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THE SERMON,
in st. mary's church, burlington,
ON THE SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY, M DCCC L ;
THE NEXT AFTER THE DEATH,
OF
ZACHARY TAYLOR,
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:
BY
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THE RIGHT REV. GEORGE WASHINGTON DOANE, D.D., LL.D. ?
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BISHOP OF NEW JERSEY,
PRESIDENT OF BURLINGTON COLLEGE.
aSutlfnfltom
AT THE MISSIONARY PRESS.
1850.
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Peabody Inst, of Balto.
June 14 1927
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Burlington College, July 10th, 1850.
Dear Father, — Though separated from the arena of political strife, we
cannot but mourn our great loss, in the removal, from the Executive Chair,
of so wise a head, so noble a heart, and so strong an arm, as that of Presi-
dent Taylor.
Feeling, that his example portrayed to us, and to our countrymen, by
you, would be a just tribute to his mighty memory, and an impressive
theme for our instruction, we come to you, as loving children, to a Father ;
asking you to comfort our hearts, by an expression of our grief, at the
death of so great, so good, and so wise a man ; so worthy to be a succes-
sor of the Father and Founder of our glorious Union.
Ever most faithfully, and fondly your children,
(Signed by all the Students.)
The Rt. Rev. the President of the College.
A SERMON.
KNOW YE NOT, THAT THERE IS A PRINCE, AND A GREAT MAN,
FALLEN, THIS DAY, IN ISRAEL ?
2 SAMUEL, iii. 36.
In these expressive words, did the great heart of royal
David pay its tribute, to the valiant Abner, slain by the
treachery of Joab. There are few minds, familiar with the
Holy Scriptures, into which, they have not sprung, as the
unbidden comment, on that astounding providence, which
has stilled the pulses of the nation; and, to-day, twines
every altar, in the land, with the funereal cypress. » Know
ye not"-men say, to one another, as the lightning record
flashes, through the land, "The President is dead !"-
"know ye not, that there is a prince, and a great man, fallen,
this day, in Israel ?"
Death is the " touch of nature," which, pre-eminently
"makes the world, all kin." God did not make it. It
came in, with sin. Yet, we may say, and, still, be reverent,
that, without it, as men have been, since the Fall, He could
not live, in His own world. It is the one thing, at which
nature quails. The fear of it sways the tumultuous Titan
throngs, that, else, would scale the Heavens. And the
damp chill, from its black wing, as it sweeps through the
land, when pestilence falls on it, like a frost; or when, be-
side us, but a neighbour dies, is the reminder of our own
mortality, and the conviction of His dread omnipotence.
Strange as it is, the snake's old sneer, "Ye shall not
surely die," still haunts the human heart. We constantly
1
forget, that, when we clasp the loved one, to our heart, we
clasp a skeleton. Age, talents, valour, virtue, rank, pre-em-
inence, in every age, and every where, deck out, for men,
their idols. We come to think, that greatness cannot die.
We marvel, that the bolt should strike the tallest tree. And,
when the pastor falls, as that meek saint,* who fed, for forty
years, the little flock, that, then, was tended here ; or the
physician dies, as that old man,t rare in his virtues, as his
skill, who, to three generations, plied the healing art, among
you, welcome to every hearth, men look, with mute amaze-
ment, on each other ; and the country startles, that a mortal
should have died !
But, chiefly, is the power of this instinctive superstition
shown, when death strikes down the princes, among men.
Republicans intuitively feel, that some divinity doth " hedge
about a king." Who did not feel a shudder crawl across
his heart, when that young princess, on whom the hopes of
England hung, all clustered, sank, with her infant, in a
grave, which seemed, to all, untimely ? When, lately, the
meek widow of a king passed, from the exercise of all the
charities of life, into the royal tomb, at Windsor, there
were everywhere among us, the tokens of a sympathy,
which touched the heart. And, when, nine years ago, our
warrior President was borne, in one brief month, from the
high homestead of the nation, to the sepulchre, beside the
clear Potomac, what wave, in the broad sea, of our whole
vast Republic, that was not stirred and tost, as when a wa-
ter-spout is rent in sunder ? " Know ye not" — was then, as
•The Rev. Dr. Wharton, Rector of St. Mary's Church, who died in 1833.
fDr. Nathan W. Cole, who died, in 1848.
now, the instinctive, universal, utterance of the nation's
startled heart — " know ye not, that there is a prince, and a
great man, fallen, this day, in Israel ?"
