereaved family our warmest sympathy. Their happiness and welfare will continue to be a matter of our deepest solicitude and care ; and we thank God for 22 those precious promises -wliicli belong to the widow and the fatherless. Mesolved, That if, in God's Providence, we are permitted to complete the edifice, so far advanced under the pastoral care of him we mourn, we will insert within its walls a tablet to his memory, evidencing to coming generations the memorial of him within our hearts ; but he has a better tablet ; his record is on high. Hesolved, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to the family of our pastor, and to the consistory of the church of Hope- well, and be duly published in the Christian Intelligencer. T. A. Waldkox, President ^ro tern. J. C. "Woodruff, Secretary. RESOLUTIONS OF THE CONSISTORY OF HOPEWELL Inasmuch as it hath pleased God in his mysterious providence, to remove by death the late beloved pastor of this church, Rev. A. Polhamus, D,D., we deem it fitting in the few following reso- lutions, to give some suitable expression to our feelings in view of this sad event. Jiesolved, That although he had removed from among us to another field of labor, yet his long continued ministry in this church, and his noble, manly, and Christian character, had so deeply endeared him to us, that we mourn his loss as that of a well-tried and valued friend, cherish his memory as that of a truly fiiithful pastor ; and as the best proof of our afiection, will seek to re- member the words he spake while yet with us, and to profit by his precepts and example. Hesolved, That while we are deeply grieved by this dispensa- tion, we recognize therein the hand of our Father, and humbly bow to the will of Him who docth all things well ; and would 23 also offer our grateful acknowledgment of that grace which sus- tained our departed friend through his painful illness, and ren- dered the closing hours of his life not only peaceful but triumphant. Hesolved, That while we know theirs to be a grief with which a stranger may not intermeddle, and God only can assuage, we tender to his bereaved family our deepest sympathies, commend- ing them to the widow's Friend, and the Father of the fatherless ; and bringing them by the prayer of faith to that loving Jesus, who so clearly manifested himself to him for wljom they mourn, even in the bitterness of death. Hesolved, That we tenderly sympathize with the infant church so suddenly and severely afflicted by the loss of a pastor whose la- bors among them God had already blessed, commending them with all their interests to the kind Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. Hesolved, That these resolutions be preserved in the records of the Church, and also published in the Christian Ititelligencer ; and that copies be transmitted to the family of our former pastor, and to the Consistory of the North Reformed Dutch Church of Newark. " 24 A TRIBUTE TO THE LATE REV. ABRAHAM POLHEMUS, D.D. Earth was matured to beauty. Autumn's sun Lay dreamily o'er forest, field, and bower, As if, his growing, ripening work all done, He rested on his laurels for the hour. The hills grow misty in the mellowing light, And to the ear, the farewell song of bird Comes softly, as he wings his southern flight ; Fainter, the hum of insect life is heard ; Each tree, each leaf, a rainbow glory wears. Mature in loveliness — oh ! do not say. Untimely frost this hectic beauty bears, Blinding his victim to a quick decay. The leaf is ripe — it gave refreshing shade To faint and weary from the summer sun ; A thing all grateful to the eye 'twas made, But now it fades and falls — its work is done. And one we loved, oh ! who can say how well ? Through all those lovely, golden autumn hours, Lay ripening for the land where angels dwell. Fading, fast fading, with the autumn flowers. The glowing strength of his meridian years, The manly vigor of his glorious prime, The brow whereon no furrow yet appears, The locks which show no silver trace of time. The wealth of clustering love that girts his way, " The living jewels of his Christian home," The fervent hopes wherewith God's people pray — All seem to say. His hour is not yet come. But sickness brought him days of weariness : Like autumn leaf he ripened, brighter grew. And lovelier in every Christian grace. So none could doubt the fount from whence he drew. And thus he brightened, thus he faded, till The winds and rains of later autumn swept The withered, falling leaves away at will ; And then the weary, wasted body slept — 25 " For so He giveth his beloved sleep," And holy radiance, the brow to grace. With a meek trustfulness, so sweet, so deep ! It wore an angel look, that sleeper's face. Oh ! what a death ! The pearly gates unfold, Ere the departing spirit leaves the clay ; Jesus, at God's right hand, his eyes behold ; His soul, all ravished, would no longer stay ! Call not such triumph an untimely death ; His work was done, his soul was ripe for heaven. And God was honored with his latest breath. The God to whom his life, his all, were given. And his had been a noble life, so fraught With kindness, so replete with acts of love. They seemed the burden of his daily thought : Thus walked he in the light sent from above ; So firm in purpose, fearless in the right. He shunned not all God's counsel to declare ; The darkened soul he guided to the light, The weakest ever won his watchful care — A life without reproach, and crowned by love. A mother weeps the son who's " gone before," The smitten household daily sorrow prove, A brother mourns for him he sees no more. But why sum up ? Th' ambassador of Christ, Loved for his Master's sake, and for his own, Leaves fragrant memories, of many years. That with his useful, honored life have grown. Few men so large a share of love have won ; Few, when they die, create so wide a grief; Few leave so great a blank, as he has done, Who faded with the fading of the leaf. Turn we to yonder clime of cloudless light, Where the redeemed their crowns of glory wear. Their palms of victory, their robes of white. And Icnow he lives with Christ forever there ; Enow that he shines a jewel in His crown. Know that the songs of triumph louder swell ; Then, let us lay each selfish murmur down. Then, let the grieved heart answer, IT IS WELL. Theta. Hopewell, Bee. \hth, 1S57. I FUNERAL DISCOURSE ON THE DEATH OF REV^. DR. POLHEMTJS. DELIVERED BEFORE HIS CHURCH, AT THEIR REQUEST, BY REV. JOHN FORSYTH, D.D. November. 