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BX 9225 .N54 M4 1901
Memoir of Henry Edward
Niles, 1823-1900
Henry Edward Niles
OF
HENRY EDWARD NILES
1823— 1900
NEW YORK
PRIVATELY PRINTED
MCMI
®J)e Croto |)rinttnff Companp
PAGE
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.
Introductory 7
CHAPTER II.
Ancestry, Life, and Character . . -15
CHAPTER III.
Last Services and Death . . . . 23
CHAPTER IV.
Funeral 33
CHAPTER V.
Action of Various Boards and Societies . 51
CHAPTER VI.
Letters of Condolence 71
CHAPTER VII.
Sermons 87
trfHE RIGHTEOUS SHALL FLOURISH LIKE
JJ-l THE PALM TREE: HE SHALL GROW
LIKE A CEDAR IN LEBANON. THOSE THAT
BE PLANTED IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD
SHALL FLOURISH IN THE COURTS OF OUR
GOD.
THEY SHALL STILL BRING FORTH FRUIT
IN OLD AGE; THEY SHALL BE FAT AND
FLOURISHING ;— TO SHOW THAT THE LORD
IS UPRIGHT.
PSALM XCII. 12-15.
CHAPTER I
Introductory
OUNTLESS have been the palm trees
and cedars that have grown tall and
spread wide their fruit-laden branches on
Mount Zion!
This Memorial is of one cut down at
seventy-six in his prime and vigor.
After fifty-two years of service as
Ambassador of the King of Kings, Henry Edward Niles
delivered his last message and was called up to appear in
the Court of his Sovereign to be acknowledged before " the
principalities and powers in heavenly places."
His daily prayer that " when the youths should faint and
be weary and the young men utterly fall, he might so wait
upon the Lord as to renew his strength — run and not be
weary, walk and not faint," was most signally fulfilled: —
" To show that the Lord is upright."
At three-score and sixteen, with all his faculties of body
and mind in full exercise, Dr. Niles still had the entire
charge of the First Presbyterian Church of York, Pa., which
he had shepherded for thirty-five years. The church was
never so strong and aggressive. He seemed as young in
spirit, as full of energy and magnetism, as when, in 1865, at
[7]
a^cmoir of i^entp €tihjarti 0i\t^
his first public appearance before a general audience in
York, he stirred the crowd by his eloquence on Lincoln's
martyrdom.
Abreast of all modern methods, he knew which of the
new movements of philanthropy to harness to the " old, old
story " of the cross. He believed that every living root of
Brotherhood sprang out of Calvary. To the last he was a
progressive conservative.
His watchful eye was ever on the alert to test all im-
provements in church machinery, and mark their practical
effects upon the running of the wheels of spiritual life —
to adopt them if they gave good results, or discard them
if they produced friction.
So, like a palm tree, he stood in the full strength of his
matured manhood, bearing fruit on the topmost bough: —
" To show that the Lord is upright ! "
He had not come to feel the physical limitations or in-
firmities of age.
Never did he; sit more master of his spirited horse or
come back from a ride more exhilarated and full of virile
life than at seventy-six years of age. Indeed, his erect
form and elastic step testified how lightly the years rested
on him, in spite of the snow, that never melts, which
whitened his beard, and the almond blossoms in his hair.
His keen sense of humor and enjoyment of a hearty laugh
no doubt lubricated his mental and bodily machinery.
His warm, responsive nature showed itself in the mag-
netic eye, genial smile, and cordial grasp. Many times was
it said: "Just to have Dr. Niles stop and speak to me on
the street made my burden lighter. I felt as if I had heard
a strain of martial music and could march faster."
The last three or four years had crowded the spacious
church to its utmost capacity. It had become impossible
[8]
for families to obtain pews and many were compelled to
wait months for seats, until it seemed necessary to enlarge
the beautiful edifice to accommodate those desirous of
making it their church home.
One characteristic of his congregations was marked by
visitors. The proportion of men in attendance in church
and chapel, especially young men, was unusually large.
They, indeed, were the most ardent admirers, devoted
friends, and loyal supporters of their pastor, and he wielded
through them a powerful influence.
He tried to imbue them with his own high ideals of
Christian manhood and civic righteousness.
So he brought forth fruit in old age, " to show that the
Lord is upright," and was an example of the fulfillment of
the promise: — "The righteous shall flourish like the palm
tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon."
He often spoke of God's distinguishing goodness to him,
Who, as he said, " put upon each morning's brow the two
crowns of loving-kindness and tender mercy! "
Keble's hymn commencing,
" New mercies each succeeding day
Hover around us while we pray;
New perils past, new sins forgiven,
New thoughts of God, new hopes of Heaven,"
and
" Awake my soul, with rapture rise,
And now the God of grace adore ;
Awake my soul, awake my heart,
And with the angels bear a part,"
were, frequently, his first waking words.
In life's afternoon he seemed to mellow and grow more
genial.
[9]
Always a social centre and responsive, the delight of
every company he entered, his presence was coveted, and
an eager welcome awaited him at the family gatherings of
his people and his neighbors, and at their holidays and
literary circles.
His dramatic recitations of classical selections were
prized as a great elocutionary treat.
His flow of good fellowship was unfailing. His manner
of mingling the playful and serious with that rare tact
which is such a magical solvent in social life, made him as
welcome to the young and gay as to the serious and
mature.
So he bore fruit on the topmost bough: — " To show that
the Lord is upright! "
He Hterally, practically, " walked with God." He talked
with Him, consulted Him about everything; at the family
altar, round which all the household gathered, and in that
" study " by whose locked door everyone passed rever-
ently, when he spoke to the Father in secret, as friend to
friend. He had the most child-like, humble belief in a
prayer-answering God who had put the condition of ask-
ing before receiving. He never made an engagement or
any important decision, a plan for a day's journey, a call,
or wrote a letter without consulting his omniscient family
Friend for the wisdom which is promised to him who asketh
" without wavering."
So, waiting on the Lord, he was, progressively, of good
courage.
This made him brave and fearless in meeting that future
which his covenant-keeping God had planned out for him
in Omniscient Love. He understood in his own experi-
ence every day what is the perfect love that casts out fear;
how " Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall
[lo]
a^emoir of ijcnrp <!EtitDarti #ile^
flourish in the courts of our God: — To show that the Lord
is upright."
During the year 1900 the chapel was greatly enlarged
and all modern improvements added to make the church
plant, its grounds, manse, chapej, and temple of worship
perfect in all their appointments.
With the completion of the improvements, Dr. Niles was
full of new plans for a more aggressive campaign of Sunday-
school work.
That "study"— the Holy of Holies of the beautiful
home — that had so often before been a Peniel, was recon-
secrated.
A special tenderness and solemnity came down upon the
church services and warmed the atmosphere of Sunday-
school and Christian Endeavor and prayer-meeting. To
their pastor's invitation to meet him for personal religious
conversation, many who had long been special objects of
prayer and effort responded.
Night after night, as the chapel was not quite ready for
occupation, the parlor and study of the manse were filled
with those of all ages, from whose soul-vision the Spirit had
removed the cataracts of unbelief so that they saw the reali-
ties of the world to come„
Some twenty-five came to the Lord's Supper for the first
time in March and a larger number waited for the June
sacrament.
So at his last communion this blessed pastor saw those
for whom he had watched and prayed sitting with him at
the table of his Master He continued the meetings with
still greater success till he was compelled to drop every-
thing and go for what all supposed would be a brief rest
at Atlantic City.
His assistant, Rev. David Curry, came during his illness
a^cmoir of i^cnrp Ctitoarti ^iW
and continued the meetings, and another harvest of souls
was gathered into the church at the June communion, after
he himself had gone up to sit down at the Marriage
Supper of the Lamb.
Never was there a more hushed, tearful, solemn assem-
blage. It hardly required the " sixth sense " of faith to
recognize the encompassing cloud of witnesses — holy
women and noble men, the fruits of his early labors, now
joined in the spirit world by the pastor and guide, and
sharing with him angelic joy over this " aftermath " of his
sowing of the seeds of truth.
" The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall
bring forth fruit in old age; he shall be fat and flourishing: —
To show that the Lord is upright."
|-I2]
" Four things a man must learn to do
If he would m,ake his record true :
To think without confusion clearly /
To love his fellow-men sincerely /
To act from honest motives purely ;
To trust in God and heaven securely ^
[14]
CHAPTER II
Ancestry, Life, and Character
HENRY EDWARD NILES was of an old New
England family. He was born August 15, 1823,
at South Hadley, Mass., the second child of Will-
iam Niles and Sophia Goodrich; and was descended, in the
seventh generation, from Captain John Niles, who came
from Wales in 1630, settled in Abington, Mass., and after-
ward removed to Braintree.
William Niles moved with his family to Spencertown,
Columbia County, N. Y., when Henry was about five years
old; and the boy spent his youth amid the beauties of the
Hudson River and Berkshire Hills.
He was graduated from Union College, Schenectady,
N. Y., in 1844, and from Princeton Theological Seminary
in 1848, and was ordained by the Presbytery of Columbia
and installed pastor of Valatie (Kinderhook), N. Y., Octo-
ber 24, 1848.
In 1855 broken health compelled him to spend about a
year in travel and recreation; after which he supplied the
church at Angelica, N. Y.
From 1859 until the outbreak of the war he served as
" pastor-elect " of the North Church of St. Louis, Mo.
[15]
In 1861 he was called to Albion, N. Y., from whence,
after a very successful ministry, he came to York.
In 1875 he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity
from Wooster University.
June 26, 1850, at Lowell, Mass., he married Jeannie E.,
daughter of Sumner Marsh, whose qualities and efforts so
supplemented and aided his as to make their lives a har-
monious whole of joint devotion to all that is good, un-
selfish and beautiful.
Since April 16, 1865, Dr. Niles was pastor of the First
Presbyterian Church at York, Pa.
During these years his strong character and devotion to
principle and duty, aided by peculiarly responsive sympathy,
and enforced by no ordinary eloquence and a ready pen,
made him an influential factor in the religious and intel-
lectual life and development of the town and county.
Under his charge the church constantly increased in
numbers, philanthropy, and influence; branches were estab-
lished in the north and south sections of the city, known
as the Westminster and Calvary churches; and the parent
organization is now larger and more active than ever in
its history.
He was largely interested in forming plans upon which
his intimate friend and elder, Samuel Small, founded the
York Collegiate Institute. Of this institution Dr. Niles
was, from the beginning, a trustee.
As trustee and active friend of Lincoln University he
showed his constant interest in the colored race.
For many years he was a member of the Board of Min-
isterial ReHef of the Presbyterian Church and gave much
care and thought to the duties thereby devolving upon him.
While requiring sacrifice of time, and large drain upon his
sympathies, this work was enjoyable to him; because per-
[16]
a^^tiott of J^enrp €tiiuarti 0i\t^
formed with delightful associates. With his intimate friend
and classmate, the Rev. Dr. W. C. Cattell, there existed a
life-long congeniality, peculiarly sweet.
In 1874 he was moderator of the Synod of Philadelphia,
and in 1877 associate member of the Pan Presbyterian
Council in Edinburgh, Scotland. His last outside ecclesi-
astical activity was as member of the Minneapolis General
Assembly of 1899.
Nor were his energies and talents devoted by any means
exclusively to his own church and to Presbyterian institu-
tions.
All wise reforms in morals and politics had in him a fear-
less and judicious advocate, and he was a strong support
for all movements of evangelization and philanthropy.
Before the union of the Old and New School, in 1870,
he and his church were connected with the latter branch,
and his ecclesiastical tendencies were ever in favor of all
liberty of thought and expression, consistent with devotion
to fundamental truth.
These are but the bare outlines of a useful and happy life.
On May 14, 1900, he entered upon a well-earned rest,
after seventy-six years of true living and fifty-two years of
preaching, by acts no less than words, the Gospel that was
to him a vital force and hourly reality. From the manse
that had been built for him, and where he had spent four-
teen happy years, his spirit sought his eternal home. The
sad news was told to the tearful people by the church bell
that for thirty-six years had called him and them together
for instruction, prayer, and praise.
The picture was completed and hung in the gallery of
noble lives. The song had been sung and floated heaven-
ward to mingle with the harmonies of the blessed.