The worshipping assemblies, of twenty millions, are in
harmony, with us, to-day. From one end, to the other, of
our broad land, the electric spark has flashed its fearful
message, of the nation's loss : till North and South, and East
and West, are bending, now, with us, over the new made
grave ; in which, the soldier of three wars, the conqueror
in all, the patriot hero, the people's President, rests, from his
honors, and his arms. As, when the Egyptians came, with
Joseph's corpse, up to the threshing floor of Atad, it is " a
great, and very sore, lamentation." And, it may well be
so. For, in the graphic words of David, a man, a great
man, and a prince, has " fallen this day, in Israel."
A man has fallen. I do not mean, a mere, male, human,
individual. One, whom the tailor, rather than the mantua-
maker, clothes. A walking thing, that wears a hat. I
speak of that, which God meant, when He said, "Let us
make man, in our image, after our likeness." Marred, sad-
ly, now, by the concussion of that fearful Fall. But, capa-
ble of restoration, through the Cross. And, justifying well,
in the renewal of its fair proportions, and its countenance
erect, the sacred record, " God hath made man upright."
A man, that has a mind ; and uses it. A man, that has a
heart; and yields to it. A man, that shapes his circum-
stances. A man, that cares not for himself. A man, with
the simplicity of a child. A man, with the directness of a
child. A man, with the freshness and earnestness of a child,
A man, in justice. A man, in generosity, A man, in mag-
8
nanimity. A man, to meet emergencies. A man, to make
occasions. A man, to dare, not only ; but to bear. A man,
of love. A man, without a fear. A thunderbolt, in war.
A dew drop, in the day of peace. One, that, against the
fearful odds, of five to one, could sway the battle-storm, at
Buena Vista. And, then, from the very arms and lap of
victory, write to one,* whose gallant son had died, to make
its crown, " when I miss his familiar face, I can say, with
truth, that 1 feel no exultation, in our success." Truly, a
man, has "fallen, in Israel."
And " a great mati" has fallen. A great man, first, must
be a man. And, then, must find, or make, the occasion, to
be great. In every man, that is a man, there is, potentially,
a great man. He, who has " fallen, this day, in Israel,"
was great, in act. His masterly defence of Fort Harrison,
when but a captain, in the service, where the terrors of im-
pending conflagration, were added to the midnight on-
slaught of the Indians ; his successful conduct of the war, in
Florida, against the same subtle, tireless, unrelenting foe ;
the gallant movement to Point Isabel, and back to the en-
campment at Fort Brown, atchieving Palo Alto and Resaca
de la Palma, as mere episodes, along the way ; the storming
and complete possession of Monterey, where every street
was barricaded, and every house-top bristled with musket-
ry ; the crowning victory, against such fearful odds, at Bue-
na Vista ; and, more than that, the clear, calm, quiet, unpre-
tending, but indomitable, answer, to Santa Anna's insolent
demand, sustained by twenty thousand men — "Sir, in reply
"The Hon. Henry Clay.
9
to your note, of this date, summoning me to surrender my
forces, at discretion, I beg leave to say, that I decline acced-
ing to your request :" these glorious, but now painful, remi-
niscences of the military career of him, beside whose grave,
a nation weeps, assure us, that, in him, a great man, has
been taken, from our Israel. And, more illustrious, even,
than, in these, the greatness, that knew how to bear such vic-
tories ; the greatness, that preserved its equilibrium, in the
storm of national applause, and universal admiration ; the
greatness, that could see the proudest palm of human power,
planted before it, within easiest reach, and not put forth a
hand, to pluck it; the greatness, that submitted to be made
the President of these United States, since so the people
willed ; the greatness, that went on to Washington, and
took the chair of State, and filled it, with the simple dignity,
that had directed, from a tent, the ordering of the battle-
field ; the greatness of moderation; the greatness of modesty;
the greatness of self-conquest and control : these do but
wound our bleeding hearts, more deeply, while they swell
them, with a fuller, higher, admiration of the real greatness,
of the great man, who has gone from us, to-day.