1857. rUNEEAL DISCOUKSE. " So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. — Deut. 34 : 5. Such is the brief notice of the death of one whose name is among the most illustrious in the annals of our race. The life of Moses forms one of the great epochs in the world's history. As the servant of the Lord, he redeemed the Hebrew people from bondage ; he was thus lawgiver, leader, and king ; and he was the chosen instrument of God to give a new, visible organization to the Church. No mere man ever enjoyed, here on earth, divine fellowship in degree and manner, such as did Moses ; no mere man was ever favored with such displays of the divine glory, as were made to him ; and no other servant of the Lord could say what Moses did : " A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up like unto meP The offices he filled were alike various and exalted. He was the inspired historian, poet, lawgiver, king in Jeshurun, founder of a religious econo- my, sole ruler in the house of God, interpreter of the divine will to his own brethren, and to all coming ages. His gifts and graces were not less remarkable and rare. He was not with- out sin ; he had his frailties, for which he suffered ; yet his character is a brilliant constellation of virtues — strong faith, exemplary meekness, unswerving faithfulness, undaunted cour- age, unsurpassed generosity, and entire devotion to the cause of God. After enduring the toils and trials incident to his high position for half a century, after he had seen one whole 30 generation laid in the dust, and the children filling the places of their fathers — venerable alike for his years, his virtues, and his services — he retires, at the command of the Lord, from his elevated post. He quits it, however, not because he was un equal to the duties, or was weary of his work ; his eye was not dim, his natural force was unabated ; he goes because such was the will of Ilim whose servant he was, and because his work was done. At the command of the Lord, he goes away to the top of Pisgali, all alone, unattended unless by minister- ing spirits, to get one view of the goodly land of promise, and then to die, leaving behind him a glorious example and a deathless name. " So," that is, in the place, at the time, under the circum stances narrated in this chapter ; " So Moses died according to the word of the Lord." I have selected this short yet striking account of Moses' death, because it suggests lessons which we should be daily learning, and of which we are so impressively reminded by the removal of your beloved brother, friend, and pastor. We learn I. That the servants of Christ cease from their earthly labors and leave this world at the time and under the circumstances fixed by their Lord and Master. It is appointed unto all men once to die. " Sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." The dark sceptre of this dread monarch extends over every land and every generation. Nei- ther elevated station, nor imperial power, nor princely wealth, nor laborious benevolence can exempt any from the stroke of death. Neither the precautions of prudence, nor the skill of science, nor the tears of afi'ection, nor the prayers of piety, can prevent the blow, or even defer the fatal hour. " Who is he that liveth and shall not see death ?" " We see that wise men die, also the fool and brutish person perish." The pri- soner in his dungeon, the peasant in his Imt, the monarch in 31 his palace, the priest at the altar, all stand in this respect on a level. Among the countless millions of human beings who have lived on earth, only two have been excepted from that great law of dissolution, " Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Even these two cases of Enoch and Elijah were rather apparent than real exceptions — their bodies un- dergoing a change equivalent to death, since " flesh and blood can not inherit the kingdom of heaven." While the stroke of death is thus inevitable, while the wise, the beautiful, the good, the ripe scholar, the eloquent orator, the holy and faithful minister of Christ, must as certainly as the wicked and the worthless go down to the land of silence, we know — and in this we shall find a rich source of consola- tion — that death never comes by chance. In no case, whether it be of feeble infancy, buoyant youth, mature manhood, or hoary age, whether of one whose decease is no more regarded than the fall of an autumn leaf, or of one whose loss fills a land with grief, is the event the result of accident. ilSTo ! That moment so awful, so solemn, so irrevocably decisive, when the body turns to its earth, and the soul wings its mystic flight into eternity, is fixed by infinite wisdom and infinite goodness by Him who knows what is best, and who doetli all things well. When He issues the command, and not till then, " man's 1)reath departs, and that very day his thoughts i3erish." And brittle as is the cord which binds soul and body, until God speaks the word, not all the powers of earth and hell com- bined can sever it. Every human being is immortal until his work is done, until all the purposes, whether of mercy or of wrath, for which God hath made him and placed him here, have been accomplished. Until then, the arrow that flieth by day can not touch him ; the pestilence that walketh in dark- ness can not reach him ; a thousand may fall at his side, and ten thousand at his right hand, but it can not come nigh him. And as it is with the time, so in regard to all the circum- stances connected with our departure from this world. The 32 same gracious and perfect Wisdom wliicli fixes the former, ar- ranges the latter ; they are all ordered by Him who has num- bered the hairs of our head, who directs the flight of the swallow, and who holds the keys of Hades and of death. How precious is this truth to all the friends of Jesus— how well fitted to produce joyful hope and holy submission. ♦' Why should we mourn departing friends, Or shake at death's alarms ? 'Tis but the voice that Jesus sends To call them to his arms." n. The Lord gives to his servants length of days, according to his own good pleasure and for the sake of others. In the infancy of the world, human life was measured by centuries rather than by years ; but as the race grew in num- bers the period of men's earthly existence was gradually and o-reatly diminished, and many ages have elapsed since the Psalmist uttered those mournful strains : " The days of our years are three-score years and ten; and if by reason ot strength they be four-score years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow, for it is soon cut off", and we fiy away." The in- stances in which this limit is overpassed are very rare, and the person who completes his century is as a "wonder unto many." Multitudes just open their eyes upon earth, and then close them forever. Between these two extremes — between the in- fant of an hour and the man an hundred years old— the length of human life is almost infinitely varied. Its average dm-ation may be ascertained, and about how many out of a given num- ber will reach a certain age, but in the case of the individual neither the profoundest wisdom nor the largest experience can tell, or even guess, the number of his days. All that we know or can say is, that it is determined by the good pleasure of the Lord, according to the counsel of his own will. "We should suppose that personal excellence and eminent usefulness would be some guarantee of long life, yet we know they are not. Indeed, so often do we see the excellent ones of earth taken 33 away in the midst of their daj^s, that the exhibition of nnusnal loveliness in early life is very apt to snggest the idea of an early death. I do not mean to say that this invariably hap- pens, but only that there is no certain connection between eminent virtue or capacity for usefulness and a good old ao-e, that we have no absolute warrant to expect long life even in the case of those whose services, as it seems to us, could be ill spared by the Church and by the world. Indeed, if those memorable words of Paul are to be taken as expressing a general fact, " I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ w^hicli is far better," it may be questioned whether length of days on earth is to be regarded as a blessing to the godly man personally. For the sooner death comes to him the sooner is he at rest ; the sooner he ex- changes a world of toil and trial, of sin and sorrow, for one of perfect and eternal light and bliss ; the sooner