The assassination of Abraham Lincoln

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The Assassination of
Abraham Lincoln

Dr. Gurley's Funeral Address

at the White House

April 19, 1865

Excerpts from newspapers and other

sources

From the files of the
Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection

-7; ^uD09 oP-5~0jjST^

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\ PEOCEEDINaS OF A CALLED MEETING

<■

\ Ministers of all Beliatous Denominations

1 IS THK \

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA,

IN TMIt

1 FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH ON THIRTEENTH STREET,

IX RKFKniJNVK TO THE <mXY. EEKi: WKMKNr Wltl.ir TUH rt>rN-TRY HA«

"

CHIKK MAfJf<TI;ATK,

-A.b"e^^I3:^jm: i-.iisrcoi_.isr.

Remarks of Rev. Dr. Gurley,

AIVDRESSEI) TO THE rnK.<n>ENT aV 'tjlE r.MTF.D STATKJ^,

ANDREW JOHXBOX,
REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT.

McijUA. A WlTHKKyW. t'lUXTKliS AXB STKHEOTVPERS,

c» r^ G u ^. i- e ^<

IJi-". l>r. GiuUy ilnlivi' nl t>ii' uinnl iililrnn,

fctrllilili;: (m'iI.I: nIi>|i-I, ihmU 1)111 ll'l >'l |>I tSu (>i'«ll

i-* niii It u(vii|)i'ij alii.ui V»i' c-i i.niTrt <r' uu
lii'ii in iU''ivri) . Ill- (".lit u.-jici-ii h/ n-\\ 111^:

W»> ri'. iviya • «na uIdk; iIi « ivo ui.'u;? of Al-
»liiiulv> I;.k1. Ui< (Lrciin-in II MViii iiu'l Hid ki I'i-
tliiiii ii.!.-lli (.v< r tk'\. Ii vv ..-I II I riicl luiiil, 111 j tl irk
liuii>) I r ail uthtur'in, Jiitt. biimlu iiio tii> i.nul, ww^
f ii<< lii'hiii rivcmuiit, HiMi till <l ilii: l.ku'i wiiti mom 11-
ioi;. Dill nbi v<- tbH linii'l tli r.> u uiiuher wh\i;li
»r lnl:^t BIO MiKl ai-kiiOH-lu<| 'i:. It is tlic ci>vif«a-
iii;; I ui (1 ot n 1TI-.C uii'i l«itlif«»l (ijd, W'ayl.liito
lliti IkIiio'm iiiiJ (liii.k tiic Jiua^lit. Tlila c^i.i;«trst)-
u-ei<t couiCH ill 11 way h>uvy uuii mvnt riiuilr d ;a|>,
ut » linw W'l en r. U-lhoii i^^ i> uj,-.iiia uwiiy Tli» oi-
cju<iiin LaA bliii Run down u lUiui whom tha |>tii)|tle
.luid teamed to trust, aad upuu wUuia uurc tUM
any ot''i-r they biid (vutoicd their Ijopes lor iho b-
roiitt ■( rioii ot the Union Biid rntuni uT barnioDj.
lu lilt midht o( ourrcjoidnt; wo iie^-did this a'loke;
tlii^ 0:ii('i|<liiic; ilicrcfoie Ciod h.itt arut ii.

Oiii iilUiciiuu buH nut couio icit i troiu dudtnor
I'n/iu jiioui d. Ui>()ijd the uot ot the aasussioaUou
let ua luak to God, wbot^o prcrop;ativQ i8 to briDg
l);:ht cut of i'(iikii«8s unit (.'ood out of evJ.

lie, vbu has led UH Eo well ar.d prospered us 80
woneei fully during the la»it four years of anxiety
iiiid coi tl'ot, will not for».ko uh now. II') uiiy
ehanten, Lot will ui.t de&tri.y Ho may purify \ii
in a iiuuare, hut wUI not coiumuo ua. Lut our
pilmipiil anxiei.v now be that ihin new aurrow'
iray he n canotifled toiio>v, mi J induce u.) to g'vo
all we hove to the luiubs oh "tru'h jiiiUee, b»w, ©r-
dt;r, lilerty and j;ood tjoveruiuent and pui^ and
ui.dtlikd icliKion. Tliou^ih ?.ccp!ntj lua^cnlure
for a night, joy Lomotil in the nioruiu;;. Thiuk
God that 111 mite of this lempor;iry d;irknea* the
lUirniu^' hail tu;;iiu to dawn; tt.e uioriilue of a
brigbier Any thim our couuuy bai ever^pjl'or^

StCll. ■ ,

TbAtdayvill come, and Uio death of an bun-
dred Pre»ideut» aid Cahincta cwiuot provoac it.
The people cciifldid in the hitcluuoutcd I'reaidint
with finu and loving confidence, whi'-h no othsf
man has enjoyed since ihe daya of Wnsbiu^T'oa.
He di SCI Ttd it'well aud di eorTcd it all ; he merited
it by his character, by his acts, and by the whole
tiBor and tone and spirit of his lii'o. lis was wlae,»
simple, biiicero, plain and bouc«C, truthTul and
nioft btuevolent aud kind. Ilii perceptions wore
. (|uitk aud clear, hm judgment C:ilra aud accurats,
and bis purpOKi werA itoud and pure bayoud a
queEttuDc— alwajs and everywhere ho aimed and
endeavored to be right and do right; hj intojfrity,
; was all-pervading, all-ewntroUiiig and incorrapti-
' bio. He gave'hii pergonal consideration to'oll,
malters, ■whether great or small.