[17]
sr^cmoir of i^mrp ^titoarti ^iW
In a sketch of the life of Dr. Niles the first place should
be given to his position and work as a Christian minister.
It was to this holy vocation that he pledged himself in youth,
and in the performance of its obligations and the enjoy-
ment of its privileges his enthusiasm never cooled.
Personal ambition or desire for literary or professional
reputation never seduced his steadfast soul from the yearly,
daily, and hourly sacrifice of all his thought, time, and abil-
ity in the effort to guard, train, instruct, and inspire the
feeblest and most wayward as well as the docile of his
flock.
The results of energies so spent do not appear in bound
volumes, and are unobserved by the world at large; but the
reward in his own consciousness and in the loving apprecia-
tion of successive generations was sweeter to him than
wealth or fame.
Generations have been nurtured, instructed, guarded, and
restrained by his wise and tender pastoral care. He loved
them as his own. When they pursued the paths of virtue,
he rejoiced with greater pleasure than that which comes
from pursuit of worldly gain; and when they strayed, he
grieved as a father, and still followed them with prayer and
hope. He loved his people individually, discriminately.
He loved to study human nature in the process of the re-
generating and sanctifying grace.
The Church was to him the workshop of the Almighty.
His anointed eye was alert to note the features of the Master
being sculptured out by sorrow and joy, repentance and
faith, until the saint, made perfect, became fit for a niche in
God's eternal gallery.
No formless block into whose unpromising heart the
Holy Ghost had cut but one stroke was uninteresting to
him. He rejoiced as the spiritual likeness showed more and
[i8]
a^cmoir of i^enrp €t)tDarti ^ilt^
more clearly in some Priscilla, or Mary, or Barnabas, or
Timothy.
Although not unduly emphasized, he regarded preaching
as a very important part in his ministerial calling. In
keeping up the high quality of his sermons, while at the
same time earning the reputation of a model pastor, his
success was extraordinary.
Doctor Niles was an impressive public speaker. His ser-
mons, and addresses on special occasions, were well pre-
pared, thoughtful, and appropriate in matter, and delivered
with a polish of expression and grace of elocution that was
a gratification to the cultured ear. If particularly stirred
by a subject, especially when speaking without notes, his
oratory was very effective.
The winter of 1843 he spejit in Washington as a Con-
gressional shorthand reporter, where he had excellent op-
portunities of observing the style of the best speakers of
the time, including Clay, Webster, Calhoun, and Benton.
The art of elocution was ever interesting to him. To
the end of his life he was anxious for criticism and sug-
gestion, and was constant in endeavor to improve in style
and manner. His success in this had much to do with his
ability to preach continuously with acceptance to the same
people.
There was nothing to tire or annoy in his delivery. His
melodious voice and graceful gesture made it pleasant to
hear the truth from his lips, and were in themselves attrac-
tive to persons of taste.
Mentally, he was unusually symmetrical. Theological
studies and ministerial duties were not allowed to prevent
the enjoyment of literary pursuits, and his closest friends
were occasionally charmed by poems of rare imagination
and artistic structure. His memory was filled with pas-
[^9]
sages from the best authors. These were ever ready aptly
to adorn or illustrate his thought, and his fine elocution
made them most effective.
He reveled in the beauty and glory of God's works, as
well as His Word. One was an illumination and revelation
of the other to his enraptured vision.
The statuesque hills that encircle York, the summer sun-
set or mountain view, when interpreted by his poetic in-
sight and illuminated by his chosen quotations, revealed to
his friends hitherto unrealized beauties.
Not a tree which he did not recognize and greet with
delight, and his intimate acquaintance with the repertoire
of the birds made his enjoyment of their concerts most
keen and unusual.
Pre-eminently a man of affairs, he possessed the genius
of common-sense. His mechanical skill and scientific in-
tuitions astonished mechanics. They found he could give
them points in their trades. They opened their eyes to see
a minister (popularly supposed to be in a cloud hanging be-
tween Eden and Jerusalem) instruct them in a better way
to fix a gas-pipe, or furnace, or reveal to them the recondite
mysteries of plumbing! He sometimes said, " You see
how a good carpenter has been spoiled to make a poor
minister."
His financial forethought and exact system made his
judgment and counsel much valued and sought. Many a
young man was bound to him through life, as with hooks of
steel, by gratitude for timely counsel and aid in the uncer-
tain beginnings of business or professional careers.
Dr. Niles enjoyed life. This planet, made bright by the
footsteps of God incarnate, and baptized by His blood, was
no " howling wilderness " or " vale of tears " to him! He
loved to write, he loved to read, he loved to preach. He
[20]
often said, " I would rather have a man eat my dinner for
me than preach for me."
The brightest, sweetest, and best of his nature were re-
served for the exhibited in his name. Only those who were
admitted to the delights of the family circle knew fully the
wealth of his mind, the romance of his love, and the
strength of his character.
His wonderful memory, with its priceless stores of litera-
ture and gems of poetry, was a constant source of elevation
and entertainment. The enthusiasm of his nature made
each day a new festival to all under his roof.
In care of the children of others he never neglected, in
the least particular, the interests of his own. In their man-
hood, as well as youth, he lavished upon his sons a wealth of
affection and wise parental guidance.
He lost nothing in dignity and gained much in pleasure
to himself and his children by making them his closest con-
fidants and boon companions. The family circle was an
arena where all questions were open for full discussion, and
where the strongest logic was cheerfully awarded the palm ;
but here, without assertion on his part, he was always the
honored and beloved king.
His official blessing in the marriage ceremony was doubly
sacred; because it came from a manly, tender, faithful hus-
band, whose daily domestic life was a poem of perfect
rhythm with no discordant note.
Practical, yet enthusiastic; wise and vigorous, strong, but
tender, his life is a sermon the echoes of which will vibrate
long upon the air.
" Go where he will, the wise man is at home;
His hearth the earth, — his hall the azure dome ;
Where his clear spirit leads him, there's his road,
By God's own light illumined and foreshowed."
[21]
"Sunset and evening star.
And one clear call for me /
And may there be no moaning of the bar
When I put out to sea !
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark !
And may there be no sadness of farewell
When I embark;
For though from out our bourne of time
and place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar''
[22]
CHAPTER III
Last Services and Death
IN March, 1900, clouds began to obscure the soft, radi-
ant Indian summer sunlight of life.
On the second Sunday of that month Dr. Niles made
his last appearance in the pulpit he had filled for thirty-five
years.
Rev. Dr. Joseph T. Smith, of Baltimore, was with him
and gave two of his characteristic sermon poems, which Dr.
Niles enjoyed as appreciatively and enthusiastically as ever.
The social visit was rich with the reminiscences of Dr.
Smith's eventful past, and of the leaders in the Presbyterian
Church, North and South, whom he had had such rare op-
portunities of knowing personally. In the exhilaration of
congenial companionship the weariness and debiHty from
over-work seemed hardly felt.
Monday evening, March 12, Dr. Paton, the Paul of the
Hebrides, addressed a large congregation in the York
church. March 13, all attended a missionary convention
at Harrisburg, where Dr. Niles presided.
March 14, he led his last Wednesday evening service in
the lecture room, where his familiar, scholarly, practical
heart-talks had instructed and delighted two generations of
hearers.
Thursday, March 13, Dr. Niles, as he had done monthly
[23]
a^emoir of i^enrp €tihjarli i^ile^
for a score of years, attended a session of the Board of
Ministerial Relief, meeting that choice circle of selected
men who execute the will of the Church in caring for its
disabled servants. It was his last service for the cause he
loved.
From Philadelphia he went to Atlantic City to recuperate.
But the tonic of the ocean seemed to have no power to brace
his system or bring to him appetite or relief from nervous
exhaustion.
March 22 he came back to York, feeling that he had lost
ground.
Still, when his son met him at the depot with the two
spirited horses he so much enjoyed, he said with his accus-
tomed vim, " Ah, Harry! let me once more get hold of the
reins and drive these horses and I shall be all right."
His expectation of preaching on the 31st was not realized,
and he was never again able to leave the house. For the
next four weeks there were the fluctuations of improvement
and weakness.
His family were like children, buoyant in the belief that
a cure would be attained. All active disease yielded to the
skilful treatment and tender devotion of the beloved phy-
sicians. There remained simply inability to take nourish-
ment; and the eager hope of love that every new food and
tonic was the beginning of restoration was doomed to dis-
appointment.
Although as matter of fact he constantly declined in
strength, no one at the time fully realized it.
His family, of which he was ever the sun and joy, around
which everything revolved, never for one moment acknowl-
edged, even to each other, discouragement or doubt.
They set themselves religiously, courageously, hopefully,
to bring in from the outer world of sense, as well as from
[24]
0^cmoir of J^ettrp <!Etiixjat:ti l^ilc^
the unseen spiritual forces, such tides of life and power as
should lift the beloved one up out of the quicksands of weak-
ness where he was stranded, to mount the rising waves of
new life.
So these weeks were filled with the diversions of com-
fortable illness. From morning till night sacred and classic
writers were read and quoted, and the political and ecclesi-
astical news discussed. Especially was he interested in the
records of the Missionary Ecumenical Council, which he had
himself anticipated attending.
The three sunny rooms opening out of his study used by
him were daily filled with a profusion of choice flowers,
and he playfully suggested that, so far as he was concerned,
the love of his people had outstripped the almanac and made
April " the month of roses."
The weekly visits and companionship of his devoted son
Alfred from Baltimore so enlivened the Sundays he was de-
tained from his pulpit that the true significance of these
unusually frequent reunions was not realized.
In the latter part of April his minister boy from New
York came, and father and son spent a week talking, read-
ing, comparing notes together in his sick room; enjoying
each other as enthusiastically as ever.
He would laugh so heartily and seem so full of merriment
over the reminiscences of amusing scenes and experiences
in travel that more than once the trained nurse was obliged
to interrupt, saying, " Indeed, Dr. Niles, I cannot let Mr.
Edward stay any longer with you. You are laughing too
much. You must lie down and rest."
On the first day of May the son returned to New York,
expecting that his father would soon be able to ride. out.
" Come back in a week or two, my boy, and we will be able
to ride over the hills together," he said in parting.
[25]
a^emoir of i^cnrp €titoarti l^ile^ef
" Ah, happy days refuse to go !
Hang in the heavens forever so !
Forever let thy tender mist
Lie like dissolving amethyst
O'er landscapes of the Past, and shed
Thy mellow glory overhead !
Ah ! happy days ; refuse to go !
Hang in the heavens forever so ! "
In those days and weeks of enforced leisure and unin-
terrupted communion how near seemed the warm gulf
stream of youth and love, with its rosy mists and golden
clouds!
The rainbowed arch of June 26, 1850, stood out more
radiant than ever in retrospect : the era from which all events
were reckoned.
The wedding-bells that had then first rung out their har-
mony had gathered such fulness with each added year's
experiejices that their thrilling echoes filled the whole dome
of the half-century.
His faith loved to look back on the past and trace how
the omnipotent hand of his loving Pilot had steered him
safely through stormy seas, over dangerous rocks and
treacherous currents, through all latitudes, and under varied
skies, to this anchorage on the shores of the Land of Beulah,
glowing with celestial light.
From the almost fifty years of blissful wedlock, how many
were the garlands of sacred, fragrant memories this bride-
groom, with his heart of gold, gathered, to weave into a
crown for his half-century bride.
So steadfastly does absorbing affection cling to what con-
stitutes all that is precious in existence, so obstinately does
it refuse to perceive inevitable danger creeping on, that it
was not until the last four days that the idea of imminent
death was allowed to dart its black wing through the hori-
zon. [ 26 ]
a^mioir of i^enrp €litDatrti 0i\t^
But May's sunshine and flowers did not stir the patient's
pulses with new energy, nor bring back elastic strength and
vigor, as in other spring tides. The coveted rides upon his
beloved hills were put off from day to day. But every day
he insisted upon his wife and son going out into the resur-
rection-life and beauty which he so passionately loved.
His oldest son and companion was with him for hours
each day. The moment he heard the music of his footstep
on the stair, a new strength of life and love inspired him,
and his face would glow with expectation. That manly form
never crossed the threshold without receiving the radiant
smile and welcome.
But that fateful Friday, May ii, 1900, could not be kept
back any longer, by love or prayer.