he departs the sooner does he join the w^hite-robed multitude with the Lamb upon Mount Zion. It may be, nay, we do not deny that it is good to be here, but it is far better to be where Christ is, with Christ, perfect in his likeness, and living in his immediate presence. Paul was perfectly assured that an unfadino- crown awaited him in heaven ; he was well persuaded that every day he staid here below was just to defer so much longer the moment when he should possess the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory ; but if such M^ere his Master's will, he was content to abide on earth, spending and being spent, fil- ing up the afflictions of Christ for his body's sake, ready to endure all things for the elect's sake, that they might obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. And so are all who share in like precious faith and hope with Paul. Our divine Lord and Master keeps some of his servants here until the years of their ministry exceed the average of human life ; others are taken away in the mid-time of their days ; others still are called hence ere the dew of their youth has disappeared — they are summoned to lay aside the armor cf 3 34 liglit just as they have put it on. In all this, God appears act- ing according to his sovereign will, amid clouds and darkness doing his pleasure ; but blessed be his name, we know it is his good pleasure. There is in every case a reason for his proce- dure, though we can not discover it. Of this much, however, we may be certain, that when he spares a faithful minister for many years, it is for the sake of others ; and when he takes away a faithful minister in early youth, or ripe manhood, to the saint himself his removal hence is unspeakable gain, to his family and his flock it is the gracious discipline of a loving Father and a covenant God, while to some among whom he had gone preaching the glad tidings, but has preached them in vain, it may be a wrathful judgment, the taking from them a candlestick they despised, because they loved darkness rather than light. III. God's people ofttimes]enjoy richer foretastes of heavenly blessedness as they approach their latter end. Moses was not permitted, on account of his siu at Meribah, to conduct the tribes of Israel into the promised land. In a moment of passion he forgot that he was only a servant in the Lord's house, and spake unadvisedly with his lips. But though he was visited with a rod, the goodness and mercy of the Lord still followed him, and as the days of his ministry were draw- ing to a close, he was honored with special communion with God. He was permitted to look down the long vista of com- ing ages, and survey the varied fortunes of his beloved Israel. From the summit of Nebo he was enabled to get a distant but distinct view of that goodly land promised to his fathers for an everlasting inheritance. " Tlic Lord showed him all the land of Gilead unto Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judali nnto the utmost pea, and the soutli and the plain of the valley of Jeri- cho, the city of palm trees unto Zoar." The vision was doubt- less supernatural, and was a befitting preparation for a death 35 so near. As his eyes close npoii the bills and valleys, tlie green fields and sparkling streams of the earthly Canaan, they at once open to behold the far more exceeding scenery of the Better Country. And thus has it been with many a servant of the Lord. I do not say with all of them, for in this, as in some other mat- ters, God is a sovereign, and sometimes gives most impressive proof that his path is in the sea and his footsteps are not known. I have no doubt that God's own dear children have been sometimes left to walk in darkness up to the very borders of the grave, their inward fears and outward fightings ceasing only with their breath. But on the other hand many a saint who, like Moses, had been employed in the active service of the Bedeemer, lias, like Moses, received on the bed of death rich prelibations of the bliss awaiting them above. A very lialo of holiness has seemed to rest upon them while the}' appeared to breathe the atmosphere of heaven. At eventide it has been light. They have been made to sit upon their high places, and have seen as they never saw before, "the King in liis beauty." Thus was it wath " Paul the aged," wlien he said : " I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand — henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of right- eousness." Thus was it with John Welsh, one of Scotland's worthies in other days. So filled was he to overflowing with the joy unspeakable, that he exclaimed : " Hold thy hand, Lord ! thy servant is but an earthen vessel." Thus was it with Toplady, who, dying in the meridian of his days, styled him- self the happiest of men. " Oh ! what delights ! what a bright sunshine has been spread around me. Surely no mortal man can live after glories such as God has manifested to my soul. All is light, light, light." Thus it was vrith Payson, who, when asked, " Do you feel reconciled to die ?" replied : " Oh I that is too cold. I rejoice, I triumph — I can find no words to express my happiness." And thus has it been with 36 many more, wlio, amid the pains and languor of disease, liave been brought to the very threshold of heaven ; its everlasting doors have been opened and the light from within has streamed forth in divine effulgence upon their souls ere they entered the sanctuary of the skies to dwell amid its eternal splendors. Perhaps a still larger number of dying saints though strangers to the raptures of others, have nevertheless possessed an un- troubled peace and an unwavering faith in the promised joys and glories of eternity. Their sun has gone down in calm se- renity, As sets the morning star, which goes Not down behind the darkened west, nor hides Obscured amid the tempests of the skies, But melts away into the light of heaven. But whatever may be the circumstances atteudhig the last hours of believers, we know that " precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." Does the parent look with eao-er desire for the moment when he shall hear the footfall of the child who has been long a sojourner in a distant land !* And is not the Christian, while in this present evil world, a pilgrim and a sojourner? Yes, so long as he is herein the body he is absent from the Lord. And hence we may well believe that that is a precious moment to Jesus the Saviour, when he welcomes to his immediate presence the soul for which he shed his blood — washed, sanctified, justified, complete in risrhteousness and bliss. lY. The removal of faithful servants of the Lord may well excite the deep and sincere grief of those who have enjoyed their fellowship and labors. Such grief is natural and proper. " The children of Israel mo'urned for Moses thirty days in the plains of Moab." The devout men who carried the mangled body, of the martyr, Stephen, to the sepulchre, " made great lamentation over him." 3T Paul, in comforting the Thessalonian Christians, in view of the decease of those who slept in Jesus, recognizes the sacredness of grief. " We sorrow not as those who have no hope," but still- we sorrow. It is the prompting of the nature which God has given us. To gaze upon the lifeless remains of the hus- band, the parent, the brother, the friend, the loving pastor ; to take our last look of one bound to us by such ties, unmoved, would betray a heart wholly ignorant of the genius of the Gos- pel, and wholly