How firmly and Well he occupied his poat, and
met ita grave demands in aeaaonu of trial and difil- .
cnity. Is know to you all, to the coun'ry, aad Cb
thewoild. He comprehended all the enormity of
treason, and rose to the full dignity of the ocoa-
bion. lie saw bis duty as the Chief Magiiitra'e ot
a gieat and imperilled people, and he determined
to do biv dnty, and hia whole duty, serkiner the |
guidance and leaning upon tbj arm ot Him of
whom it is written, " Ho ciT*Ji power to the
fuirt, and to them that have no m^ht be increa^eth t
strength." Ye«, he leaned upon His arm; ke \
re<"ojtni^ed and received the truth that the kinj:-
dom is the Lord'i, and He is the go^arcor among
the nations. He reuiexnbeied X-hax \ii is in hiii-.
*m^ ^aUihi* ff\l4^fha*'"r-Thff — >* <uu

'. iiiii mercy been 50 uiai vclluoaly e<|... .a« (u i
rtbe history ef tbU n»li.>n. He hoped and ho
t prayed (ktrt that samK band would eoutinuo to
guide Ue, and that buine ueicy (uutinuo to
' ab'Dnd to l^ti III the time of our gn-nie:,t need.
' i*)«hk wl pt I know, and uvstily what I h;\T4
, ofun beaid bJm sa/, when I atUrm that Uod's
I meicv and guldauc« wore the prop <m whi :h ha
' burohly and liabiiucJly louned; ttiat they were the
[ bebt hope he had lOr biinself and fur bU couutrr.
I Hence, wbcn be wai leavin)^ |im Uomo in Illinois
and coining to this eity to take bit) seat in iho Kx.-
ceutive ebuir of a distnrbed aiid troubled iMtion,
he I'nid to good and tried (rienob, who gathered
teaifully around bim and bade him larew^^ll — " I
, leave you with this nqucst — pray lor me." Thoy
I did pray for him, aud uiillioos of others proved lor
him; nor did they pray in rum. Their pr^Tcr was
' heard, and the answer appeam 111 all big subsi'<]iiunt
' bibtury. It HbinoH forth witli Heivehly mliance
In ibc whole course and tenor of bis udLuini.itiauon
, /nmi its comijienceuieiil to the dose (ioit ruI^cd
liim up for the «ncat'.a..d glvrious mission, furuiBb-
cd hiiu for Hid woik and aided him in its aceoin-
,pli'hjuent Nor wns U :nei'.»ly with stroujitli of
niiiid, and boiicsty of heart, oud purity and porti-
nncity of purpob-e that He furnished bira. In addi-
tion to tlieoc thingK He gave bun caJra an 1 abiding
confidence in an ovonuiing I'rovideaee of God and
in the nlliinate trinmphi of truth and righteouiiue<M
Uirnugh the jiower and bleesing of Goi.

This coLfidenceatreogtheued bim in all hid hour4
of anxieiy and toils; inspired "lilni with cilmand
cheering hope, when othorj were inclinin;; to das-
pondcncy atd clojm. Never shall I lorjrct t*'e
emphasis and deop emotion in which he said in
this very room to a company «f clergymen and
others, who called to pay him their rvspci^ts in t/io
darkest days of our civil exjnflict: "GcutloiBon, my
hope of success in this gr«at and teriiblojitru^glo
rests on that uumatable foundation, toe justice
and ttooducbs of God, aud when events are noT
threatening, and prospeus very daik, I still hi""'
that in some way which man cannot see, all will b"
well in the euil. because our cau^e is Juat aad God
ii on our side.