And, in him, « a prince" has fallen. A prince, in place.
The head, as the word simply means, of twenty millions of
free people ; so constituted and declared, by their own
choice and act. A prince, in rank. The equal, in his sta-
tion, of the kings, and emperors, and potentates, of the
whole world. A prince, in power. The President of the
United States, legitimately authorized, and constitutionally
sustained, in acts of influence, and ultimate authority, such
as no sovereign of Europe has, by any other right, than that
of mere brute force ; and the exponent of a political and mo-
2
10
ral sway, which, in its growing and pervading power, no
mere brute force can cope with, or resist. And, in his exer-
cise of these high functions, and discharge of their resulting
duties, a prince, in quiet dignity ; a prince, in calm, indomita-
ble resolution ; a prince, in utter disregard of consequences,
when the right is seen, and done. The people's prince, in
his unostentatious life. The people's prince, in his lament-
ed death. "Know ye not," — who does not know, who does
not feel, who does not own, that it is so ? — " know ye not,
that there is a prince, and a great man, fallen, this day, in
Israel ?" " We bury, in his honored tomb," the Union says
— the journal of our land, which, more than any other, must
be regarded as the antagonist of his administration — " we
bury, in his honored tomb, every unkind or unworthy feel-
ing, which we might ever have entertained. General Tay-
lor rises before us, in all the glory of the Hero, in all the
majesty of the Patriot ; whose name is associated with some
of the most brilliant atchievements in our annals, who has
carried the fame of his country, to the remotest nations, and
whose reputation will never die. The name of the Hero of
Palo Alto, and Buena Vista, will live, as long as the name
of the nation, whose standard, he so often bore to victory,
and glory. These deeds are indelibly written, on the tab-
let of a nation's gratitude." This is the true outspeaking of
the heart, when its deep pulses have been deeply touched.
Such is the moral conquest of a man ; wide as humanity, in
its extent. Such is the triumph, which a great man ; great,
in doing, or in suffering, can atchieve : beyond the lus-
tre of all arms, beyond the splendour of all arts. Such is the
true and real glory, of the princes, among men : not, in an-
cestral line ; not, in " the boast of heraldry, or pomp of
11
power ;" not in the range of territorial empire, or in the mul-
titude of people, or of nations, which they sway: but, that
they rule in hearts ; that they are felt, as princes, among
freemen ; that they possess an empire, which no gold could
purchase, and no power compel ; the empire of the free,un-
bought, unforced, affections : and, that, when they have
passed from power, and passed from life, and all that there
is of them, is so much dust, men, that could know no fear, men,
that would never flatter, will stand up, by the crumbling
handful, that is left ; and mourn, as David mourned, for
Abner ; and weep, as David wept ; and say, as David said,
before the world, and challenge all the world, for the denial :
" Know ye not, that there is a prince, and a great man, fal-
len, this day, in Israel ?"
And he is gone. And we are left. Left with our duties,
among men. Left with our responsibilities, to God. Left,
with our invaluable trust, as patriots. Left, with our immor-
tal interests, and our inevitable obligations, as Christians.
This is no place for flattery. This is no place, to come, to
praise a man. This is no place, for the mere eulogy, even,
of the honoured and lamented dead. And, could we forget
the place, if he could speak, from out his cerements, in the
plain, and simple sense, which made him such a man, and
so became him, as a great man, he would bid us cease,
from him, and turn, in Christian humility, Christian depend-
ence, Christian confidence, and Christian devotion, to the
trusts and duties, which he lived and died, to serve ; and,
which still lie, on us, enhanced, by the example of his life,
and increased, by the bereavement of his death.