destitute of the spirit of that divine Saviour who himself wept at the tomb of Lazarus. Christianity does not make men stoics ; she does not eradicate any of the principles and affections of our nature ; she only purifies and exalts them. She does not forbid the indulgence of our joys or our griefs ; she only seeks to moderate and con- trol them. She does not look with disdainful eye upon the mourners tears, for she gathers them in her bottle and writes them in her book, even when she comes, that with her loving hand she may apply the healing balm of Gilead to the stricken heart. Those to whom we are bound in the near and dear relationships of life, especially when they are adorned with the graces of the Gospel, are among God's most precious gifts to us. To part from them with apathy when death comes into our windows and carries them away, is to show that we have failed alike in appreciating the gift, and in the gratitude due to God who gave it. God himself bids the smitten household to weep as they stand around their loved one's new-made grave, or look upon that vacant place which shall know him no more forever. God himself calls the Church to mourn and lament when the godly man, eminent alike for personal excel- lence and active goodness, wholesome and growing influence, " fails from among the children of men." "When a servant of the Lord — one fitted by the endowments of nature, the gifts of grace, the wisdom of ripened experience for wide useful- ness, is summoned from the field of his labors, we may well 38 exclaim, as Elisba did : " My father, my father ! the chariots of Israel and the horseman thereof." God means that we shall keenly feel such dispensations, for otherwise we should be in no suitable frame to learn the lessons he is teaching, and we should fail to gain the gracious and glorious end for which lie subjects us to such discipline — that we may become par- takers of his holiness. Y. The Lord's servants die and disappear at his command, but his Church survives, and he will never cease to provide the needful instruments to carry on his own work. After Hoses, we are told there arose no prophet like unto him. In all that glorious succession, not one was the equal of him who died upon the top of Xebo. He was peerless, his loss seemed irreparable. In one sense it was. But though Moses was dead, the tribes of Israel did not stop at the foot of the mountain which contained his grave. Moses was gone, but Israel did not want a leader fully competent for the work intended to be done. Moses died in the land of Moab, but the host of God, that he had so long led, is soon again in motion. Jordan is crossed, the armies of Canaan are put to flight, the goodly land is won. So has it ever been, so will it ever be until the mys- tery of God is finished. Apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers die, but Jesus lives, the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. The most distinguished, the most devoted, the most successful minister is only an earthen vessel, having nothing which he has not received ; and we reflect upon the all-sufficiency and tlie watchful, loving care of the Church's Head, when we speak of the removal of any one in any sphere, however justly val- ued by ns, as a loss which it is impossible to repair. " "Wlio then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man ?" Although the cistern at which we liave been accustomed to slake our thirst be destroyed, the fountain that filled it survives; 89 although the star to which we were wont to look for guidance, and in whose light we for a season rejoiced, be extinguished, He who holds the stars in his right hand still lives — the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last — head over all things for the good of His body, the Church — Jesus, in whom dwells all the fulhiess of the Godhead. And one great end of such dispensa- tions as the one over which we mourn, is to correct the false views we are apt to form respecting the Lord's work, to dissi- pate those needless anxieties to which we are so prone to yield in regard to the Lord's cause. Therefore he says, " Be still and know that I am God" — my purpose shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. My dear friends ! these lessons of God's word are pressed upon our consideration by that solemn event which has occa- sioned our present meeting. God who so lately gave you a pastor, one on whom you had built high hopes, and around whom your warm affections had begun to cluster, has taken him to Himself. Just as he has entered the new field of labor, and is girding himself for the duties of a new and arduous charge, in the mid-time of his days, the maturity of his strength, he is cut down. ■ One end of our gathering here this evening is to do honor to his memory, and yet if his voice could reach us from those heavens where, I doubt not, his ransomed spirit now dwells, I am very confident that his earnest utterance would be : " Warn, instruct, entreat the living to be reconciled to God, to prepare for the coming eternity, but waste not time in eulogizing the dead." To himself, human praise and human censure are trifles lighter than air, but to us who remain be- hind, it may be useful to survey the grace of God in him.* From the origin of this congregation, the attention of its members was turned to Dr. Polhemus, as, under God, a man * The portion of the sermon that contained an account of the early life of Dr. Polhemus, and of his residence at Hopewell, having been incorporated with the Biographical Sketch, is here omitted. 40 eminently fitted to carry forward the important enterprise with success. He pondered the question of his coming hither with earnest and prayerful anxiety. If he had simply con- sulted his own pei-sonal ease and comfort, the matter might have had a speedy decision, and even in a higher view of the snhject, there were considerations not without weight, induc- ing him to stay where he was. In the end, however, he be- lieved that the Lord had called him to go to Newark, and in this faith he never wavered. But, after all, it was no easy task to go ; it was no slight trial to sunder the bonds which had been created during a ha])py and useful pastorate of twenty yeai-s. Farewell, was a hard word for him to say to such a people as he had been living among, and had ministered to so long ; nor was it easier for them to consent to give up such a pastor. You will, I am sure, bear with me for saying that I shall ever honor and love the congregation of Hopewell for the earnest resistance they made to the removal' of my dear bro- ther, with whom and among whom, it has been my privilege to spend so many delightful Sabbaths, and so much Christian fel- lowship. He came to Newark in the noon of his manhood and the fullness of his strength, with the promise of many years of labor and of large success. He came here and re- ceived a cordial welcome from many brethren in various branches of the Church. He came a comparative stranger, yet almost immediately lie found himself surrounded by warmly attached friends, for his manly form and noble pre- sence were but the index of scarcely less obvious and still nobler qualities of mind and heart. Hardly six months have elapsed since in this very church he stood up to take upon him- self the pastor's vows, and from this same spot, only a week ago, his mortal remains, were borne to the grave by a great multitude of devout men and of weeping friends, and now he sleeps in Jesus, in yonder sepulchre on the banks of the Pas- saic. 41 With the circumstances connected with his last illness, and the record of his dying exercises, you have been already made acquainted.