Such was bis snb'iine and holy 'aith, and it was
an auelior to bis «oal, both sure and steadfast. It
n^rde bim Arm and btiong; it ern*>oldt)Qed blia iu
bis pathway of duty, however rugLred aud pon.ier-
ous It might bo. It msde bim valiant for ri^h',,
fur the cause of God and humanity, and it hell
bim in steady, patient and unswerving adhereuca
fo the policy of the Administration, wh'ch he
thought, and which we all now ttiink, both G oj
and humuniiy requited him to adopt. We ul-
mired and loved bim on many accounts, for stron.^
and various reasons. Wo admired hii chilJiik-i
eimpliciiy, bis freedom from guiJe and direct and
tauneb and bteibng integrity, his luild aud fo giv-
ing tempc, bis iuuustry and pai'cn'e, his p :r-
fcisunt bcK-fscritlciiig devotion ti all du'ies of his
proiiicnt position iiom the least 10 the great ;; t;
Lis readiucsi to bear aud ooesider the caiisn of thQ
poor and humble, the suifenu^i; an J u|>preJ3oi; tli«
ch»iity towr.rd those wlo qiiestioi.ei iiia oireot-'
iie.«d <.f bis opiiiious and wis lom of b'n pjlioy; his
wonder'ul skdl in retoueiling dilf-jreaceK aunng '
the friends of the Uaioii, le.i lin:; tliein aw.iy fr.na
abstractions luid inducing Ifco a to worK lo.;etlier
ai<d bnrniouioiifily for the pu'^lic weal; hu tiue
aid enlarg-ed pliilauthrofy, that knew no <R**i»-- ■
taon of color or lAbe, but reg^rdvd all mca aJ
I bietbren, and eudowcft ad a.ike by their Croitor J
I wilbcjr'uin iiidlienablft rich's, ainoug which are
lilo, liberty uud the luubuit ot hfi|)iime8.j; hli iu-
' fitxible purpose Uiat wiis*(Veo,iiouii_httlj:aiiieJ in
i .our teirible civil, 8irifa,*l»«**T"*vvi*l'9^i

r^vvorb9vj0ns«ad

tliut ihe eno of tiie war btio.iM On 11,0 t-u.i i,c -,
\uy, aiivU)i:t u (O.I i(|ii.ii<iii, of iha itih'Luivi t..*.
reuiliiie^s to H| end mid to Iaj ipi;iii fur the a'.i»in-
ineiit o( bui h u triiiiu|>ti — «-Triu riijii, lUi fru'W of
v.liiih should bo as wniespiuiiling as the ctrtU
iilid as Ciiduriug iia the nu\i ■',
■ All tbeso lUiii^s eoinmaudeS' anl ll>:'Vl our t^d-
miialieii ui.d tliu adiuiiat on of the w.irid, Kua
staiDpeil iii).)n bis cliur^eter unl life the uaiiii.i-
takiiblo iI^pl^.'^s of grcatDuss. iiul more suoll.ne
iban any, or all of these, m><re holy aul iallnea^
tial, more beautiful and strong aud .-.ustalDlii^.w.it
bis aliiiling coBfideniu] In God, aud the final tri-
umph of truib atid rightcniusneSH, through hlra
lUid for bis take. This was his noble U virtue, bis
grand) st priuciple, Uie teciettilke of hit btr>iu:;th
bis putieiKXi and his 8uec<'s<; and this, it soem^ to '^
mr, after licing nc. r bim steadily, and witli bioi '
often for luoie than four years is the princi ile by 1
w hick rooio ihau any other, "Hit being dead, yul

tI)eiiKcth."

Ye.", by his steady enduring confidence in God, ,
and in the, coinplet^i, ultiiudta sucee^ of the caus; .
of Gi,d, 'ft Inch IK the cause of huniuiiitr, iirno tli m
into uny otheriway, does he speak to uslaud to t*ie
nation he loved aud served so well, iiy this ha
B[cjKs 10 iiienibi r« of his Onbiriet. the men witQ
whom be coull^ellell so ofien and was associated
Willi so long, and be cbtritfa them to have laiib
IU God. Iiy this he spcnks to idl who ocupy po-
sitions ol iiifhioi'co and authority in tlie.ii; s.id and
noiililesoinc liiiieu.aiid heclmr.'es them all tj have
fuith 10 (iod lly this bo speaks t» this grout peo-
ple as the' sit in sackcluth to dav and wae,j lor
liim with bnter wailiui.', ai.d nf.ise to li.;corjfortcd,
uid I t charge- tLeiu to have faitu in Go 1; aud Oy
this bo will spi-iik throngli a;.;es and to all rukrj
and people in every land, anil ins m-ssagi to the.-n
will— lyliuir to lilierly aud ii^':,t, butt c lor tlioiii,
bio. d 1. r iliim nnd ilio lor theui, iftjued bo, aud
buve cuiifidtiiCe iu God.