Humanly regarded, the death of General Taylor is, to
this republic, an incalculable loss. To our imperfect vision,
12
he seemed, pre-eminently, the man, for the occasion. That,
which so many speak of, and so freely, and so often, as a
crisis, has but a small place in any true philosophy. A crisis
is but one stage, in a long train of antecedents and of conse-
quents, which go to make it up ; and any one of which might
seem to be the crisis. Events flow on, forever ; as the Dela-
ware flows on. The raft, that, for a moment, fills your eye,
glides past ; and is succeeded by another, and another, and
another. In a great country, such as ours is, men may al-
ways find, or make, a crisis. It were better, not. The very
name alarms. The alarm deranges and incapacitates. The
motley host, that cannot lose, make capital, of this disturb-
ance of the general equilibrium. A wiser judgment deals
with time, and its results, as they roll on ; applies, to each,
the wisdom, that it calls for; finds no fear, in all the future ;
and, so, has no regret, in all the past. But, still, it cannot be
denied, that we are fallen on an age of rapid progress, and
of inconceivable developement. A day brings forth a na-
tion. The womb of time teems now with struggling em-
pires. The inventions of men are fast annihilating space.
A continent becomes an isthmus. A paper barrier scarcely
divides the Pacific, from the Atlantic, sea. Out of the sands
of California, the wonders of Aladdin's fabled lamp are more
than realized. Men are disturbed by golden visions. The
channels of commerce are changing. The aspects of life
are under transmutation. One knows not, what new won-
der shall be born, with each new day. An unsettling of
fixed principles, a conflict of new interests, a general disrup-
tion and disarrangement, are rapidly, in progress. At such
a time, a man of simple mind, a man of plain good sense, a
man of moderation, a man of unquestionable integrity, a
13
man of indomitable firmness, has a special worth, and adap-
tation. The people take to such a man. They call him,
"Rough and Ready." They rally round him. They grow
into him. They grow together, in growing into him. He
binds them all, in one ; and is, what laws might fail to be,
and fleets and armies could not be, the bond of an imperish-
able union. There was another thing, in General Taylor.
He was no party man. He would not be, to be the Presi-
dent. When he became the President, he would not be, to
magnify his office, or to keep it. It was a noble trait, in his
great character, that he disappointed the party men, that
helped to put him into power. He knew the people, and
he knew the nation. But he knew no set, among the one ;
no fraction, of the other. This was an element of strength,
that was to grow ; and that, more rapidly, with time. And
there was one thing more, in him. We cannot shut our
eyes, to the inevitable fact, that the great magnet of our na-
tion has opposing poles; or seems to have. It was the pe-
culiar fitness of General Taylor, for his responsible position,
that he was of the one ; and, yet, not against the other. The
one could trust him ; while the other need not fear him. It
seemed, to human sight, the strong hold of the times. And,
in a moment, like the house, which a child builds, of cards,
it has been swept away, from us. May it not be, to teach
us to " cease from man, whose breath is in his nostrils ?"
May it not be our lesson, for these times, that " God seeth,
not as man seeth?" May it not be the way, which we
" know not of," by which, God means to lead us ? Has not
the death of the Chief Magistrate taught us, as argument
could never teach, that we are one people? Has it not
touched the general heart, from East to West, from North
14
to South, as children's hearts are touched, when, by their
side, a father falls? Could legislation, could judicial action,
could commercial interests, could any thing, have shown so
clearly, so feelingly, so instantaneously, so universally, that,
divided, as we may be, or may think we are, we are but
one, in heart ? And, may there not proceed, from that new
grave, in which the funeral rites of twenty millions garner
up, to-day, the ashes of our patriot-soldier, an influence,
which, knitting all our hearts together, as true brethren, of
one blood, shall pervade our national councils, and control
our national actions, and mould our national interests; and,
with God to bless us, as the answer to our penitent and
faithful prayers, set up this nation, in the eyes of all man-
kind, as the light and joy of all the lands : shedding, on all,
the mild and genial radiance of free institutions ; and spread-
ing, among all, the blessings and the benefits of Christian
Freedom; the freedom, which, can only dwell with truth
and peace ; the freedom of the freemen of the Lord ! That
it may be so, it becomes us to receive, with an unhesitating
confidence, the distinguished Statesman, who sits, now, in
General Taylor's seat. By the immediate act of God, he is
the President of the United States. Receiving him, at
God's hand, let us receive him, with a generous trust. Let
us resolve, to give him our support ; the support of our
sympathy, the support of our confidence, the support of our
co-operation, the support of our prayers. Let us commend
him, and the counsellors, that are to share, with him, the
cares and toils of State, to the favour, the guidance, the pro-
tection, of Almighty God. Let us renew our vows, to-day,
to the admirable Constitution, which our Father's vindi-
cated, for us, with their blood. Let us renew our vows, to-
15
day, to the glorious Union, which their blood cemented,
sealed, and consecrated. On our knees, let us join hands,
here, in God's house, upon God's day, with the great multi-
tude of Christian Freemen, whom the day's solemnities
have knit in one. On our knees, let us join hearts, with
them, here, in God's house, upon God's day ; and pour,
from souls, which sorrow softens, and which grace subdues,
the Christian Patriot's prayer, "that peace and happiness,
truth and justice, religion and piety, may be established,
among us, for all generations."