* Suffice it to say, that on the 12th of August last, he came to Newburgh, purposing to stay there only a few days, but as the result showed, it was to spend three wearisome months on the bed of languishing, often tortured with exquisite pain, and to die there at the command of the Lord. From an earl}^ period of his sickness he was impressed with the belief that it would be unto death. But the prospect did not dismay him. He "knew in whom he had believed." His patience under his sufferings, and his considerate regard for othere, were most exemplary. The tokens of affectionate interest which he was constantly receiving from his own people and other friends in Newark, deeply touched his heart, and he often expressed the wish that he might be able to tell them all how much he valued their love. For the sake of his infant church, of his beloved wife, so long accustomed to lean on his strong arm, and of their dear children — four of whom were too young to appreciate the loss of such a father — he desired to live, if such were his Master's will. But to that will he bowed joyfully as well as submissively. More than once he said : " I have peace — perfect peace." With the calm confidence of a believer in Jesus he was en- abled to commit those most dear to him to the care of a cov- enant God, and on the bed of death he preached to them the same precious faitli which they had heard him proclaim from the pulpit. Only once, a day or two before his departure, did a cloud darken his mind, and then it was only for a moment. " At eventide it was light." And as he went down into the dark valley, and his feet touched the cold waters of the river of death, he beheld Him whom his soul loved. " I see Jesus," said he, " and now I can no more come back." The only thing he dreaded, and from which he had specially prayed to be de- * They were given by Dr. De Witt on the day of the funeral. 42 livered, the agonies of dissolution, he was mercifully spared. Without a groan, without a struggle, without a sigh even, he sweetly fell asleep. Dear Brother ! thou hast been taken from us in the meridian of thy days, and many hearts have been made to bleed ; but it is our Master's will that thou shouldst go ; thy work was fin- ished ; thou hast entered into rest. " Soldier of Christ, well done ! Praise be thy new employ ; The battle fought, the victory won, Best in thy Saviour's joy," DR. POLHEMUS'S SERMONS. 45 SERMON I. THE PREACHER'S THEME. "I DETERMINED not to kuow any thing among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified,"—! CoR. 2 : 2. Never did the Apostle Paul receive a nobler compliment than that pronounced by certain " vagabond," that is, wander- dering Jewish exorcists, who attempted to cast out evil spirits by saying : " We adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul preacheth." It showed not only that they had witnessed the magic power of that name in the mouth of the Apostle, but also, his enemies being witnesses, that Paul was faithful to his high commission, and to his solemn professions. It is said to have been the wish of St. Augustin, one of the most distinguished fathers of the early Church, that he could have seen Paul in the pulpit. We do not think that this de- sire was dictated by a mere idle curiosity — a desire simply of looking upon the man or of hearing him preach, but rather of seeing how he was impressed with the awful trust committed to him ; it was a desire that he might have witnessed Paul's zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of souls, and have listened to that eloquence which was mighty, not by reason of its external adornment, but by its clear logic, its fearless de- clarations of the whole counsel of God, its discriminating and searching appeals to the consciences of his hearers. If he could have had his wish, methinks he would have seen somethino- corresponding to the history of his conversion. You remem- ber that Paul then heard the voice of Christ saying : " Eise and stand upon thy feet, for I have appeared unto thee, to make thee a minister and a witness both of the things which thou hast seen, and of those things in which I will appear untc» thee, delivering thee from the Gentiles, unto whom I now send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may 46 receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among all tlieni which are sanctified by faith that is in me." (Acts 26 : 27.) No other preacher ever received his commission in terms and under circumstances so remarkable as these. Paul, as he told Agrippa, " was not disobedient to the heavenly vision ;" and his sermons and his epistles are his witnesses that he never forgot it. Paul, centuries ago, entered into his rest, having fulfilled his course. When we see him, it shall not be in the pulpit, but among the leaders of that glorious company that celebrate God's free grace, forever, in heaven. Being dead he yet speaketh ; and if the Church of Christ should ever lose sight of the pure Gospel, or, corrupting it by rites and ceremonies, and traditions of men, should make it another gospel, and if, in that case, God, for the sake of a remnant whom he would save, should determine to send back to earth one of " the twelve apostles of the Lamb," who can doubt that Paul would be the chosen messenger from heaven, and that these very w^ords of my text would express the grand theme of his ministry : " I am determined to know nothing among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified." We judge of what w^ould be, from what hath been. The Gospel, which is founded upon the character of God, and the necessities of fallen man, is the same in all ages. What Paul preached when in the flesh, he would preach again if he were here below. In every place he testified repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. On every occa- sion the doctrine of Christ crucified was his leading and dis- tinguishing theme ; on this doctrine he insisted as the one which more than any other illustrated the glory of God and advanced the happiness of man. " We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord." " We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness ; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of Gud, and the wisdom of God." (1 Cor. 1 : 23, 24.) It was by the manifestation of this truth that the apostles commended them- selves to every manVconscience in the sight of God. We say 47 to every man's conscience. Paul preached but one gospel at Damascus, at Epliesus, at Philip pi, at Eome. Whether he stood upon the hill of Mars, in sight of the altar bearing the inscription, " To the unknown God," or walked amid the gor- geous jet tasteful palaces of Corinth, he beheld the tokens of " the wide-spread malady," which philosophy vainly attempted to mitigate, for which he knew the Gospel was the only rem- edy ; and so he was prepared to stand or fall by the result of the simple declaration of " Jesus Christ and him crucified." While these words fell with a peculiar propriety from the lips of him who first uttered them, they are, at the same time, eminently befitting, as they will be heartily adopted by the true minister of Christ in every age. In directing your atten- tion to the subject here presented, let me I. Explain this determination of the Apostle. We are not to infer from this