■ Ob, that ibo voice of this tes'iinony may ai<ik
dovv'ii luio our heiirti to day, and ev-ry day, and '
into "be I'tiirt 01 tne im'ioii. and e\ert ii« ai);jr>
priule iuti lit nee upon oiii ftelii.ga,iuriuith, our ().v
llei c< and 0111 <I'V lion to l*e cause iioe,- i.e irer to
i;s il no c\er bifu.c, becan.-e eon-«irrate I by tiio
blood if its 11 "St I "Ml pii U..IIS dutefiOcr, ill wi-e-t
■.ii,i\ iiiOst foiii'iy tni.Ht -.d triuiid. Ual.Hd^id, but
Gild, ill V 1 .'in I e leased, livue, mid He can gmJo
1 rd .siiciitriJ' o bi> 8iue-a-or us He ",'.!ilel aid
r.iieii'j lI.eiiC' bun- He ii dejil, but :ln iii-rma.-y
of b.,^ virii^**. of bis wild Hr.d puiriotio onu.i i.s
and lidjori>, ''' hl.> (Mini and btemly faith iu Uo;l,
I lives, is'pie<.''iii8. "'"' ^''i" ''O poiver for goui m
the couiiuy qV e down to tlie end of tiuie.
He is ('Cid.Tnt '.' P <■""*" he so ardeiit'y lovol,
, so aiilv, i luiiDily, ^«;"'l"ullv lepiesentel and de-
I fcnifd, not for hii'iis4^1f o'i'J''- "^' for us only, hut
I f.,r\ll people m alt their cx.uA"''' K«no'a"'>'ii ml
time bbui 1:; 110 moic-ihHi cau'n;*"'^^'*'*^'' '"^ '"*"
at il will ruivive it. Tie li"-bt of iis >""i-;htan'n,'
iro.-pccis fl-shes ehoeringrv to dav 'i '"* '^'"'"a
ocesM! md by his death and" the ian'>'ua.'o^9'' ''J'l'*
cioital piovidenco i< t-l'iug if> ti an Uin'^^h '"«
liiendNof lil^irty di-, lioerty iiscif is imV "'''•'
1 h' le IS 1.0 a.ssas ill strong i uou 'i, ant 00 \r'^>'>^
, deadly euvagh to quench iu inextitjguishiir>;" '»''9
or Illicit Its onwaru maieh to . onq lejt mid o-nf*^".
l>!i< u^bout ;re woiJ.J. This is our coniiJo-ice au\
t.iis ;^ onr i-*.!L:i.utiJn U3 »e rjK-ot and liioani -u
|i«y. ih- n.jb our beloved Pie i lent is ,1,11-1, oni
beloved I ounwy is saved. Ttars of gratitude iiiiii-
filo wiihTLostf of soirow^, »h.b> there is alsj Uie
oa«iiii,g of u. hritihier «ud h..tpoier day upon «ur
btii' keu'und ve'tTy :fliid. "

j (ioo be praise I lh.it our '. (lion chief livd lon^^

enOUil* 5,iK)r ftjy ,luA, r c»««-''~'* '*-*Sr ^^-■-.?i

White House Funeral Sermon for President Lincoln

Washington, D.C.
April 19, 1865

AS WE STAND HERE TODAY, IVIOURNERS AROUND THIS COFFIN AND AROUND THE LIFELESS REMAINS OF
OUR BELOVED CHIEF MAGISTRATE, WE RECOGNIZE AND WE ADORE THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. His throne
is in the heavens, and His kingdom ruleth over all. He hath done, and He hath permitted to be done, whatsoever
He pleased. "Clouds and darkness are round about Him; righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His
throne." His way is in the sea, and His path in the great waters, and His footsteps are not known. "Canst thou by
searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst
thou do? Deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader
than the sea. If He cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder Him? For He knoweth vain men;
he seeth wickedness also; will He not then consider it?""We bow before His infinite majesty. We bow, we weep,
we worship.

"Where reason fails, with all her powers.
There faith prevails, and love adores."

It was a cruel, cruel hand, that dark hand of the assassin, which smote our honored, wise, and noble President,
and filled the land with sorrow. But above and beyond that hand there is another which we must see and
acknowledge. It is the chastening hand of a wise and a faithful Father. He gives us this bitter cup. And the cup
that our Father hath given us, shall we not drink it?

God of the just. Thou gavest us the cup:
We yield to thy behest, and drink it up."

"Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth." O how these blessed words have cheered and strengthened and
sustained us through all these long and weary years of civil strife, while our friends and brothers on so many
ensanguined fields were falling and dying for the cause of Liberty and Union! Let them cheer, and strengthen,
and sustain us to-day. True, this new sorrow and chastening has come in such an hour and in such a way as we
thought not, and it bears the impress of a rod that is very heavy, and of a mystery that is very deep. That such a
life should be sacrificed, at such a time, by such a foul and diabolical agency; that the man at the head of the
nation, whom the people had learned to trust with a confiding and a loving confidence, and upon whom more
than upon any other were centered, under God, our best hopes for the true and speedy pacification of the
country, the restoration of the Union, and the return of harmony and love; that he should be taken from us, and
taken just as the prospect of peace was brightly opening upon our torn and bleeding country, and just as he was
beginning to be animated and gladdened with the hope of ere long enjoying with the people the blessed fruit and
reward of his and their toil, and care, and patience, and self-sacrificing devotion to the interests of Liberty and
the Union~0 it is a mysterious and a most afflicting visitation! But it is our Father in heaven, the God of our
fathers, and our God, who permits us to be so suddenly and sorely smitten; and we know that His judgments are
right, and that in faithfulness He has afflicted us. In the midst of our rejoicings we needed this stroke, this
dealing, this discipline; and therefore He has sent it. Let us remember, our affliction has not come forth out of the
dust, and our trouble has not sprung out of the ground. Through and beyond all second causes let us look, and
see the sovereign permissive agency of the great First Cause. It is His prerogative to bring light out of darkness
and good out of evil. Surely the wrath of man shall praise Him, and the remainder of wrath He will restrain, in the
light of a clearer day we may yet see that the wrath which planned and perpetuated the death of the President,
was overruled by Him whose judgements are unsearchable, and His ways are past finding out, for the highest
welfare of all those interests which are so dear to the Christian patriot and philanthropist, and for which a loyal
people have made such an unexampled sacrifice of treasure and of blood. Let us not be faithless, but believing.