Ever in the Gethsemane agony of supplication, " Father,
if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me," would come to
his loved ones the vision of the Head of the Church, stand-
ing at the Father's right hand and saying, " I will that they
also that Thou hast given me be zvith Me where I am, that
they may behold My glory."
God's arrow of suffering, winged by love, had been sent
to loosen His servant's hold on this life. Four days before
his translation he asked his son, after he had been out with
the doctors, " Do the doctors give any hope? " His son
replied, "Very little. I know you are not afraid!" He
said, "Oh, no!" Harry then said, "Have you anything
you would like to say to me? " After a pause he said, " My
papers are at the bank. My dear ones I have dedicated to
God. He will care for them. I have not been faithful, but
Christ will forgive. I have been a poor father, but you are
a precious son."
May 13, 1900, was his last Lord's Day on earth. A vesti-
bule of heaven it truly seemed, and each hour's experiences
[27]
of that hallowed time has been lived over again every resur-
rection day since, by those who shared them.
As his wife came into the room in the early dawn he said,
" Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless
His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not
all His benefits." When asked what made him so joyful,
he replied, " O! this glorious Lord's Day and we are all here
together! "
His three sons were close around him, taking turns in
holding him up in their arms; and as his kingly head rested
on their strong shoulders his great magnetic eyes were bent
upon them with such ineffable brightness and tenderness
that the nurse was moved to say, " O ! I never saw such light
in any eyes before! How I would love to have seen Dr.
Niles when he was well ! "
All that holy day his mind was as active as ever, and his
reasoning powers, memory, and affections were in full vigor.
God's strong, eternal promises, made for such crucial hours
of weakness, were poured into his responsive ear.
John's apocalyptic vision and his favorite Psalms and
hymns were recited. As he sat up in his sons' embrace, his
face shone in the light of the swiftly coming beatification,
as well-tried promises and beloved stanzas of noble poetry
comforted his soul.
Even then his trained memory would instantly detect a
mistake or wrongly substituted word, and his hand would
be raised, in his own graceful imperiousness, to rectify the
error.
The choir, whose artistic rendering of sacred music he so
enjoyed, came in from the church, and, in the parlor below,
sang with tender feeling his favorite hymns. The strains of
" Rock of Ages," " Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me," " Jesus, Lover
of My Soul," seemed to bear all up on waves of melody to
[28]
sr^emoir of i^enrp €Dhjarti ^iW
the pearly gates; and to the ringing of the golden harps of
the crowned and glorified ones; joyfully expectant, waiting
to welcome our beloved to the celestial choir and " new
song of the Lamb."
He had expected on this resurrection day of his Lord to
meet Him in Paradise. In the afternoon he said to his wife,
" Jeannie, what time is it? " When told that it was four,
he said, " I did not think it took so long to die. I have
been dying all day and I am not yet through. I thought I
should be on the other side with my Savior before this."
Often he said, " If, when I was well, I had not put my case
into the hands of the Eternal God, what would I do now? "
His faith did not electrify, but it sustained. He swung
out on the Almighty Arm into the realities of the unknown
existence where God took him. The child-like faith the
Spirit had wrought made him willing to go alone into the
unveiled presence of Him he had loved, walked with, and
tried to serve for sixty years.
If it had pleased his Heavenly Father to let him longer
enjoy his home, family, church and friends, he would have
thanked Him for it; but, since it was His will to take him,
he thanked Him, just the same.
Another long night of weakness and suffering lay be-
tween him and immortal strength and everlasting youth in
the presence of the King in His beauty.
Monday morning he missed for a moment his wife from
his side, and said to one of the sons, " Where is your
mother? " After hearing the reply, "There she is " — as she
was entering the door — he said, "Yes! there she is — and
when she comes into the room the Holy Ghost always comes
with her to cheer and strengthen and bless."
The last hours he was unconscious.
On the 14th of May, 1900, at four o'clock, the bell of the
[29]
sa^emoit of f$tntp €titoarti i^ilt^
First Presbyterian Church was heard to toll throughout the
city. As men, women, and children heard the strange, sol
emn sound of those seventy-six slow reverberations, they in-
stinctively bowed with reverent heads as they realized that
the faithful pastor, earnest preacher, sympathizing friend,
courteous neighbor, active citizen, and genial companion,
whom they delighted to honor, had finished his earthly
course.
One of his physicians voiced thus the sad tidings to his
mother: " Dr. Niles has gone to wear his crown."
" He hath gone
To sit down with the prophets, by the clear
And crystal waters; he hath gone to list
Isaiah's harp and David's, and to walk
With Enoch and Elijah, and the host
Of the just men made perfect. He shall bow
At Gabriel's hallelujah, and unfold
The scroll of the apocalypse with John,
And talk of Christ with Mary, and go back
To the last supper, and the garden prayer
With the beloved disciple.
He shall hear the story of the incarnation told
By Simeon, and the Triune mystery
Burning upon the fervent lips of Paul.
He shall have wings of glory, and shall soar
To the remoter firmaments, and read
The order and the harmony of stars;
And, in the might of knowledge, he shall bow
In the deep pauses of archangel harps,
And, humble as the seraphim, shall cry —
' Who, by his searching, finds Thee out, O God ! *
There shall he meet his dear ones who have gone
Before him, and as other years roll on.
And his loved flock are gathered up to him,
His hand again shall lead them to the Lamb
And point them to the living waters there ! "
[30]
*' At Nain was voice of comfort heard,
For Christ had touched the bier ;
The bearers wait with wondering eye,
The swelling bosom dare not sigh ;
Btit all is still, twixt hope and fear.
E'en such an awful soothing calm
We sometimes see alight
On Christian mourners, while they wait
In silence, by some church-yard gate.
Their summons to the holy rite.
And such the tones of love which break
The stillness of that hour,
Quelling the embittered spirits strife :
' The Resurrection and the Life
Am I! Believe and die no more I '
Then cheerily to your work again
With hearts new braced and set
To run untired loves blessed race
As meet for those, who, face to face.
O'er the grave their Lord have met.''
[32]
CHAPTER IV
Funeral
THE Wednesday evening prayer-meeting — after the
death, before the funeral — became a memorial ser-
vice for him who, for over a generation, had con-
ducted those peculiarly stimulating services.
The lecture-room was thronged with worshippers when
Dr. Jeffers opened the meeting. Rev. P. Anstadt, D.D.,
for the Lutheran churches; Rev. G. M. Slaysman, for the
Baptist Church, and Rev. F. C. Yost, for the Reformed
churches, spoke most feejingly of their love and reverence
for their departed fellow-worker. The Rev. E. S. Hagen,
secretary of the Ministerial Association, told of Dr. Niles's
work in that organization.
The Rev. George L. Smith, formerly pastor of Calvary
Presbyterian Church, came from Elmer, N. J., to pay his
tribute to the memory of his friend.
The Rev. C. A. Oliver, pastor of the Westminster Pres-
byterian Church, emphasized Dr. Niles's kindness, faithful-
ness, and attachment to his people; while the Rev. John F.
Mesick, D.D., designated him as " the prince of preachers."
The meeting, from beginning to end, was a touching,
impressive evidence of the esteem and love of other churches
and denominations of York for the pastor of the First Pres-
byterian Church.
[33]
iSl^emoii: of ^mtp €tiU)arti Ij^ilc^
In the forenoon of May 17, 1900, the innermost circle of
relatives and friends, representatives of three generatioiis,
gathered in the sunny manse parlor around the beloved form
lying in the nobleness and majesty the Death Angel had
stamped upon his face.
It was the last of those family worships which had been so
sacred and delightful and characteristic of the home, ever
held around the form of their beloved high priest.
His youngest son conducted the tender, strengthening
service of prayer and promise, and the beloved niece led in
the psalms of hope and victory. The angels' welcoming
chorus flooded down in echoing whispers —
" Not a tear must o'er him fall ;
He giveth His beloved sleep."
The casket was borne by the church officers to the lecture-
room of the chapel, where an opportunity was afforded for
all his friends to look once more on the dear face.
The body was then taken to the church, where the public
funeral services were held.
The open grave, lined with flowers and green, was in the
church-yard under the trees, not a hundred feet from his pul-
pit or his study. It is a grave for two; one chamber is still
waiting.
"Golden gates of fifty years I
Almost we did your latchet press;
Ah ! no golden June for us,
But Death Angel and the pall;
Then, one stepping on, alone !
Soon, two, at the heart of all."
Ministers from the city and fellow Presbyters from
abroad, his relatives, members of his flock and of other con-
[34]
gregations encircled the grave while prayer was offered and
a hymn was sung.
Dr. Niles's son in clear, ringing tones of faith committed
the precious clay to Him who promised " He that believeth
on Me shall never die," and " I will raise him up at the last
day."
Over all, the mantle of flowers was laid, on which were
piled the exquisite artistic designs of anchors, crowns, pil-
lows, stars, Bible, wreaths, and other floral offerings by
which yearning hearts had striven to express their grief and
devotion to their pastor and friend.
The newspapers gave a full account of the services, and
the funeral addresses were fortunately preserved.
We quote from one of the papers and append the ad-
dresses in full.
From the York Daily, May i8, 1900.
In the church plot of the First Presbyterian Church yes-
terday afternoon, with a simple, yet most solemn and im-
pressive service, the remains of the late Rev, Henry Edward
Niles, D.D., were laid away to repose under the green sod.
He lies in the shadow of the church in which for so many
years he labored with such marked fruitful results. No
more fitting spot could have been selected to honor and
keep in remembrance " A leader among leaders." While
the late pastor is no more with his beloved congregation
and with the community, in which he was so highly es-
teemed, his memory will never be forgotten. As a minister
his works shine forth, and as a citizen his efforts were always
for the betterment and uplifting of the whole community.
This fact was evidenced when he lay in state in the chapel
room until the last rites were performed.
From twelve o'clock noon the body lay in the chapel in
[35]
a^cmoir of ^mtp €tihjarti l^ile^
charge of a guard of honor composed of Harry S. Ebert, J.
Wilbur Yeats, J. St. Clair McCall, J. Edgar Small, George
M. Rynick, H. D. Rupp, Dr. J. McKinnon, Howard Mani-
fold, Jacob Hartzel, Leslie Maxell, George Steacy, Law-
rence Mitzel, Roy Canfield, William T. Ong, Norman For-
ney, and Philip Stair. A detail of police was present and
at the entrances to the building directed the crowd.
From the time the chapel was opened until 2.45 o'clock
a continuous stream of people passed around the bier and
took a parting look at the form of the one who was so dear
to them. Tears filled the eyes of many. At the head of
the casket was a large pillow of white carnations from the
Sunday-school, suitably inscribed. A number of other floral
tributes were also laid upon the casket and around it. It
was at the altar of the church the wealth of floral tributes was
displayed. Never before in this city was there such a pro-
fusion of loving testimonials placed around the bier of one
who had departed this life.
The Ministerial Association of the city paid its last re-
spects to the deceased and afterward took seats reserved for
them in the main body of the church.
The pulpit arch was beautifully and heavily draped in
mourning, as were the two doors on either side of the
chancel and also the front of the choir and organ loft.
The edifice was filled to the doors. The assemblage was
so large that chairs had to be used to seat the people in the
aisles, while at the rear of the church many stood.
At 2.45 promptly, the remains were removed from the
chapel to the church, being brought in through the door
west of the chancel. The honorary pallbearers were Henry
Small, Jacob Weltzhoffer, H. W. Hallock, Peter McLean,
Niles H. Shearer, John Hamilton Small and James McLean.
The active pallbearers were also taken from the elders,
[36]
a^mioir of ijcnrp <!EtitDarti 0iW
deacons, and trustees of the church, John M. Brown, W. H.
McCIellan, John H. Small, Samuel M. Manifold, George S.
Billmeyer, and Henry R. Kraber,
The immediate family and relatives entered at the front
of the church.
The organ in subdued tones wafted out the solemn strains
of the Beethoven funeral march, the entire audience stand-
ing. Upon the platform were seated Rev. David S. Curry,
Rev. Charles A. Oliver, Rev. J. W. Oliver, Rev. E. W. Co-
berth, Rev. Dr. Mesick, Rev. George C. Heckman, D.D.,
LL.D., of Reading, Rev. W. L. Ledwith, D.D., of Phila-
delphia, and the Rev. E. T. Jeffers, D.D.