statement, that the preaching of Paul was so exclusively occupied with this theme, that no other topic was ever discussed by him.' He speaks of having set forth Christ crucified before the eyes of the Galatians ; yet we are not to suppose that he confined himself to the exhibi- tion of the awful scenes on Calvary, but that the death of Christ — its nature, its design, its results — was the grand central doctrine of the system he promulgated. In fact, his preaching had a wide range, embracing within its sweep all things that concerned the kingdom of God, and the great salvation. Again, these words must be understood not in an absolute but comparative sense. Paul did not despise all other know- ledge. Every thing which God has made is a proper subject of study ; and science of every kind is useful to the preacher if rightly employed. But the knowledge of Christ has a trans- cendent excellence and importance, and all other knowledo'e is to its possessor, if ignorant of Christ, insignificant and vain. This determination of Paul, shows us, 1. What was the subject-matter of his study and preaching. It was Jesus Christ. It was not Jewish traditions ; it was not Gentile phi- losophy, but it was Jesus the Christ, " in whom are hid all the 48 treasures of \Nnsdom and knowledge." It shows, 2. Under what aspect and relation he chose to study and preach Jesus Christ. It was as " crucified." It was Christ above all other topics, and Christ crucified, above all other considerations. Jesus Christ crucified. Each of these words has a world of meaning. Jesus signifies Saviour. It is a name which affords peculiar and inestimable comfort to the believing mind. It can never be too much considered by those who hope to share the blessings, which he who bore it brought into the world. " In this name the whole Gospel lies hid. It is the light, food, and medicine of the soul." It includes so much, as applied to Messiah, that no one word in any language, can fully express tlie idea it conveys. It is meant to signify that He delivers from all evil, preserves to all good, and maintains the objects of his salvation in a state of security and blessedness forever. This title, so expressive of redemption, was applied to the • human nature of Christ, before it was assumed. An angel from heaven announced to his virgin mother, that " his name should be called Jesus," (Luke 1 : 30, 33 ;) and after his birth, a multitude of the heavenly host brought to the humble shep- herds of Bethlehem, that message of abundant joy : " Unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2 : 11.) God had frequently, in past ages, raised up "saviours" to his people, for temporal purposes, and they had received this honorable appellation. The first who bore the name, was the son of Nun, the successor of Moses. Joshua and Jesus are the same name, the first being its Hebrew form, the latter its Greek. (See Acts 7 : 45 ; Heb. 4 : 8.) But while this name was applied to those whom God had sent to be the deliverers and leaders of his people, it could not properly be said of any one of them, that he was the Saviour, the lord. Not one of them was a saviour able to bring salvation to the people, in the plen- itude of his own power, and by the might of his own arm. No mere man could become, in the highest sense, Jesus, Sav- iour, because unable to execute the office. Deity alone could 49 recover guilty creatures, and yet Deity alone (witli reverence be it said) could not be the Saviour in the sense here intended, because he must be born of a virgin, and become a man of sorrows. He must be man as well as God, and God as well as man, else he could not be the Saviour, mighty to save; but 1)eing both, he was capable of performing all that was given liira to do. His birth and his sufferings proved his humanity ; his miracles and his resurrection from the dead, his essential divinity. (Rom. 1 : 2.) Jehovah became Jesus that in a way consistent with his glorious perfections, he might save his peo- ple from their sins. As Jesus, having our nature, he could be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (Heb. 4 : 15.) He could offer himself up without spot to God, in our stead, and purge our sins by the sacrifice of himself. As Jehovah, he was able to accomplish all the purposes of his grace, and by a merit wdiich could satisfy justice, bring in everlasting sal- vation for his people. Such is the Blessed Person whom the Apostle here declares he was determined to "know." He bears another title generally annexed to Jesus, namely, Christ, the Anointed. Under the Old Testament dispensation, persons and tliii;igs were anointed, when set apart for some spe- cial and sacred end. These were feeble representatives of Christ, the true anointed of God. The oil, however, w^as only the emblem of the Holy Spirit with which Jesus was anointed without measure. " God, even thy God, hath anointed thee \y\i\\ the oil of gladness above thy fellows." (Prov. 45 : T.) God anointed Jesus of l!^azaretli with the Holy Ghost and with power." (Acts 10 : 38.) The unction was the token of the divine appointment to office. Christ was thus divinely ap- pointed to his office, for at his baptism there came a voice from heaven saying : " This is my beloved Son ; hear him." The oil denoted the divinely-given qualifications for the ofiice to which tlie person anointed was set apart. Christ was thus divinely people. I feel, and I desire you to feel the deep responsibility of my office and my position. I do not regret that I am here. It was not without much deliberation, consultation witli my ministerial brethren, and fervent prayer to God for guidance, that my mind was brought to acquiesce in what I now believe was my duty. You will not be surprised at the conflict through which I have been called to pass, when I tell you that God cast my lot among a most affectionate and kiiul-hearted peo- ple, with whom for almost twenty-two years I lived in uninter- rupted harmony — a harmony which to my knowledge was never broken by a single jealousy ; a people, among whom God was i)leased to bless my labors, and who, witliout a dis- senting voice, besought me not to leave them. On the other hand, the entire unanimity of your call, and the peculiar cir- cumstances under which it was given, made it impossible for me to decline it. And it was relief at last, when in the provi- dence of God the decision of the question which tried me as I had never been tried before, devolved npon others rather than myself. My brethren of the Chassis sent me here. And I must say that the people of Hopewell, after the first gush of disappointment was over, not only acquiesced in the disposal of Providence, but crowned the kindnesses of more than twenty years, by sending me to you with their prayers. Never have I heard more earnest supplications for this church than those offered in our weekly prayer-meetings at Hopewell, uttered in sentences often broken by deep emotion. I would have you catch the spirit of those prayers, and send it back to heaven for a blessing upon them. The generous kindness you have shown to me and mine have made me almost forget the sacrifices which I felt I must make, not in coming here, but in going any where. Your kind courtesy is appreciated. And the heartiness with which you have given yourselves to this new work is not only a pledge of its prosperity, but an evi- dence to your pastor that he will not have to stand or to labor alone. Brethren, this is an important moment, not to me only, but to yourselves, your families, your children, your neighbors. You are beginning a new era in your religious history. Xew duties will devolve upon you, as well as new hopes be excited in you. I ask that this may be a day of solemn dedication of people as well as pastor to Jesus Christ. We have jointly put our hand to the work. I have made, and do make again this day, in the presence of you all, a solemn surrender of the fa- culties of my mind and the energies of my body to my Lord and Master, to be sanctified and employed by him in winning- souls to him. This is my ambition, this is the high prize I aim to possess — souls, who shall be to you and me crowns of re- joicing in the day of Christ. Let every heart in this assembly say. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? Every man, and every woman, must have a share in the labor, if they have given themselves up to Christ. ' There must be no drones in 58 this spiritual hive. The times demand industry and effort, and each of you must be content to work with your minister, for God. Kemember tliat love to God and love to souls are among the first elements of a church's prosperity. Let there be too a spirit of prayer ever exhibited ; prayer which looks for the results of its pleadings; prayer which counts with confidence on the coming blessing. Then may we be sure that tlic Lord will remember this vine which his own hand hath planted ; your minister's heart will be strengthened, his heart will be cheered, you will see him happy, and you yourselves be the sharers of his joy. Brethren, I have to-day set before you the great theme of my preaching. You have called mc to preach the Gospel to you, and, God helping me, I mean to preach the truth as it is in Jesus. Other topics might have the charm of novelty, might attract crowds to hear the preacher, but this is the truth that draws men to Christ, and saves their souls. I mean it to be understood that he who comes here, must come to have his soul fed with the living bread that is from heaven. I have no doubt either as to the wisdom or the policy even of such preaching. I wish to preach Christ, and so to preach him, that come who may into our assembly, they will feel that this church is set for the defense of the Gospel. Tes, I wish to preach Christ, in the divinity of his person ; Christ, in the authority of his mission ; Christ, in the holiness of his exam- ple ; Christ, in the tenderness of his compassion ; Christ, in the vicariousncss of his sufferings ; Christ, in the prevalence of his intercession ; Clirist, in the glories of his royalty ; Christ, in the richness of the blessings imparted to those whom he has accepted and promised to bring to the fullness of joy in heaven. Yes, brethren, Clirist is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last ; and he who aspires to the service of such a Mas- ter, and would meet its high responsibilities, must stand near to the altar where still is found the sprinkled blood of Ilim wlio was there a victim and a sacrifice, and then utter the 59 solemn vow, to be heard on eartli and in heaven : " I am de- termined to know nothing save Jesns Christ — crucified." You must not, therefore, complain if there be some little sameness in our ministrations, if old truths are repeated, " line upon line, precept upon precept." And yet there should be to us a charm of novelty in the doctrine of Christ. The theme is inexhaustible. It is a treasury out of which you may per- petually bring things new as well as old. You do not com- plain because bread is placed every day upon your table. The thirsty man never complains of the ceaseless murmurs of the cooling brook as it pursues its way beside his path. The light of heaven is never unwelcome to us, as morning after morning it dawns upon us. And that sermon should not fail to awaken interest, which exhibits Him who is the true bread and water of life, " the true light that lighteth every man that comes into the world." Every one to whom the name of Jesus is as oint- ment poured forth, will rejoice to hear it pronounced by the preacher's lips ; he will always come to the sanctuary with the hope and desire of getting some fresh view of the grace and the glory of Him whom his soul loveth ; and he will never be better pleased than when he sees his pastor standing be- neath the cross, and gathering fruits from the tree of life, and as he offers them to the people, begging them to eat and live forever. This infant church has no apology to offer for its existence. It is here by the deliberate and prayerful choice of those who had a right to resolve that they would erect another house for the worship of God our Saviour. You will have no doubt either of the need of a new church, or of the fitness of its location, when I tell you that other parties stood ready to occupy the ground if we had abandoned it. And now that we have put our hands to the work, they bid us God speed. We have no wish to draw away the members of sister churches, where the truth is preached and souls are fed with living bread. Far from us be such an aim. No. We seek first of all to provide for the growing want§ of our own communion, and 60 at the same time to gather in those who are as sheep without a sheplierd. To all who may prefer our company, or our church order and polity, we say : " Come with us and we will do you good." We are thankful for the expressions of good-will that have been made by Christians of every denomination with whom we have been brought into contact, and we heartily reciprocate their love. We give a cordial welcome to all who are inclined to worship with us statedly or occasionally ; and if we do not greatly deceive ourselves, we are sure that they will never find occasion of grief by the undue glorification of ourselves, or of " our Church," or by ofiensive allusions to othei-s. We mean to preach the truth freely, fully, boldly, but always " in love," in the exercise of the charity which hopeth all things, and of the Christian courtesy which should never be absent from a Christian pulpit. And now, brethren, the time is come to build the Lord'y house ; and the voice of our God is heard, saying with a spe- cial emphasis to us : " Build the house, and I will take pleas- ure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord ; from this day will I bless you." (Hag. 1 : 8, 11, 17.) Yes, there is a blessing in this work. "They shall prosper that love thee." (Psalm 122 : 6.) Do you lay the stones of this building, in the faith of that Saviour whom we preach, for the glory of the God whom we serve, and ye shall yourselves, at last, as " precious stones," as " living stones," be built into the " temple made without hands, eternal in the heavens." Let us not fear we shall fail, but be "strong in the Lord and in the power of his might." If fail we must in our enterprise, let it be with our eyes heavenward ; let it be in the attitude in which men never failed before, " looking to the hills whence cometli help ;" let It be such a failure as would cause sorrow in heaven and joy in licll ; let it be such a failure as— but why make the need- less 8upj)osition ? No. Let him who is fearful and unbelieving remove his hand from the plough, and turn back, but let all who hope in God, go ft)rward and see his salvation. 