"Blind unbelief is prone to err,
And scan His work in vain;
God is his own interpreter.
And He will make it plain."

We will wait for his interpretation, and we will wait in faith, nothing doubting. He who has led us so well, and
defended and prospered us so wonderfully during the last four years of toil, and struggle, and sorrow, will not
forsake us now. He may chasten, but He will not destroy. He may purify us more and more in the furnace of trial,
but He will not consume us. No, no! He has chosen us as He did his people of old in the furnace of affliction, and

He has said of us as He said of them, "This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth My praise." Let
our principal anxiety now be that this new sorrow may be a sanctified sorrow; that it may lead us to deeper
repentence, to a more humbling sense of our dependence upon God, and to the more unreserved consecration of
ourselves and all that we have to the cause of truth and justice, of law and order, of liberty and good government,
of pure and undefiled religion. Then, though weeping may endure for a night, joy will come in the morning.
Blessed be God! despite of this great and sudden and temporary darkness, the morning has begun to dawn~the
morning of a bright and glorious day, such as our country has never seen. That day will come and not tarry, and
the death of an hundred Presidents and their Cabinets can never, never prevent it. While we are thus hopeful,
however, let us also be humble. The occasion calls us to prayerful and tearful humilation. It demands of us that
we lie low, very low, before Him who has smitten us for our sins. O that all our rulers and all our people may bow
in the dust to-day beneath the chastening hand of God! and may their voices go up to Him as one voice, and their
hearts go up to Him as one heart, pleading with Him for mercy, for grace to sanctify our great and sore
bereavement, and for wisdom to guide us in this our time of need. Such a united cry and pleading will not be in
vain. It will enter into the ear and heart of Him who sits upon the throne, and He will say to us, as to His ancient
Israel, "In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment: but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy upon
thee, saith the Lord, thy Redeemer."

I have said that the people confided in the late lamented President with a full and a loving confidence. Probably
no man since the days of Washington was ever so deeply and firmly embedded and enshrined in the very hearts
of the people as Abraham Lincoln. Nor was it a mistaken confidence and love. He deserved it well-deserved it all.
He merited it by his character, by his acts, and by the whole tenor, and tone, and spirit of his life. He was simple
and sincere, plain and honest, truthful and just, benevolent and kind. His perceptions were quick and clear, his
Judgments were calm and accurate, and his purposes were good and pure beyond a question. Always and
everywhere he aimed and endeavored to be right and to do right. His integrity was thorough, all-pervading, all-
controlling, and incorruptible. It was the same in every place and relation, in the consideration and the control of
matters great or small, the same firm and steady principle of power and beauty that shed a clear and crowning
lustre upon all his other excellencies of mind and heart, and recommended him to his fellow citizens as the man,
who, in a time of unexampled peril, when the very life of the nation was at stake, should be chosen to occupy, in
the country and for the country, its highest post of power and responsibility. How wisely and well, how purely
and faithfully, how firmly and steadily, how justly and successfully he did occupy that post and meet its grave
demands in circumstances of surpassing trial and difficulty, is known to you all, known to the country and the
world. He comprehended from the first the perils to which treason has exposed the freest and best Government
on the earth, the vast interests of Liberty and humanity that were to be saved or lost forever in the urgent
impending conflict; he rose to the dignity and momentousness of the occasion, saw his duty as the Chief
Magistrate of a great and imperilled people, and he determined to do his duty, and his whole duty, seeking the
guidance and leaning upon the arm of Him of whom it is written, "He giveth power to the faint, and to them that
have no might He increaseth strength." Yes, he leaned upon His arm. He recognized and received the truth that
the "kingdom is the Lord's, and He is the governor among the nations." He remembered that "God is in history,"
and he felt that nowhere had His hand and His mercy been so marvelously conspicuous as in the history of this
nation. He hoped and he prayed that that same hand would continue to guide us, and that same mercy continue
to abound to us in the time of our greatest need. I speak what I know, and testify what I have often heard him say,
when I affirm that that guidance and mercy were the props on which he humbly and habitually leaned; they were
the best hope he had for himself and for his country. Hence, when he was leaving his home in Illinois, and
coming to this city to take his seat in the executive chair of a disturbed and troubled nation, he said to the old
and tried friends who gathered tearfully around him and bade him farewell, "I leave you with this request: pray for
me." They did pray for him; and millions of other people prayed for him; nor did they pray in vain. Their prayer
was heard, and the answer appears in all his subsequent history; it shines forth with a heavenly radiance in the
whole course and tenor of his administration, from its commencement to its close. God raised him up for a great
and glorious mission, furnished him for his work, and aided him in its accomplishment. Nor was it merely by
strength of mind, and honestry of heart, and purity and pertinacity of purpose, that He furnished him; in addition
to these things. He gave him a calm and abiding confidence in the overruling providence of God and in the
ultimate triumph of truth and righteousness through the power and the blessing of God. This confidence
strengthened him in all his hours of anxiety and toil, and inspired him with calm and cheering hope when others
were inclining to despondency and gloom. Never shall I forget the emphasis and the deep emotion with which he
said in this very room, to a company of clergymen and others, who called to pay him their respects in the darkest
days of our civil conflict: "Gentlemen, my hope of success in this great and terrible struggle rests on that
immutable foundation, the justice and goodness of God. And when events are very threatening, and prospects
very dark, I still hope that in some way which man can not see all will be well in the end, because our cause is
just, and God is on our side." Such was his sublime and holy faith, and it was an anchor to his soul, both sure
and steadfast. It made him firm and strong. It emboldened him in the pathway of duty, however rugged and
perilous it might be. It made him valiant for the right; for the cause of God and humanity, and it held him in a
steady, patient, and unswerving adherence to a policy of administration which he thought, and which we all now