The service was opened with the singing of that im-
pressive hymn, " Jesus, Lover of My Soul," by the choir.
A scriptural reading followed by Rev. David S. Curry, who
also ofifered prayer. The choir then sang the hymn, " For
All Thy Saints Who from Their Labors Rest."
Address hy Dr. Heckman.
Rev. George C. Heckman, D.D., LL.D., of Reading, Pa.,
made the following address:
The death of Dr. Niles was a great shock to me, as it
was to you all, although some of you were looking to such a
painful event; painful to us, not to him.
I deem it a privilege to be here to-day, and thank God for
health and strength to be here, to mingle my tears with
yours, and to offer consolation with this congregation to
the bereaved family of our dear friend; praying that the Holy
Ghost will sustain them in this their hour of trial. A va-
cancy has been made among them, such as has never come
to them before; and when they are left to their reflection,
after the first stunning effects have passed away, they will
[37]
^tmtxit of i^encp €tib3ai:li ^ilt^
feel more deeply than to-day that the vacant place cannot
be filled.
I am asked to say something regarding the student-life
of Dr. Niles, of his worth and life in the ministry.
My first acquaintance with Henry Edward Niles was
made when fifty-four young men became classmates in the
beginning of their post-graduate studies in the Theological
Seminary at Princeton, N. J. They came from all parts of
our country, and many from other lands. This was in the
autumn of 1845. The total membership of the class for the
three years at the seminary numbered sixt3^-seven. Of this
number forty-seven have departed this life; twelve at least
survive with us here; and of eight others, I know not
whether they are living or dead; probably most, if not all of
them, are deceased. Of the twelve survivors, seven are still
in the active service of the Church. Of these twelve, the
Rev. Thomas M. Crawford, D.D., has passed his eightieth
year. Two others, the Rev. Andrew Shiland, D.D., of New
York, and the Rev. Jonathan Osmond, of Tacoma, Wash.,
if spared a few months, will have passed their four-score
years. [Since this record the Rev. Dr. Murphy and Rev.
Dr. Shiland have departed.]
This class of sixty-seven has had a most creditable his-
tory of honor and usefulness to the Church and country.
But this is not the time, nor is it the place, to recite that
history. Many of its members have occupied prominent
pulpits in our own Church and in other denominations.
One still surviving and active is Bishop Littlejohn, of the
Diocese of Long Island. [Lately departed this life.] Two
others are the Rev. Dr. E. R. Craven, secretary of the Board
of Publication, and the Rev. Dr. William M. Paxton, of the
Theological Seminary of Princeton. Several others have
occupied high places in educational institutions of impor-
[38]
tance. Four have filled the moderator's chair in the Gen-
eral Assembly, North and South. Let this suffice to illus-
trate the setting Dr. Niles has as to his theological class.
In this class Dr. Niles was peer among peers. From the
start he took a high place, which he never lost in his three
years of seminary days, and maintained through his long
life, reflecting distinguished honor on his classmates and
his beloved Alma Mater. I have the combined daguerreo-
type plates of thirty-five portraits of our class, taken at
graduation, two faces on each plate. On one of these are
the portraits of Mr. Osmond and Dr. Niles. By an inter-
esting and affecting coincidence, a letter from Mr. Osmond
and the news of Dr. Niles's death came to me by the same
mail.
To students, life in the Theological Seminary is usually a
most happy period, to which they look back with undimin-
ished pleasure. Here you find a body of select young men,
of that happy combination of character which is the product
of social culture, collegiate training, well-defined religious
conviction, and self-sacrificing piety. There is nowhere to
be found a finer aggregation of young society, from what-
ever point of view you look. There's a healthful, inspiring
stimulus in the atmosphere, which makes irresistibly for the
best social, intellectual, and spiritual development.
Into such society Henry Edward Niles was introduced
by his matriculation in 1845. With it he was in most
happy adaptation, perfectly at home, in delightful harmony
at all points, and by his previous mental and religious train-
ing, ready to enjoy it, to penetrate all its advantages, and
to develop under it into a larger life.
It was the privilege of the class to enjoy the last un-
broken labor of the original faculty, the vejierable Dr. Miller
retiring with the graduation of the class. The faculty as
[39]
sr^cmoir of i$mtp €ti\xyath |^ile$f
then constituted was one of the ablest the institution has
had, and unsurpassed in the theological schools of that day.
In this class Dr. Niles at once took a high place, which he
easily held and never lost, in the seminary or ever since.
He was one of the best students as to scholarly attainments,
always faithful in preparation and attendance upon class
duties, at devotional exercises, at the seminary and class
prayer-meetings, at the afternoon Sabbath conference, and
at the church service. No student stood higher in the esti-
mation of his associates and teachers. With his intimates
he was more than esteemed; he was loved, and his friend-
ship was cherished as a choice possession. He was not only
amiable, but strong in his physical, mental, and moral make-
up. In class-meetings he was always heard with attention
and respect for his intellectual force and unassuming piety.
His prayers were most edifying; and when leading a prayer-
meeting, I usually called upon him with others to of¥er
prayer. He was always strong and firm in his opinion,
genial and respectful, modest and receptive.
He was a thoroughly symmetrical, all-round man in his
professional studies and acquisition, and in his wide read-
ing of other literature. It goes without saying that his
was a liberal education, for such an education is the natural,
logical outcome of the constant study of the inspired Word
of God and the broad fields of knowledge covered by our
theological schools.
One of the best commentaries of his life as man and
scholar, as citizen and minister, is to be found in his social,
literary and civic standing in this large and intellectual com-
munity, and in the remarkable growth and prosperity of
this important pastoral charge and the strong churches
formed from it. But this, and his sweet family life, his valu-
able educational work, his intelligent, alert, patriotic citi-
[40]
zenship, belong to others who are to follow, and I must
resist the temptation of affection and admiration to enlarge
upon them.
Dr. Niles has been for thirty-five years under my observa-
tion. He was one of those happily constituted men who
inspire confidence with first acquaintance. He so im-
pressed me the first time I met him, and my affection for
him grew steadily with my ever-growing admiration for the
fidelity and usefulness of his life. And this life.-long ap-
preciation has been confirmed and illuminated by his last
words of humility and faith: " I am not afraid; I have not
been faithful, but Christ will forgive."
Only two weeks ago I reminded my family that in the
event of my death they must not forget my frequent request
that my classmate, Dr. Niles, should be requested to officiate
at my funeral. And now instead, I stand by his bier with
heart full of pain in pronouncing this faint eulogy of my
friend. All the good and noble in his character, relations
and work were prophetic in him in his student days. As
he was with you for the last thirty-five years in this larger
sphere and conspicuity, such also was he in the narrower
bounds and shorter period of his seminary days. As he was
one of the manliest of young men, so he has lived out one
of the noblest of lives. The beautiful blossoming of his
youth has yielded the rich fruitage of a long life. To the
long lineage of American citizenship and Church hfe, he has
been permitted to add additional honor. " He fought the
good fight; he finished the course; he kept the faith; " and
now he has been called up to receive the crown of right-
eousness. May we all possess that faith which makes for
obedience, and that obedience which makes for righteous-
ness. And the glory shall be to the Father, and to the
Son, and to the Holy Spirit, our Triune Jehovah, world
without end." [41]
St^emoic of i^mrp OBtitDarti l^ilc^
Address by Dr. Ledwith.
A Prince in Israel has fallen. A dear, devoted husband
has fallen asleep, but you know, dearly beloved friend, in
the loneliness of your widowhood that the God of all com-
fort will not leave you destitute. A father has been taken
from a circle of devoted children, but this blessed consola-
tion to-day is their portion: — " I will never leave thee nor
forsake thee." A minister of the Lord Jesus Christ has
gone to his reward, but his works do follow him. In the
holy silence of thoughtful, sympathetic, and loving hearts
here this afternoon, the prayer of our lips should be: "I
was dumb and opened not my mouth, because Thou didst
it." And as we lift up our eyes we recognize the fact that
God is with us; that He knows the beginning and the. end,
and we most devoutly and unreservedly say, " The Lord has
given and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name
of the Lord."
How natural for family and friends to cling to the memo-
ries of those that are no more. How natural the desire to
be conscious once again of the touch of the vanished hand;
to hear once more, in the home or in the sacred desk, in
prayer, the sound of his voice, now stilled forever.
You have had the curtain lifted that has revealed to you
some of the past days and joys. I stand to-day behind that
curtain with the sweet and blessed memories of twenty-two
years. As vividly as though it were yesterday do I remem-
ber the first time I met Dr. Niles. It was in the city of
Lancaster, at a meeting of the Presbytery of Westminster.
I was a young man and was making a speech, and as I
looked down into the front pew I caught the eye of a
stranger, and I instinctively recognized in that gaze that I
had a kind, sympathetic, and helpful listener; and at the
[42]
a^emoir of i^enrp €titoarti l^ile^
close of the meeting he introduced himself to me, and a
friendship was established that knew no change. I felt that
we could be congenial the one with the other; helpful the
one to the other; and, although a man old enough to be my
father, I feel, friends, that I stand here to-day to speak of
an elder brother.
Is it necessary for me to dwell on the many quaUties that
characterized him? Is it necessary for me to lift the veil and
enable you to see something that you know as well as I, and
some better? How we call to mind that bright, cheerful
face, that kind, sympathetic voice! How great was his love
for the beautiful, framing expressions from time to time that
kindled like admiration in the heart of his listener. How
he was loyal at all times and under all circumstances to the
truth, as he recognized it, believed it, and lived it. How at
all times we find him devoted to Christianity as revealed in
the perfection of Jesus Christ, and that he sought to mani-
fest in his daily walk and conversation.
I shall not speak of the relations he sustained to his
brethren in the ministry and in the Presbytery. He was
well versed in ecclesiastical law, and in all his discussions
with his brethren fully persuaded them that he ever had
the highest interests of the Church he loved at heart, the
honor of the truth, and the glory of his Divine Master.
Is it for me to speak then about his relation as a pastor?
He came unto you in the full prime of manhood with rich
experience in real life among men. Just as God had en-
dowed him with knowledge and power and courage did he
minister unto you of the fold. Ah! had these walls lips,
what precious words we might hear! Were these walls, as
it were, transparencies through which might come the
bright shining of the truth, what conflicts and triumphs we
might behold. As is true of most servants of the Lord,
[43]
0^mtoir of J^ernrp ^btDarti ^tW
his own people were near his heart, and his own people had
the first claim upon his sympathy and love, and for them
he lived and labored.
For thirty-five years he went in and out among you,
breaking unto you the bread of life. Do you realize all
that is involved in the record of those thirty-five years?
Thirty-five years of faithful preaching of the Gospel of our
blessed Christ. Thirty-five years of anxious, earnest, lov-
ing service in season and out of season. Thirty-five years
of rejoicing with you in your joys and prosperity, and in
your growth in grace and the divine life. Thirty-five years
in lifting up his hands in benediction as you bowed your
heads in these pews for prayer. Thirty-five years in min-
istering beside sick beds. Thirty-five years in following
one generation after another to their last resting places.
Oh, the memories that rise up about you of the generations
that have come and gone. Sweet little babes who came,
smiled, and departed. Young men and maidens who con-
fessed their Master in this church, who lived out their
allotted time here or elsewhere and then went to their
graves rejoicing in the hope of a blessed immortality.
The life of your beloved pastor was fully rounded and
complete. He died in the harness, permitted to proclaim
the Gospel almost to the end, and as to the last service
ministering unto you in the sacrament of the Lord's Sup-
per. Let it be the desire and hope of all, in the blessed
future, to sit together at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
As we tarry for a moment this afternoon beside his casket
and look upon the form of our dear friend we say: " Asleep
in Jesus "; but is he not alive for ever more? We behold
the stillness and the pallor of death, but doth not that face,
in the heavenly places, behold and reflect the divine glory?
Should there be sorrow in your hearts? Yes, but it will
[44]
0^emoir of ^^enrp €titoarti ^iW
be turned into joy. Your sorrow may endure for the night,
but joy Cometh in the morning. Should there be tears?
Yes, but they shall all be wiped away, and to you will be
given the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness.
We look for the last time upon this familiar face now still
in death.