61 SERMON II. THE PENITENT THIEF. " And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy king- dom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily, I say unto thee, To.day shalt thou be -jyith me in Paradise." — Luke 23 : 42, 43. The history of our Lord Jesus Christ while tabernacling in human flesh, is full of wonders. From its commencement to its close, it grows in interest, as we discover the constantly in- creasing evidences of the divine character and mission of Jesus of ]^azareth. At Cana in Galilee, where our Lord performed his first miracle, by changing water into wine, we see the ear- liest forth-putting of that power which wrought a far more marvellous transformation when it converted a dying thief into a believing penitent, and the next instant into an adoring seraph. In both cases omnipotence was demanded to effect the result, but the latter miracle exhibited not only the Al- mighty power, but the boundless grace of the Son of God. The water changed into wine at Cana, "perished in the using ;" but the sinner converted into a new creature on Calvary, now helps to swell, and will forever sing the anthem of redemp- tion in heaven. The event brought before us in the text is the most interest- ing, the most important, that can occur to any human being — it is the salvation of a soul. An immortal on the brink of eternity, sunk in sin and ready to perish, is plucked as a brand from the burning, and is made an heir of everlasting life. It was truly said by our blessed Lord, of the fierce multitude who cried out, " Crucify him !" — " They know not what they do." When they placed him between two thieves, their object was to aggravate the shame and infamy of the cross ; but He who can cause even the wrath of man to praise him, converts the insult of his murderers into an occasion for a most signal dis- 02 play of his omnipotence and his love. Jesus had said : " And I if I be lifted np, will draw all men unto me." And now, as if to confirm that word, he is no sooner nailed to the cross of death, than he draws one polluted soul to the fountain open for sin ; and as the cry, " It is finished !" dies upon his lips, he bears away with him to Paradise one trophy of his victorious o'race, one pledge of his triumph over death and hell. In guiding your meditations upon these words, let me direct your attention, I. To the person to whom the prayer was addressed Here are three crosses, on each of which hangs a sufferer. But lie who is suspended on the middle one, though to out- ward appearance only a man like the rest, is really a being con- cerning whom it is said : " Let all the angels of God worship him." He is the Holy One of God. The prayer is presented to the Lord of Glory, the great God our Saviour. But these are strange circumstances in which to find one who could claim these magnificent titles. He is despised and rejected of men ; He is dying a death as ignominious as it is cruel ; those who had been his disciples have fled— all of them, except his virgin mother according to the flesh, who, with a few other desolate women, is weeping over the mournful spectacle. The wicked rabble exclaim, in mockery : " He saved othei-s ; let himself now come down from the cross and we will believe." Even one of the malefactors at his side repeats the taunt, and "railed on him, saying, If thou be the Christ, save thyself and us." Never was the glory of the Saviours divinity more com- pletely veiled. The might and the majesty which shone forth «o illustriously in his miracles, in his feeding the hungry mul- titude, stilling the tempests, healing the sick, are now obscured by the dark, gathering clouds of death. " The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers took counsel together (success- fully as it seemed) against the Lord and his anointed." (Ps. 2 : 2.) But deep as was the darkness which enveloped the Holy Jesus, a ray of his divine glory pierced it, and reached 63 at least one poor sinner, the dying tliief. To liini it is the light of life. He confesses his guilt, he believes, he repents, and in full assurance of faith prays : " Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." II. Who was it that presented this memorable prayer ? Who was it that gave this striking confidence in Jesus, at the the very moment when most of those who had known him longest and best, forsook him and fled ? Was it the beloved disciple who had leaned on his bosom ? or was it " that other disciple," who had said, " I am ready to go with thee to prison and to death ; though all be offended because of thee, yet will not I" ? Ko ; it was neither of these. It was one who, per- chance, had never seen Jesus, until he beheld him at his side toiling np the ascent of Calvary, bearing his cross. He is one of two malefactors, whose condemnation to death for their crimes was confessedly just. They had transgressed both human and divine law, and were now suffering the penalty of their offenses. Yet between the two there was a wide differ- ence in character, such as often exists between men who, be- fore the law, are companions in guilt and in punishment. One of them seems to have been hardened in wickedness, with no fear of a judgment to come, and even amid the agonies of a lingering and most painful death, reviled a fellow-sufferer, who had never done him the slightest injury by word or deed. He scoffs at goodness, and expires with a heart full of evil. The other seems profoundly impressed with the awfulness of his situation. He looks into eternity, now so near, and fears that when his crimes against man and society have been expi- ated by his bodily death, there may be another tribunal before which he must appear, and that his sufferings on earth, how- ever painful and protracted, will not be accepted there as an atonement for his sins against God. He is sensible of the ill conduct of his associate, and faithfully rebukes him for it. He has watched — as we may. well believe — the Saviour's de- meanor during the awful scenes then enacting, and beholds in 64 him the fulfillment of ancient prophecy— "he is led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth." He listens with wonder to the prayer, « Father, forgive them, they know not what they do ;" it penetrates his soul, and prompts him to say in his heart : " Is not this the Christ?" The spirit of the poor thief was gone, ere the darkened heavens, the quaking earth, and the rending rocks, compelled the confession of the Eoman centurion : •• Truly, this man was the Son of God." But his iiiith had needed no such confirmation, he had required no such testi- monies to convince him that he was hanging by the side of One mighty to save. The Spirit took of the things of Christ and showed them unto him. And now when the pulse of life is beating feebly, and his eye is growing dim in death, and the world is fading from his view, he turns to Jesus with the look of faith, and breathes the prayer : "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." in. Let us now examine the prayer itself. Probably it was the first prayer the poor thief had ever uttered ; certainly he had never before prayed " believing," and yet like that of the publican, it is a model prayer, brief, expressive, replete with a sense of need, and of Christ's all-sufficiency. It is a prayer betokening "repentance toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." As before remarked, it was connected with a confession of his guilt, and the justice of the sentence which doomed him to the cross. Mark how quickly he passes from rebuking his companion to the condemnation of himself: " Dost thou not fear God seeing thou art in the same condem- nation, a7id we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of