think, both God and humanity required him to adopt. We admired and loved him on many accounts-for strong
and various reasons: we admired his childlil<e simplicity, his freedom from guile and deceit, his staunch and
sterling integrity, his kind and forgiving temper, his industry and patience, his persistent, self-sacrificing
devotion to all the duties of his eminent position, from the least to the greatest; his readiness to hear and
consider the cause of the poor and humble, the suffering and the oppressed; his charity toward those who
questioned the correctness of his opinions and the wisdom of his policy; his wonderful skill in reconciling
differences among the friends of the Union, leading them away from abstractions, and inducing them to work
together and harmoniously for the common weal; his true and enlarged philanthropy, that knew no distinction of
color or race, but regarded all men as brethren, and endowed alike by their Creator "with certain inalienable
rights, among which are life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"; his inflexible purpose that what freedom had
gained in our terrible civil strife should never be lost, and that the end of the war should be the end of slavery,
and, as a consequence, of rebellion; his readiness to spend and be spent for the attainment of such a triumph-a
triumph, the blessed fruits of which shall be as widespreading as the earth and as enduring as the sun:-all these
things commanded and fixed our admiration and the admiration of the world, and stamped upon his character
and life the unmistakable impress of greatness. But more sublime than any or all of these, more holy and
Influential, more beautiful, and strong, and sustaining, was his abiding confidence in God and in ttie final triumpti
of trutfi and rigfiteousness througfi Him and for His sal^e. This was his noblest virtue, his grandest principle, the
secret alike of his strength, his patience, and his success. And this, it seems to me, after being near him steadily,
and with him often, for more than four years, is the principle by which, more than by any other, "he, being dead,
yet speaketh." Yes; by his steady enduring confidence in God, and in the complete ultimate success of the cause
of God, which is the cause of humanity, more than by any other way, does he now speak to us and to the nation
he loved and served so well. By this he speaks to his successor in office, and charges him to "have faith in God."
By this he speaks to the members of his cabinet, the men with whom he counselled so often and was associated
so long, and he charges them to "have faith in God." By this he speaks to the officers and men of our noble army
and navy, and, as they stand at their posts of duty and peril, he charges them to "have faith in God." By this he
speaks to all who occupy positions of influence and authority in these sad and troublous times, and he charges
them all to "have faith in God." By this he speaks to this great people as they sit in sackcloth to-day, and weep
for him with a bitter wailing, and refuse to be comforted, and he charges them to "have faith in God." And by this
he will speak through the ages and to all rulers and peoples in every land, and his message to them will be,
"Cling to Liberty and right; battle for them; bleed for them; die for them, if need be; and have confidence in God."
O that the voice of this testimony may sink down into our hearts to-day and every day, and into the heart of the
nation, and exert its appropriate influence upon our feelings, our faith, our patience, and our devotion to the
cause of freedom and humanity~a cause dearer to us now than ever before, because consecrated by the blood of
its most conspicuous defender, its wisest and most fondly-trusted friend.