" Two hands upon the breast,
And labor's done :
Two pale feet crossed in rest.
The race is run."
He goeth from us, but shall we not rejoice that there hath
been granted unto him an abundant entrance into ever-
lasting habitations? But, though dead, beloved, he yet
speaketh, and his works do follow him. Let not his in-
struction, as you have received it these many years from
this sacred desk, be forgotten, but cherish it in your hearts,
and let it bring forth a rich fruitage in your lives. Seek to
imitate his example, in so far as his life was kind and pure
and Christ-like, and so glorify your Divine Lord, whom he,
with loving devotion, tried to faithfully serve.
Address by Dr. Jeffers.
In these days of restless ministers and congregations
difficult to satisfy, the mere fact that Dr. Niles has held the
place of pastor in an intelligent and influential church for
thirty-five years is enough to make him remarkable. If we
knew nothing else of him save that he had remained here
for a thirty-five-year pastorate, we could infer that he must
have had many of the qualities which the friends of his earlier
days discovered in him and have recalled to-day. But this
is not his distinction. This is a result, not a cause. He
did more than stay and hold the office. He not only re-
[45]
i3t^emoir of i$tntp aEtitDarH i^ile^
mained, but he grew. He not only kept the church, but
made it grow. The members of Session and Board of
Trustees, and those who in active church work came in
close contact with him, know how far he was from merely
floating with the current. He was busy. He planned the
. work of others, and it was a rare thing that he failed to bring
to pass what he wanted to be done.
I never knew Dr. Niles until he had reached the age
when most men are satisfied, if not compelled, to retire from
active service. But when he had reached three-score and
ten he could say as Dr. Cuyler did, " I am seventy years
young."
This was evident in his manner. It seems but yester-
day that he rode along our streets as erect as ever. It is
but a few days since we saw him moving with the quick,
springing step that indicated anything but age. He was
young until the last, and worked till the last, and died as
he wished to die, when his work was done. He always
seemed to me to have all that one could desire. His church
thought of him so kindly that nothing they could con-
tribute to his happiness was withheld. His life to its very
close was ideal.
I have been asked to say a few words to-day because he
and I were both connected with the Collegiate Institute.
Twenty-seven years ago, one of the elders in his church,
a public-spirited man, decided to form a school where the
young people of the city and vicinity could receive a higher
education than the public schools gave at that time. He
took into his confidence his pastor, whom he made a mem-
ber of the Board of Trustees. The pastor's name appears
in all the early programmes and we could always count on
his presence at all our public entertainments. Dr. Niles
never lost interest in the Institute. Not that he neglected
[46]
isr^otioir of ipenrp €tituarti l^ile^
his congregation to advance the interests of the school or
of anything else with which he was connected outside of
his church. He had time and thought and care for many
things.
When he returned from the commencements of Lincoln
University he was always anxious to report to me, know-
ing that I was heartily interested in the work of that in-
stitution.
I wish we could have a worthy report of his work as a
Presbyter, especially during the last few years. His chair-
manship of the Missionary Committee was only one of the
many responsible places he held. Only last year he was
sent to the General Assembly as our representative in that
body. Many of the members of Presbytery are here to-
day and are ready to speak most affectionately of him.
Two representatives of the " Harrisburg Cleric " are also
here to remind us that for some years he was a faithful
member of that band of brothers.
Many places are left vacant by his death. Some it will
be hard to fill. That in your hearts will never be filled.
As a preacher he maintained a high standard of excel-
lence to the last. I often heard him, but never heard from
him a carelessly prepared sermon. From the invocation to
the benediction everything was neat, refined, finished.
Thoroughness of preparation, and excellent taste were evi-
dent no less in the reading of the hymn and the most im-
passioned exhortation than in the treatment of the main
points of the sermon. His work was made to last.
So when we lay him away to rest — all that is mortal of
this beloved pastor — his life is not ended, his influence has
not ceased. This congregation is what he made it. Be-
ing dead " he yet speaketh " most effectively to this whole
community through the Church. The Lord has granted
[47]
a^emoir of i^cnrp Ctitoarti ^iW
him a splendid, useful life; and his day has closed with a
brilliant sunset."
At the conclusion of the addresses the choir sang the
hymn, " Great Lord of all Thy Churches." Prayer was
offered by Rev. Charles A. Oliver. The remains were then
removed by the northwest door to the church plot, where
the interment took place. The grave was lined with
greens.
After the mourners had gathered, the committal service,
short but impressive and beautiful, was pronounced by Rev.
Edward Niles. The choir sang in a feeling manner " Rock
of Ages Cleft for Me," Dr. JefTers offered prayer, and the
benediction was pronounced by Rev. Dr. Mesick.
The attendance of ministers from the Westminster Pres-
bytery was large.
Among the others present were Mr. Henry L. Davis, of
Philadelphia, representing the Presbyterian Board of Min-
isterial Relief, of which the deceased was one of the original
and active members; Rev. George S. Chambers, D.D., of
the Pine Street Presbyterian Church, Harrisburg; Rev.
George L. Smith, a former pastor of Calvary Church, this
city, now of Elmer, N. J. ; Rev. Dr. Joseph T. Smith, Balti-
more; Rev. George W. Ely, Columbia; Rev. A. N. Hagerty,
Carlisle, and Rev. John A. Crawford, of the Memorial
Church, Lancaster.
[48]
' When some beloved voice that was to you
Both sound and sweetness, faileth suddenly;
And silence, against which you dare not cry,
Aches 'round you, like a strong disease; and now.
What hope? What help? What music can undo
That silence to your sense? No voice but God's!
Speak Thou, availing Christ, and fill this pause!"
" God keeps a niche
In heaven to hold our idols; and albeit
He brake them to our faces, and denied
That our close kisses should impair their white,
I know we shall behold them raised, complete.
The dust swept from their beauty, — glorified !
New Memnons, singing in the great God-light."
[49]
** Do we count the star lost, that is hidden
In the great light of morn f
Or fashion a shroud for the young child,
On the day it is born ?
Yet behold^ that were wise, to our folly.
Who mourn, sore distressed,
When a soul that is summoned believing.
Enters into its rest,
Exchanging earthly weakness, with its moan.
For song and service there before the throned
[50]
CHAPTER V
Action of Various Boards and Societies
RESOLUTIONS ON THE DEATH OF REV. H. E.
NILES, D.D.
AT a special meeting of the Board of Elders of the
First Presbyterian Church, of York, Pa., the follow-
ing resolutions were unanimously adopted:
Whereas, It has seemed best to the All-wise Ruler of the
Universe to transfer from earth to Heaven our beloved
pastor, Rev. H. E. Niles, D.D., and although we are sad-
dened and grieved beyond expression, yet we bow in humble
submission to the Divine Will, knowing, whether joyous or
grievous, our Lord doeth all things well.
Resolved, That in this dispensation of Providence our
church has lost a faithful minister of the Gospel of Christ.
For more than a generation he has stood in his place,
preaching, teaching, and exhorting the members of his
church and congregation to prepare for their everlasting
welfare.
Resolved, That the session of this church, of which he
was the head, will greatly miss him. His wise counsel and
foresight was ever at his command to guide and direct us
aright in all our deliberations.
[5t]
Resolved, That the Presbytery of Westminster will miss
him. His large experience and thorough knowledge of all
that pertained to the advancement of the interests of the
Presbytery was cheerfully given to use for the highest good
of the whole.
Resolved, That this community has lost a citizen, active
and ever ready to do his part in promoting the moral and
intellectual interests of the people whom he so much loved.
Resolved, That we commend to the God of Providence
and Grace his beloved wife and family, that amid their tears
and mourning they may be enabled to say, " The Lord gave,
the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord."
Resolved, That a copy of these minutes be ejitered upon
the sessional records and a copy be sent to the family.
(Signed) John M. Brown,
Henry Small,
W. H. McClellan, !- Elders.
Jacob Weltzhoffer,
H. W. Hallock,
The following resolutions were passed at a special meet-
ing of the Board of Deacons of the First Presbyterian
Church, of York, Pa., held May i8, a.d. 1900:
Whereas, God in His All Wise Providence has seen fit
to remove from our midst our pastor and co-worker, Henry
Edward Niles, D.D.,
Resolved, That while we bow in humble submission to
the Divine Will, we feel that in the death of Dr. Niles we
have lost the one who by his energy and progressiveness
instituted the first Board of Deacons in the First Pres-
byterian Church, of York, Pa., and who, through all the
succeeding years, never failed to manifest an untiring inter-
est and zeal in the work of the Board, and who by his min-
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a^emoir of l^enrp aEbtoarti ij^ile^
istrations to the sick and suffering, and his devotion to all the
best interests of the church and the community has well
earned the reward of the good and faithful servant.
Resolved, That to the bereaved widow and children we
tender our sincere sympathy, and commend them in their
sore affliction to the One who can heal all sorrow, and
Resolved, That these resolutions be recorded in our min-
utes, and be published in the daily papers of the city, and
that a copy be sent to the bereaved family.
(Signed) NiLES H. Shearer, ^
Peter McLean,
S. M. Manifold, -Deacons.
Henry R. Kraber,
J. Hamilton Small,-
At a special meeting of the Board of Trustees of the First
Presbyterian Church, of York, Pa., the following resolu-
tions were adopted:
Although Rev. Henry E, Niles, D.D., was not a member
of our Board, he was our beloved pastor, and we mourn
his loss in common sympathy with others in church and
community. As those in charge of the temporal affairs of
the church, we desire to bear testimony to his interest in
all that pertained to the beauty and convenience of our
church property.
It was with great interest that he examined the plans and
w^atched the development of our recently enlarged chapel,
and we mourn the fact that he did not have the pleasure
of seeing the completed and occupied building.
Although we will not see him go in and out before us,
and although never again will he stand in the sacred desk
and open unto us the Scriptures, we can think of him as
engaged in the work of his Master, in the mansions above,
in the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
[53]
Resolved, That this minute be entered upon the records
of the Board and a copy sent to Mrs. Niles with our sym-
pathy to herself and family.
(Signed) John H. Small,
Geo. S. Billmeyer,
Henry Small,
W. H. McClellan,
J AS. McLean,
Trustees.
BROTHERHOOD RESOLUTIONS.
Our friend and brother, Rev. Dr. H. E. Niles, has passed
before to his eternal home by the path we all must tread.
Endowed with uncommon mental gifts, possessed of un-
usual energy and power of initiative, it has been given to few
men to contribute so largely to the intellectual, moral, and
spiritual welfare of the community in which their lot was
cast. This organization is one only of the evidences re-
maining of his desire to become an instrument in promot-
ing the welfare of others. To him it owes its organization
and, although it cannot perhaps be said that it has attained
the degree of efficiency which he had hoped for, yet to him
more than to any other person is due its continuation to
this time. He was a natural leader, his presence was always
inspiring, and his sympathetic appreciation of the efforts of
others was always manifest.
Resolved, therefore. That we, the Brotherhood of the
First Presbyterian Church, of York, Pa., express our deep
appreciation of the loss we have suffered in the death of
Dr. Niles, and of the obligation resting upon us to make
this the organization which he desired it to be; also that we
bear testimony to his faithfulness as a friend, his zeal and
efficiency as a pastor, and his worth as a man, and
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JkH^cmoir of i^enrp €t>tDarti ^iW
Resolved, That our sympathy be extended to his bereaved
widow and family.
(Signed) H. D. RuPP, 1 c^„,,„ .„^,
Chas. a. Hawkins, )
JUNIOR CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR.
Friday Afternoon, May i8, 1900.
Dear Mrs. Niles:
The members of the Junior Christian Endeavor Society
want to tell you how much they feel for you, and how de-
sirous they are that their prayers may be answered by their
Heavenly Father, which they offer to Him for you, in this
time of your deep sorrow.
The words of our dear pastor will be cherished by us, and
we love to think of his kind interest in our welfare. The
words he tried to impress on our hearts, we hope and pray
may never leave us. The verse that we recited for him
when he was with us was, " Thy Word have I hid in my
heart, that I might not sin against Thee."
May the protecting arms of your Heavenly Father and
ours be around you, — for does He not notice the fall of a
sparrow, and does He not pity His children more than an
earthly parent or friends can?
Into His care we would place you, knowing that He
careth for you.