Nor, let us lose the lesson, which, as men, and sinners,
this startling and afflictive providence is so well adapted to
convey. How can we clasp our darlings, to our hearts, and
not remember, how a moment may resolve them into dust,
and leave us desolate ! How can we lie down, on our beds,
this night, and not remember, that the morning light may
find us, garnished, for the grave. The prayer, which asks
from God, for the bereaved of this day, the strength and
comfort of His grace, will be the commendation of our dar-
lings to the favor of His love. And, the deep penitence,
which such a death should waken in our hearts, so sudden,
so startling, so appalling, will bring us to the Cross, where
none can perish, through the Lamb, Who died for all. To
Whom, one with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, three Per-
sons, and one only God, shall ever be ascribed, the glory
and the praise.
^UBtovul Setter,
TO THE CLERGY OF THE DIOCESE OF NEW JERSEY.
Dear and Reverend Brethren. — Regarding the death of Presi-
dent Taylor, as a great national calamity, and our whole nation as
one afflicted family, 1 do not hesitate to request, that, on Sunday
next, the seventh after Trinity, you will use the Prayer which fol-
lows, before the two final Prayers of Morning and Evening Service.
VVe shall do well to humble ourselves, under the chastening hand of
Almighty God ; and to beseech Him, for His dear Son's sake, to par-
don our manifold transgressions, and turn away His anger from us,
lest we perish. If prosperity have hardened the national heart ; if
we have been tempted to forget God our Saviour; in whatever way
we have offended Him, who holds the nations in His hands, this sig-
nal Providence should be improved by us, in that humility of spirit,
and with that consecration of heart and life, which become us, as
ransomed sinners, and with which, alone, we can come acceptably
before Him, through the propitiation of the Cross. Upon our hearts,
thus softened and subdued, He will send down the blessings, and the
comforts of His grace, and restore to us, His pardoning and preserv-
ing love. Commending the bereaved household, of our late venera-
ble Chief Magistrate, the honored successor to him, in the highest
trust which men bestow, his associates, in the several depart-
ments of the government, and the whole appalled and mourning na-
tion, to your faithful prayers, and to the mercy and favor of God, I
am, affectionately, and faithfully, your brother and servant in Christ,
George W. Doane,
Riverside, July 19, 1850. Bishop of New Jersey.
PRAYER.
O Merciful God, and Heavenly Father, who hast taught us, in
Thy holy Word, that thou dost not willing afflict or grieve the chil-
dren of men ; Look with pity, we beseech Thee, upon the sorrows
of Thy servants. In Thy wisdom, thou hast seen fit to visit us
with trouble, and to bring distress upon us. Remember us, O Lord,
in mercy ; sanctify Thy fatherly correction to us ; endue our souls
with patience under our affliction, and with resignation to Thy
blessed will ; comfort us with a sense of Thy goodness ; lift up Thy
countenance upon us, and give us peace ; through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
W 4 C
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