He is dead; but the God in whom he trusted lives, and He can guide and strengthen his successor, as He guided
and strengthened him. He is dead; but the memory of his virtues, of his wise and patriotic counsels and labors,
of his calm and steady faith in God lives, is precious, and will be a power for good in the country quite down to
the end of time. He is dead; but the cause he so ardently loved, so ably, patiently, faithfully represented and
defended-not for himself only, not for us only, but for all people in all their coming generations, till time shall be
no more-that cause survives his fall, and will survive it. The light of its brightening prospects flashes cheeringly
to-day athwart the gloom occasioned by his death, and the language of God's united providences is telling us
that, though the friends of Liberty die, Liberty itself is immortal. There is no assassin strong enough and no
weapon deadly enough to quench its inextinguishable life, or arrest its onward march to the conquest and empire
of the world. This is our confidence, and this is our consolation, as we weep and mourn to-day. Though our
beloved President is slain, our beloved country is saved. And so we sing of mercy as well as of judgment. Tears
of gratitude mingle with those of sorrow. While there is darkness, there is also the dawning of a brighter, happier
day upon our stricken and weary land. God be praised that our fallen Chief lived long enough to see the day
dawn and the daystar of joy and peace arise upon the nation. He saw it, and he was glad. Alas! alas! He only saw
the dawn. When the sun has risen, full-orbed and glorious, and a happy reunited people are rejoicing in its light-
alas! alas! it will shine upon his grave. But that grave will be a precious and a consecrated spot. The friends of
Liberty and of the Union will repair to it in years and ages to come, to pronounce the memory of its occupant
blessed, and, gathering from his very ashes, and from the rehearsal of his deeds and virtues, fresh incentives to
patriotism, they will there renew their vows of fidelity to their country and their God.

And now I know not that I can more appropriately conclude this discourse, which is but a sincere and simple
utterance of the heart, than by addressing to our departed President, with some slight modification, the language
which Tacitus, in his life of Agricola, addresses to his venerable and departed father-in-law: "With you we may
now congratulate; you are blessed, not only because your life was a career of glory, but because you were
released, when, your country safe, it was happiness to die. We have lost a parent, and, in our distress, it is now
an addition to our heartfelt sorrow that we had it not in our power to commune with you on the bed of
languishing, and receive your last embrace. Your dying words would have been ever dear to us; your commands

we should have treasured up, and graved them on our hearts. This sad comfort we have lost, and the wound for
that reason, pierces deeper. From the world of spirits behold your desolate family and people; exalt our minds
from fond regret and unavailing grief to contemplation of your virtues. Those we must not lament; it were impiety
to sully them with a tear. To cherish their memory, to embalm them with our praises, and, so far as we can, to
emulate your bright example, will be the truest mark of our respect, the best tribute we can offer. Your wife will
thus preserve the memory of the best of husbands, and thus your children will prove their filial piety.

By dwelling constantly on your words and actions, they will have an illustrious character before their eyes, and,
not content with the bare image of your mortal frame, they will have what is more valuable- the form and features
of your mind. Busts and statues, like their originals, are frail and perishable. The soul is formed of finer elements,
and its inward form is not to be expressed by the hand of an artist with unconscious matter--our manners and
our morals may in some degree trace the resemblance. All of you that gained our love and raised our admiration
still subsists, and will ever subsist, preserved in the minds of men, the register of ages, and the records of fame.
Others, who had figured on the stage of life and were the worthies of a former day, will sink, for want of a faithful
historian, into the common lot of oblivion, inglorious and unremembered; but you, our lamented friend and head,
delineated with truth, and fairly consigned to posterity, will survive yourself, and triumph over the injuries of
time."

Source: New York Times, April 20, 1865

COKWJCTBD AKB PtmUSHRD BY W, H. BIOVflXL, 6 aEBKMAM ST.

Jl

J

^

112 THE NATIONAL PREACHER.

will be the truest mark of our respect, the best tribute we can
offer. Your wife will thus preserve the memory of the best of
husbands, and thus your children will prove their filial piety.
By dwelling constantly on your words and actions, they will
have an illustrious character before their eyes, and, not content
with the bare image of your mortal frame, they will have what
is more valuable — the form and. features of your mind. Busts
and statues, like their originals, are frail and perishable. The
soul is formed of finer elements, and its inward form is not to be
expressed by the hand of an artist with unconscious matter —
our manners and our morals may in some degree trace the
resemblance. All of you that gained our love and raised our
admiration still subsists, and will ever subsist, preserved in the
minds of men, the register of ages, and the records of fame.
Others, who have figured on the stage of life and were the
worthies of a former day, will sink, for Avantof a faithful historian,
into the common lot of oblivion, inglorious and unremembered ;
but you, our lamented friend and head, delineated with truth,
and fairly consigned to posteritv, will survive yourself, and
triumph over the injuries of time."

Note. The precediug discourse was delivered by Rev. Dr. Gurley at one o'clock,
noon, in the east room of the Fre-idential Mansion, April 19, 1S65, standing at the
head of the coffin on the step of the catafalque, around which stood the President
of the United States, Andrew Johnson, inaugnraf*'d four days previously, and his
cabinet, Chief Justice Chase and other judges of the Supreme Court, Lieutenant
General Grant and his staff, Rear Admiral Faragut of the United States Navy, and
other ofncers, United States Senators and Members' of Congress, the Governors of
several States, Foreign Ambassadors and their suites, numerous clergymen and
State deputations, forming a funeral assemblage and a sceue more solemn and
impressive than we have ever seen before.