With sympathy and love we sign our names, represent-
ing the members of the Junior Christian Endeavor So-
ciety.
Miss Harris, Bruce Ramsay,
Laura E. Baker, Elsie Sullivan,
Jane F. Kell, Flora Taylor,
Bertie S. Bates, Frances Mills,
Mabel McClune, Mary Maxell,
William Stair, Henry Small.
[55]
a^emoir of J^enrp <!EtitDarti l^ile^
FROM THE WOMAN'S HOME AND FOREIGN
MISSIONARY SOCIETIES OF THE FIRST
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF
YORK, PA.
" Whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with
it"; so
Dear Mrs. Niles:
Your sisters of the Home and the Foreign Missionary-
Societies, being one with you in Christ, mourn in your sad
bereavement. Our hearts are filled with tender sympathy
and our eyes dimmed with tears, as we remember you —
stricken in your dearest tie; the Hght of your home, the
partner of your joys and your sorrows, the strong arm and
loving heart taken from you, and you left in the loneliness
of widowhood.
Lonely — but not alone; "cast down, but not forsaken."
We thank God that you have found the " Everlasting
Arms " a sure support, and that the blessed Jesus has made
you " His in the espousal of His love; " so that thy Maker
is thy Husband.
We do, we can sympathize with you, for we belong to
the great household of the sorrowing. Most of us know
what it is to wait and weep for the " touch of a vanished
hand, and the sound of a voice that is still."
Mourning as we do with you, we can yet rejoice that our
great loss has been our beloved pastor's eternal gam.
To our dear pastor:
" The cross left, the crown won ;
His work ended, his reward begun."
" Knighted on the field " by the Great Captain of our
salvation. " Crowned in Palm Land," he rests among those
[56]
" who have washed their robes, and made them white in the
blood of the Lamb."
Trusting in the Christ whom he served, death to him
was but " the gateway to glory."
The long years of loving, faithful service given to the
church cannot fail to leave an impression on the town and
community; and only the roll-call of eternity will reveal the
results of his labors and prayers.
" Since thy Father's arm sustains thee,
Peaceful be;
If He wound thy spirit sore,
Trust Him more.
Whatsoe'er betideth
Night or day,
Know, His love for thee provideth
Good : alway."
Afifectionately yours, in the bonds of Christian sympathy,
Rachael K. McCall, ^
,^ T- T^ t Committee.
Mary E. Kell,
May 24, 1900.
LADIES' AID SOCIETY, FIRST PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH.
To our beloved sister, Mrs. H. E. Niles:
We, as a society, extend to you our heartfelt sympathy in
this your time of sore bereavement in the loss of your dear
husband and our beloved pastor. We desire to send this
letter of sympathy as a token of our affectionate regard and
esteem and our sense of the loss as a society we have sus-
tained in his death.
We feel that he was always devoted to the best interests
of his people, and we recall his zeal and devotion to duty
[57]
which he manifested. His presence was always an inspira-
tion.
We know that he was at all times true to his convictions,
and we shall miss him as our guide and adviser. We com-
mend you to the All-wise and loving Father, whose mes-
sages of peace and love our pastor so often carried to other
suffering hearts.
Mrs. E. p. Stair, \
Mrs. 1, C. Gable, > Committee.
Mrs. W. F. Weiser, )
WESTMINSTER CHURCH.
Resolutions Adopted May i^, igoo.
Resolved, That in the death of Rev. Dr. Henry E. Niles,
the oldest Presbyterian minister in the city of York, and
pastor for thirty-five years of the First Presbyterian Church,
the parent church has sustained a loss and sorrow in which
we deeply share.
Resolved, That not only have all the churches of our
denomination met with a sad bereavement, but our entire
Christian fellowship, of whatever name, has lost a con-
stant champion of its common faith and an illustrious
minister of its broadest charities, and the community at
large has suffered in the death of an exemplary citizen and
a good neighbor, and a friend and helper of every worthy
cause.
Resolved, That the affliction in his own family, while it is
a matter into which we may not intrude, is yet not beyond
the compass of God's rich grace and tenderest blessing.
Resolved, That we commend the stricken church and fam-
ily to that Holy Comforter, the Spirit of grace, whose
[58]
messages of light and hope our departed brother so often
carried to other suffering hearts.
Resolved, That these resohitions be placed upon our min-
utes; that a copy of them be sent to the family of the
deceased, and that they be published in the daily papers.
Signed by the Session,
Rev. Chas. A. Oliver, Pastor.
H. S. Myers, C/erk of Session.
Robert J. Dick,
Albert B. Garner.
RESOLUTIONS OF RESPECT.
At a special meeting of the Board of Trustees of the
York Collegiate Institute, held on May 17, 1900, the fol-
lowing resolutions were adopted:
Whereas, God in His inscrutable providence has called
from this Board one more of our number,
Resolved, That in the death of Henry Edward Niles, D.D.,
the York Collegiate Institute has sustained the loss of one
who was actively and closely allied to the Founder in every
step taken to bring into being this institution's corporate
existence, and who for more than a quarter of a century
watched its growth and advancement with the kindliest re-
gard, and for a like period served its interest as one of the
charter members of its Board of Trustees. In the death
of Dr. Niles the community suffers the loss of an eminent
citizen whose influence was active and far-reaching, and the
members of his parish the services of a beloved pastor, upon
whose intellectual attainments and many virtues their mem-
ory loves to dwell.
Resolved, That to his bereaved widow and family we ex-
tend our sincerest sympathy, and commend them in this
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sr^cmoir of i^enrp €bh)arti ^iW
hour of deep affliction to the care and guidance of that
Master to whose service the husband and father had dedi-
cated his earthly life, and
Resolved, That these resolutions be spread upon our min-
utes; that they be published in the daily papers of the city
of York, and that a copy be sent to the family of the de-
ceased.
Geo. S. Schmidt,
Secretary pro tern, of Board of Trustees
of the York Collegiate Institute.
RESOLUTIONS ON THE DEATH OF REV. HENRY
E. NILES, D.D., ADOPTED BY THE YORK
MINISTERIAL ASSOCIATION ON
JUNE II, 1900.
Whereas, Almighty God in His infinite wisdom has called
away one of the beloved members of our association, the
Rev. Henry E. Niles, D.D., from his labors on earth to his
rest in heaven, and
Whereas, Dr. Niles has been from the very beginning of
our Ministerial Association to the end of his life a constant
and active member of the same, and
Whereas, We have learned to love and esteem him for
the deep interest which he manifested in the moral reforms
in our city and the spiritual progress of our churches, and
also for his wise counsel and active co-operation in every
important undertaking, therefore,
Resolved, That, while his death is a great loss to our as-
sociation, and we sorrow most of all that we shall see his
face no more on earth; yet we rejoice in the firm belief that
the step between his life and death was but the step between
earth and glory, and that when earth's separations shall be
[60]
St^citioir of i^cnrp €tituarti ^iW
at an end, we shall meet again in the unclouded sunshine of
God's presence.
Resolved, That we regard the large and flourishing con-
gregation of the First Presbyterian Church of York, gath-
ered during his ministry of thirty-five years, as his most
eloquent eulogy and enduring monument.
Resolved, That we attribute his success, under God, to
his powerful orthodox, biblical preaching, his judicious,
prudent leadership, and his faithfulness as a pastor, where-
by souls were won for Christ, and which gained for him the
love and respect of his people.
Resolved, That our Ministerial Association will greatly
miss the presence, wise counsel, and active co-operation of
Dr. Niles; that the city of York has lost a useful and law-
abiding citizen; that the First Presbyterian Church of York
has sustained a great loss in the death of their beloved pas-
tor, and his family has suffered an irreparable loss in the
death of the husband and the father; yet they need not
mourn as those who have no hope, for he has only gone be-
fore to that home which the Savior has prepared for those
that love Him in the mansions of our Father's house, where
there shall be no more separation, no more sickness, and no
more death.
Resolved, That we assure the bereaved family of our heart-
felt sympathy, and that these resolutions shall be engraved
on our minutes, and a copy of the same be sent to the family.
By the Committee,
P. Anstadt,
A. G. Fastnacht,
U. F. SWENGEL,
E. S. Hagen, Secretary.
[6i]
a^emoir of J^enrp ^titoarti l^ilc^ef
TRIBUTE TO THE LATE REV. H. E. NILES, D.D.
Following is the report of the committee appointed by
the Presbytery of Westminster at its late meeting at Middle
Octoraro Church, to prepare a minute upon the death of
Rev. Henry E. Niles, D.D.:
It is with profound sorrow we record the death, on the
14th of May last, of the Rev. Henry E. Niles, D.D., pastor
of the First Presbyterian Church, of York, called to this
church in April, 1865, while it was connected with the New
School body. He became a member of this Presbytery at
the time of the re-union and has responded to its roll-call
for the long period of thirty years. The omission of that
familiar name at this meeting was deeply impressive and the
thought of his absence saddening. A life so long and use-
ful and a pastorate so prolonged and successful is instructive
and inspiring.
He was a man of positive convictions, enterprising and
progressive, genial and kind toward his brethren, and in his
home most hospitable. He was esteemed and honored as
a brother and as a presbyter, his counsel valued and his
services trusted, whether acting upon its committees or as
a representative in the higher courts of the Church. He
was chosen moderator of the Synod of Philadelphia in 1874,
and was an associate member of the Ecumenical Council at
Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1877, and for many years was a
member of the Board of Ministerial Relief and a Trustee of
Lincoln University.
He was deeply interested in the Church at large, was
jealous for the honor of Presbyterianism, and toward the
[62]
St^emoir of l^cnrp €tittjaiti ^iW
questions of doctrine agitating the mind of the Church
maintained a liberal attitude..
As a pastor his heart was closely knit to his people — the
First Church, York, was his love and his pride and its pros-
perity his supreme joy. As love begets love, so he won a
near place to the hearts of his people.
He was a sincere man, a man of prayer and deep spiritual-
ity. He was a conscientious evangelical preacher. He
honored the Word of God and so fed his people with the
bread from Heaven. He had the aggressiveness and the
prudence which made him an effective leader, enabling him
to command the confidence of his people and their co-
operation in his enterprises and led their activities with un-
abated zeal to the last. The large accessions to his church
upon profession of faith and the extensive material improve-
ment completed during the year just past testify to his
sustained vigor and efficiency at the advanced age of sev-
enty-six. There was no dead line in his ministry. He was
an illustration of the fact that youthful spirit can survive the
years and increase the value and attraction of maturity.
We thank God for the life and service of our brother, for
all he was to this Presbytery, and to that church and to that
community in whose life he had enabled this church to be-
come so important a factor.
We, to-day, affectionately and tenderly commend that
church and the afflicted companion, so fully one with him
in his labors and whose wisdom and devotion were, a con-
stant inspiration, to the care of a faithful God, and our
thoughts follow him to a higher sphere and still wider min-
istries, while we feel ourselves as ministers and elders called
to greater fidelity in feeding the flocks of God, thankful that
God has counted us worthy, putting us in the ministry, and
hopeful that when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, that we,
L63]
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together with our brother, shall receive a crown of glory
that fadeth not away.
Geo. Wells Ely, Chairman.
D. R. Workman,
H. W. Hallock.
The above report, after remarks by Rev. J. Y. Mitchell,
D.D., and Rev. Joseph D. Smith, and after being led in
prayer by Rev. W. G, Cairnes, was unanimously approved
by Presbytery.
Attest: W. G. Cairnes,
Stated Clerk.
RESOLUTIONS OF LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, OX-
FORD. DR. I. RANDALL, PRESIDENT.
The Trustees of Lincoln University unite in expressing
their sense of the great loss which has befallen this institu-
tion by the death of our beloved Rev. Henry E. Niles, D.D.
In his office among us he was always considerate, earnest,
hopeful, and he was ever a deviser of liberal things for our
great work.
God has taken him from his labor in this institution and
from all his earthly labors to his heavenly reward. He has
joined the goodly company that in former years planned
and labored with us here and have entered into the joy of
their Lord.
The Board of Trustees present to the widow and family
of our departed brother and to the church and congregation
over which he had so long presided as a faithful and beloved
pastor their heartfelt sympathy in their sore bereavement.
And we prayerfully commend them to the loving sympathy
of our loving Savior and to the comfort of His grace.