We only add, as it seems proper, that Abraham Lincoln, late President of the
United States, was born in Haidin county, Kentucky, February 12. 1809. His
ancestors were Quakers from Bucks county, Pennsylvania, from whence they moved
to Rockingham county, Virginia, and from thence his grandfather. Abram Lincoln
removed to Kentucky in 17S2, where he was killed by Indians in 1784. His father
wasThomasLincoln, who removed to Indiana in 181(i. In 1830 he removed with his
father to Illinois. la \^?>1 he removed to Springfleld. May 16, ISHO, he was nomi-
nated at Chic;!go for President of the United States, and afterwards elected;
3[arch 4th, ISfil, he was inaugurated to that office, and again in March. 18(15. He
met his death by a cruel and terrible assassination in Fords Theatre at Washington,
April H. by a pistol shot from the hand of J. Wilkes Booth. His demise and
funeral has filled a nation with mourning and sorrow. — Editor ok N. PiiEAcaER.

P. S.— For the Closing Prayer, by Dr. Grey, see page 120.

LINCOLN LORE ^^/^'SJ

M^AMl'^7^

From the Lincoln National Life Foundation

FIGURE 4. The Reverend Phineas D. Gurley
ministered to Lincoln's spiritual needs while he was
President. He conducted Willie's funeral service and
delivered the funeral address at the White House after
Abraham Lincoln's death.

movement, which Michael F. Holt has described as "the poli-
tics of impatience." By contrast, Lincoln's religion was
notably quiet, private, and rationalistic rather than enthu-
siastic in tone.

Now doubtless the civil religionists' answer to this would be
that I have just pointed out all the reasons that Abraham Lin-
coln is the superior prophet of American civil religion. They
argue that a civil religion is inevitable. Therefore, they would
simply say that Lincoln's is the superior version of civil reli-
gion, uniting morality and statecraft without uniting specific
religious institutions and the state. In fact, Elton Trueblood
finds just these traits to be the superior ones in Lincoln's reli-
gious example: (1) He never joined a church because no creed
was completely satisfactory. (2) His religion needed no minis-
ters and no institutional church; it was a religion that relied
on the Bible and private prayer and a careful and humble
reading of the Divine Plan as revealed gradually in the work-
ings of the American electorate. There was no embarrassing
fundamentalist enthusiasm about Lincoln's dignified calls
for national days of fasting and thanksgiving during the
Civil War. (Mr. Trueblood, incidentally, is a Quaker, and his
own religion has never required preachers or an institutional
church.)

It is unfair and unhistorical to suggest by this that Lincoln
was superior to his benighted age and that his more restrain-
ed religious experience looked forward to a better day when
passionate emotionalism would wither and religion would be
more dignified, more sophisticated, and less the result of crude
mechanical contrivances like the anxious bench. Actually,
the norm of religious experience in Lincoln's own day was
increasingly anti-creedal (in that it stressed the role of the
heart in conversion over the role of any intellectual assent to

systematic doctrine enunciated in theological sermons). It
was also anti-churchly. Revivals took places in camps and
fields and tents, not within the confines of an institutional
church presided over by an established minister. Lincoln's
religion thus resembled the religion of his day in unessential
matters; it was different in the essential one, the personal
form of expressing religious passion. Many Americans did it
by falling on the ground or at least by professing a changed
heart. Lincoln expressed it in musings on the mysterious
workings of the Divine Will and apparently by increasing pri-
vate reading of the Bible and increased attention to religious
teaching by ministers.

The civil religionists were so happy to find in Lincoln's
spiritual pilgrimage a gradual development or growth that
flowered finally in those war years of terrible passion that
they failed to note the most obvious aspect of it: it was always
utterly private and personal.

All of the major landmarks of Lincoln's religious history
were events which had absolutely nothing to do with civil
society, the state, the nation, politics, moral reform, or the
general public. He found the Bible as a cure for deep personal
depression caused by the break up of his romance with Mary
Todd. He first rented a pew in a church when he experienced
the death of an infant son. He took his first interest in religion
large enough for his wife to perceive it when he lost another
young son to death in 1862. Mrs. Lincoln said his interest
increased at the time of the Gettysburg Address, but she said
it was triggered by Willie's death. It seems wrongheaded to try
to found a civil religion on a prophet who was utterly private
in his own religious experience. The civil religionists use Lin-
coln's example to inspire a form of religion which did not
move Abraham Lincoln himself.

From the Lincoln National Life Foundation

FIGURE 5. The New York Avenue Presbyterian
Church was Phineas Gurley's pulpit. The church now
contains chimes and bells that were gifts of Robert
Todd Lincoln and Mary Lincoln Isham, son and grand-
daughter of Abraham Lincoln.