We all unite in saying of our absent and beloved brother,
[64]
" Very pleasant hast thou been to us." And we pray that
He who made him such a joy to all his earthly relations may
soothe the sorrow of his friends and kindred by the comfort
of the same faith in which he lived when he moved among
us. J. M. Galbreath,
Secretary.
BOARD OF MINISTERIAL RELIEF OF PRES-
BYTERIAN CHURCH.
WiTHERSPOON Building, Philadelphia.
The special committee of the Board of Relief appointed
to prepare a minute on the death of Dr. Niles presented the
following, which was adopted:
Dr. Niles was born in South Hadley, Mass., August 15,
1823, and died at York, Pa., May 14, 1900, aged seventy-
six years, nine months and twenty-nine days. He was
graduated at Union College, Schenectady, N. Y., in 1844,
and at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1848. He was
ordained by the Presbytery of Columbia, and installed pastor
of the church at Valatie (Kinderhook), N. Y., October 24,
1848. June 26, 1850, he was married to Miss Jeannie E.
Marsh, at Lowell, Mass. His widow and three sons survive
him. Two of his sons are lawyers, and one a minister of
the Gospel. His health failed him in 1855 and he resigned
his pastoral charge for a year's rest and travel. When he
regained his health he supplied the church at Angelica,
N. Y., from 1856 to 1859. He was called in 1859 to the
North Church of St. Louis, Mo., where he supplied as
pastor-elect. In 1861 he received and accepted a call to
Albion, N. Y. In 1865 he was called to the First Church,
of York, Pa., and was installed as pastor there April 16,
1865, and continued as pastor up to the time of his death, a
[65]
period of thirty-five years. In 1875 the honorary title of
D.D. was conferred upon him by Wooster University. We
are not surprised that he remained so long in the pastorate
of one congregation, when we consider the elements which
entered into the make-up of his character. He had the wit-
ness, in a very unusual degree, that he was counted worthy
of the high calling of an Ambassador of Christ. He was a
man of fine intellectual abilities, a conscientious student,
an earnest Christian, a dignified gentleman, a sincere friend,
a warm-hearted and sympathetic pastor, ever faithful in all
his work; a forceful preacher, a wise and prudent counsellor,
possessing rare executive ability, and altogether, a man who
won the confidence and affection of his people, and was a
tower of strength in the midst of his congregation. He was
a trustee in York Collegiate Institute and also in Lincoln
University. He was a good presbyter, and took an active
part in the business of our ecclesiastical assemblies, and in
1874 the Synod of Philadelphia honored him with the mod-
eratorship of that body. He was elected a Director of the
Board of Relief in 1876, and became a charter member, and
served most faithfully as a member of this Board up until
the time of his death. He brought with him to the Board
all the fine qualities which made him successful as a pastor.
He was regular in his attendance, wise in counsel, and always
manifested a heartfelt sympathy for the needy and worthy
annuitants of the Board. His presence was a benediction.
He won our love and we deplore our loss, but God has taken
him to a realm of higher usefulness, near Himself.
B. L. Agnew,
Corresponding Secretary.
66]
a^cmoir of i^mrp €titDarti ^iW
RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE YORK HIS-
TORICAL SOCIETY.
York, Pa., March i6, 1901.
Mrs. Dr. H. E. Niles, York, Pa.:
Dear Madam — I beg to present herewith the resolu-
tions adopted by the York County Historical Society at the
last regular meeting. I trust it may convey to you our
high appreciation of your deceased husband's great worth
and at the same time our condolence with you in his separa-
tion from us. I beg to remain,
Very truly yours,
Reinhardt Dempwolf,
Corresponding Secretary.
Resolved, That this society place on record its apprecia-
tion and sense of obligation to our deceased member, Rev.
H. E. Niles, D.D., for his vigorous and continuous assiduity
in seeking to make it what it was originally designed to be,
a useful institution now and hereafter to the community at
large; and that we express our sense of the fact that, what-
ever may be the future developments with respect to the
society, it will owe much to Dr. Niles and his forceful partici-
pation in its counsels during its inception and throughout
what we hope may prove to be the least encouraging period
of its existence.
RESOLUTIONS OF RESPECT.
The following resolutions on the death of Rev. H. E.
Niles, D.D., the president of the Advisory Board, were
passed unanimously by the Board of Managers of the Crit-
tendon Home:
[67]
0^emoir of i^cntp CtiUjatti ^iW
Whereas, It has pleased our Heavenly Father to promote
from earth to Heaven our friend and co-worker, Rev. Henry
E. Niles, D.D.,
Resolved, That we, the members of the Board of Man-
agers of the Crittendon Home, do humbly bow in submis-
sion to His will.
Resolved, While deeply grateful for the evidence of God's
infinite love in all our association, that in this dispensation
of our all-wise Ruler our home has lost a wise counsellor
and guide, and one who has never failed to manifest his un-
tiring interest in the welfare of those whom we are seeking
to rescue.
Dr. Niles was the first person selected to serve on our
Advisory Board; always in his place and always equal to the
occasion.
Resolved, That these resolutions be entered in our min-
utes, and a copy be sent to the bereaved family.
In deepest sympathy,
The Boaed of Managers,
OzELLA L. Boyd,
Corresponding Secretary.
May 25, 1900.
ACTION OF LITERARY CLUB, " UTILE CUM
DULCI."
Dear Mrs. Niles:
At a special meeting of the members of the " Utile Cum
Dulci," called May 17, 1900, to take action in regard to the
death of Rev. Henry E. Niles, D.D., late a member of that
literary society, the following minute was adopted.
D. E. Small,
Secretary " U. C. D."
[68]
JtU^emoir of i^cnrp €DtDarti ^iW
In the death of Rev. Henry Edward Niles, D.D., another
link has been broken in the golden chain that binds together
the members of the Utile Cum Dulci.
In his life and character assembled a rare combination of
virtues and abilities. He was genial and sympathetic, wide
in experience, mature in judgment, and facile with tongue
and pen; distinguished alike for Hterary attainments and ripe
scholarship. His devout Christian character influenced all
with whom he came in contact. The memory of the pleas-
ant associations and delightful intercourse enjoyed by the
members of the Utile Cum Dulci as they together com-
muned with the master spirits of the past and present, the
great and good of all ages, will be a source of lasting enjoy-
ment, though tinged with sadness in view of the vacant seats
in the circle.
One by one our beloved workers cease from their labors,
and familiar faces fade away from sight. Yet, death is only
the door between the daylight here and the undeclining
light beyond. It is only a little way across, and when sun-
set came to our dear departed friend there was a golden
path all the way over to the Celestial country.
To the sorrowing household we extend our loving sym-
pathy in this sad bereavement. While we mourn the loss
of our venerated and beloved friend, Dr. Niles, we will ever
cherish his memory with affectionate; regard.
(Signed) Maky E. Kell,
Rachael K. McCall,
Maggie M. Small.
David E. Small, Secretary.
[69]
" It singeth low in every heart,
We hear it one and all ;
A song of those who answer not,
However we may call.
They throng the silence of the breast,
We see them as of yore, —
The kind, the true, the brave, the sweet.
Who walk with us no more.
'Tis hard to take the burden up
When they have laid it down ;
They brightened all the joy of life,
They softened every frown.
But oh ! 'tis good to think of them
When we are troubled sore.
Thanks be to God, that such have been.
Although they're here no more.
More home-like seems the vast unknown.
Since they have entered there;
To follow them were not so hard,
Wherever they may fare;
They cannot be where God is not,
On any sea, or shore ;
Whate'er betide. Thy love abides,
Our God! forever more."
[70]
CHAPTER VI
Letters of Condolence
THE hundreds of letters sent after Dr. Niles's death,
containing expressive appreciation of his traits and
influence, would of themselves make a volume.
One unvarjdng testimony to his wonderful symmetry of
character, magnetism, great capacity for affection, genius
for friendship, ripe scholarship and forcefulness, runs
through them all.
A few specimens are given here of the epistolary cordials
God sent by the hands of His servants to minister to faint-
ing lips and bleeding hearts by the open sepulchre.
They were such heavenly manna, such balm of healing,
such elixirs of immortal hope, such soul tonics, that it seems
grossest selfishness not to share some of them with other
sorrowing ones in the Valley of the Shadow of Death,
through which sooner or later all must pass.
From the Rev. Edward Taylor, D.D., of Binghamton,
N. Y.:
" My long-time and beloved Friend:
"And Henry is translated in peace! This morning I
have devoted to a careful perusal of the varied reports of
his life, departure, funeral exercises, letters, etc. What a
tender laying of his temple of the Holy Ghost in God's Acre!
" With the jealousy of love I read and am more than sat-
[71]
Sr^cmoir of i^cnrp <!Etituarti 0x\t^
isfied; could kiss the hem of the robe of the many who so
appreciatingly spoke and acted. He was worthy.
" You and he entered largely into my life in the earlier
years of his ministry. His devotion to you was beautiful.
The memory of things said and done has been perennial.
And how replete with cheery memories must your life be!
" He and I were only two years apart. Now I am sev-
enty-eight years young! Health perfect! Never more
privileged with opportunities for fruitful service for Christ.
In four days last month met nine public appointments.
Knowing it is seven o'clock in the evening with me, I pro-
pose to make the most of myself for our Saviour. He un-
derstands me and enters into the plan, prompt with His
* As ' — to which I aim promptly to fit my ' So.' That
same, only in a completer measure, was Henry E. Niles.
" He was a Man — written with a capital M. He was
white-souled, high-caste, consecrated to the person and
world-purpose of Jesus Christ. Into his being was bedded
a large bit of the Rock of Ages!
" The bells of the Heavenly City must have pealed right
joyfully when he entered its holy gates.
" Grief is medicinable, divinely compounded — is the pre-
scription administered to your stricken heart.
" Such a long and happy union! Such children! Such
memories! Such hopes! Such a Paraclete! Such a little
while!"
From the Rev. Wilmer McNair:
" You are in the years of fruitage, rather than planting.
No new duties, experiences, and associations stand between
you and the one who has gone.
" A clearer vision of our Father's house and face given
through our earthly loves and longings."
[72]
Q^cmoir of l^nirp ^tJluarti j^iW
From the Rev. David M. Skilling, Central Church, Alle-
gheny:
" His was truly a noble life. It was lived for the Master,
and was a blessed walk with God. He bore a heavenly tes-
timony and made the Gospel beautiful and attractive, as
well as powerful in the salvation of souls, because of his
pure life and his scholarly presentation of the truth. The
world is better and purer because he lived in it, and Heaven
has crowned him with a rich reward. His cheerful presence
always refreshed me, and I shall never forget his gracious
courtesy."
From the Rev. M. L. Haines, D.D., Indianapolis:
" I remember how I saw you last, one year ago in Min-
neapolis, in Westminster Church. Your noble husband
seemed then so young, vigorous, cheerful, and genial as of
old in our European trip, that I felt he had long years before
him in this world.
" What precious memories are yours ! What an excep-
tionally happy and prosperous life has been your lot ! What
fruitage have 5^ou already gathered!
" The fragrance of that beautiful life has gone out far
and wide through our churches in America, and how many
are scattered all over the world who have special reason to
thank God for the influences of his life and ministry."
From the Rev. John M. Galbreath, Presbytery of Westmin-
ster:
" He was one of God's noblemen. He was my ideal of a
pastor and minister of the Word. His interest in the King-
dom was always an inspiration to us all. We shall sorely
miss him in our councils. He has entered into the higher
service above.
[73]
!3t^cmoir of J^enirp €titoarti 0iW
" The word that comes continually to me since I heard of
his ascension is: * If any man serve Me, him will My
Father honor.' The time for his promotion had come. He
continued faithful to the end. He is now on his throne."
From the Rev. George Wells Ely, of Columbia, Pa.:
" This is the one time in your life when while you suffer he
rejoices. He has only stepped into another sphere, hidden
from your view, beyond resch of voice or touch, but serving
the same Master we are. Such a husband can never in one
sense be taken from you. * * * They continue to in-
fluence our lives and conduct to the last breath. I wonder
to what extent they carry our influence with them — if it
affects their thoughts and condition in Heaven.
" He was summoned from his post where the messenger
found him with his harness on. It always cheered me to
just think of him in his successful prolonged ministry. His
loss will be felt in a wide sphere; how wide will never be
known here."
From Rev. Dr. Herrick Johnson (McCormick Theological
Seminary), Chicago:
" I hasten to tell you of our sympathy both in your sor-
row and your joy, your trial and your triumph. Surely the
sorrow is swept through and through with joy, and the trial
is lost in the triumph.
" It will be hard for you to walk on alone, but with such
memories and such hopes the cross will be borne with a
chastened cheerfulness, and some day — not far off — one
more silver cord will be broken; and you will be together,
will be forever with the Lord.
" Your husband and I touched each other in the sixties.
He was one of the first I knew and one of the first I loved
[74]
in the early ministerial days. We have not met so much
of late, but I have always thought of him as one of the life-
long friendships, and his death comes to me with peculiar
tenderness.
" We pray God's blessing of peace on your home and
heart and know that this shadow, however dark, will only
usher you into a more beautiful day with God."
From Rev. Dr. William S. Freas, Pastor Grace English
Evangelical Lutheran Church, Baltimore:
" It is wonderful how Dr. Niles has fastened himself in
the warm afifection of his friends. I find myself as much
saddened by his unexpected death as if I had received the
news of the loss of a dear relative.
" Through the fifteen years we were co-pastors in York,
his friendship has been an honor, his sympathy and encour-
agement a stimulus to noble and honorable service.
" He always seemed one of us. Just as young, just as
keenly alive to present issues, and never to the last showing
any signs that intellectually or physically he felt the burden
of years.
" It will be a sweet thought when my day of parting with
time shall tome that this genial friend and lover of his kind
will be among the w^elcoming host that wait our coming
home.
" I deeply sympathize with you in the bitterness of your
cup and the pain of your loss. But I know you will show
all about you how one who has the Everlasting Arms under-
neath can bear sorrow."
From Rev. Dr. George Smythe, East Orange:
"Sorely Bereaved One:
" Knowing how truly you were one in all that little word
[75 J
implies, I can understand how unusually keen and desolat-
ing must be your sorrow. My whole heart goes out to you
in prayerful sympathy, and to the dear boys who are now
deprived of the best of fathers.
" The pleasant and profitable memories the departed has
left, the comfort in the fact that unerring wisdom and infinite
love took him at the right time, and that there is soon to
be a meeting time where there will be no more separations;
these facts have helped me through desolating bereave-
ments. May they console you."
From an old college friend and co-presbyter in St. Louis,
Rev. Dr. J. Germain Porter, Watertown, N. Y.:
" What precious memories throng and thrill me at Henry
Niles's name! Union College! Old Princeton! Angelica!
St. Louis! Albion! York! Though younger, Henry is
first translated."
From Rev. Dr. George S. Chambers, Harrisburg, Pa.:
" I had learned to have a great admiration for Dr. Niles,
as a pastor, a scholar, a public-spirited citizen, a Christian
gentleman, and a personal friend.
" He has done a grand work for the Master whom he
loved and served with an enthusiastic devotion.
" You have the memories of a beautiful life, the assurance
of the perfect life into which he has entered, as well as the
presence of the dear Redeemer to whom your beloved hus-
band was loyal in every fibre of his being. His hosts of
friends will miss him; his church will miss him; the Presby-
terian Church will miss him.
" Sympathy for you takes the form of fervent prayer for
the abiding presence of Him whom Dr. Niles loved to
preach, and with whom he will be forever."
[76]
Sl^cmoir of i^mrp ^tituarti ^ilt^
From the Rev. Dr. B. L. Agnew, of Philadelphia:
" I dearly loved Dr. Niles. To me he was so very lov-
able. His soul was so pure, sincere, and noble. We shall
miss him greatly in the Board of Relief! O ! what a vacancy
his removal has caused."
From Rev. Dr. T. H. Robinson, Allegheny Theological
Seminary:-
" When I read of your honored husband's death I felt
like stealing away to some secret place and giving way to
my grief.
" O ! I would like to tell you the many dear things my
heart whispers of Dr. Niles. Through all the years of our
acquaintance, beginning in 1865, I have found him so
courteous, genial and true, so ready in all friendly and
brotherly attentions, so sympathetic mentally and spiritually,
that I tied myself to him."
From Rev. Dr. S. W. Dana, West Philadelphia:
" I can scarcely believe the telegraph of the death of your
noble, beloved husband. Only a few days ago I was read-
ing an historical sermon of his, and was reminded anew of
his long and fruitful ministry.
" My friendship with him extends over many years. We
met so often at Lincoln University, and it was always a joy
to see him. His deep, strong life has been such a blessing
to others."
From Rev. Dr. W. R. Bingham, Oxford, Pa.:
" I was looking forward to a pleasant meeting with your
dear husband in the near future, when I was shocked by the
unexpected announcement of his departure from earth,
" We have had many pleasant meetings together on earth,
[77]
0^emoit of J^enrp Clitoarti j^ik^
but these are past. The next one, I trust, will be before the
throne above. I can say of him as David of Jonathan, ' Very
pleasant hast thou been unto me.'
" I am bereaved by this translation, and am better pre-
pared by it to sympathize with your sons who weep with you.
But why should we weep for one to whom Jesus has said,
* Come up higher, blessed of my Father; inherit the king-
dom prepared for you.'
" His life-work was well done. The fruit gathered and
to be gathered is precious and plentiful. Many sick beds
have been made bright and cheerful. Many sorrowing
hearts taught to rejoice. Many strong Christians edified
and enlarged. Many wayward lives have been made Christ-
like, aided and directed by his ministry. His home and the
homes of his children were made pleasant by his presence.
" Though you are lonely, you are not alone. Say to your
sons their father's friend is afflicted in their affliction."
From Rev. Dr. F. J. Sauber, Emporia, Kan.:
" My last letter from Dr. Niles was full of hope and cheer,
a beautiful reflection of his bright, happy spirit. He was
telling me about his beloved First Church of York, and how
in two days after he had mentioned to them his desire for
an assistant they had with loving alacrity raised the salary
and empowered him to select one. He wrote of his plans.
"Ah! how little we know of the honor and glory the
Father has so near for His own.
" How we continue to use the language of Askalon and
Philistia even after our Joshua has led us into the Land of
Promise. The word came, ' Dr. Niles is dead! ' How un-
like God's language. Such words may be true in Ekron,
but they should not be used by those dwelling in Jerusalem.
Your dear husband could not die. Jesus said, * Whosoever
[78]
Q^cmoxt of l^cntp Ctibjarb l^ilc^
believeth in Me shall never die.' I read in the paper they
held a funeral! Surely not for such as he.
" I am sure you joined with the angels in a glorious coro-
nation ceremony. They had finished his crown above and
he was called from you and all who loved him so to wear
his crown. But though we rejoice in his immortal glory,
how we miss his manly presence, the wise and loving coun-
sel, and the strong, cheery words he gave so generously.
" You know the Father so well I am sure you are hiding
in Him all the time, and so are at rest and peace. I know
you will want to hear poems of victory and songs of rejoic-
ing instead of dirges. For twenty-two years he was my
loving counsellor, my wise and sympathetic friend.
" At Atlantic City last summer he was the same cordial,
courteous brother he ever was in York. We shall not soon
see his like. How fortunate I was to have been blessed
these years with his friendship."
From Rev. Dr. J. B. Rendall, Lincoln University :
" My thoughts are turned to a * manse ' in York. It has
been one of the ideal homes it has been my privilege to visit.
An inspiration and a blessing to all who have feJt the influ-
ence streaming from it. Surely it has made many other
homes happier, brighter, better, just to have seen how two
loving hearts can, by sharing, multiply the joy and mitigate
the sorrows of life.
" I know it is a picture painted not in oil or on canvas
and hung on the walls of other homes, but in more endur-
ing and brighter colors on the walls of memory in many a
human heart.
" We thank God that He spared your true, tender, noble
husband so long; that He had owned him so richly and roy-
ally, and that He filled his life with such large measures of
[79]
St^emoir of J^citrp CtituartJ ^ilt^
usefulness and happiness. Not a place that he did not
adorn. How courtly and gracious at home,. How princely
in the pulpit. How wise and welcome his counsels in all
positions of trust, and in none more than in this ' school of
the prophets.'
" A life full of nobility and crowned with honor has passed
into spheres of greater service. By and by, you, and we all
who loved him, will again meet and greet him; and these
are consolations in the pain of parting. Heartfelt sympathy
with the stricken sons in the loss of such a father."
From Rev. Dr. Maltbie D. Babcock, New York:
" Dear Mrs. Niles:
" I do not know how you and Dr. Niles had wished it
about who should go first, but we know now how God
thought best. It must be better that you should live here
without him than the other way. How he loved you, does,
and will forever!
" Some time the enclosed may be a little comfort.
" Why be afraid of Death ? As though your life were breath !
Death but anoints your eyes with clay. O ! glad surprise !
Why should you be forlorn ? Death only husks the corn.
Why should you fear to meet the Thresher of the wheat ?
Is sleep a thing to dread ? Yet sleeping you are dead
'Till you awake and rise, here, or beyond the skies.
Why should it be a wrench to leave your wooden bench ?
Why not with happy shout run home when school is out ?
The dear ones left behind! O foolish one and blind,
A day, and you will meet, a night, and you will greet !
[80]
This is the death of Death, to breathe away a breath
And know the end of strife, and taste the deathless life,
And joy without a fear, and smile without a tear,
And work, nor care to rest, and find the last the best."
" Mrs. Babcock joins me in loving thoughts and happy
hopes.
" Ever your friend,
" Maltbie D. Babcock."
[Died in Naples, May i8, 1901.]
One year from the day this busy minister turned from his
rush of duties and engagements to draw a cup of cold water
to hold to widowed lips, his own idolized wife passed under
the eclipse of widowhood and needed the same ministering.
From T. L. Cuyler, D.D., Brooklyn:
" I have been reading of the. last honors paid to your be-
loved husband and my beloved brother, Dr. Niles.
" He is one of the few survivors whom I knew in the
student days at Princeton Seminary. Every ye^r increased
my admiration and affection for him.
" The strongest proof of his rare power as a preacher and
a pastor and of his noble qualities as a Christian was that he
held his place in the hearts of his loving flock and of all the
people of York for more than a whole generation. No one
thought of York without thinking of Henry E. Niles.
" He was the ideal of a faithful, devoted minister of Jesus
Christ, true to his Master's Word and his Master's work.
What a blessed memory for you and his sons. What a rich
inheritance is his honored name.
" I can mingle my congratulations with condolence.
Thank God for him! Thank Him for sparing your precious
[81]
Sl^ettioii: of i^enrp €t»Ujarti l^ile^
husband so long and crowning his glorious work with such
manifold blessings.
" The hour of reunion is not far off. You can sweetly
say,
" Each minute is a swift degree
And every hour a step towards thee."
" Accept these few honest words of tribute from the heart
of his and your brother in Christ Jesus."
From Rev. Dr. James A. Worden, Philadelphia: —
" My dear friend in sorrow:
" May the Father of all consolation be with you now.
There has gone from your heart and from your home one
of the noblest ministers of Christ that ever breathed. Earth
is poorer and Heaven is richer, and never again will this
earth be to you what it was while he breathed this air.
" The present Christ, the indwelling Comforter, and the
exceeding great and precious promises of His Word is the
only consolation I can bring. How I loved, honored, and
revered your departed one.
" May God in His infinite mercy take care of that church
which is your beloved husband's best and enduring monu-
ment."
From Charles P. Arnold, Angelica, N. Y.:
" When I saw in the Tribune that my early pastor had
gone home, such happy memories flooded my soul! Ah,
those golden days of life! Yes! and the golden age of our
church. I saw again our young minister in that old church
where Dr. Marcus Whitman and Miss Narcissa Purtus were
married on the eve of their starting on the mission that has
made their names famous and honored through all the
world.
[82]
a^emoir of J^cnrp €tiixjarti l^ilc^
" I saw your husband again planning for and building the
new church. I saw him in all his youthful promise at the
dedication in the afternoon, the sunbeams stealing through
the west windows, resting on the prisms of those beautiful
chandeliers and hurrying on to flit and dance on those rich
damask curtains of the pulpit. How admirable the ar-
rangement! Strangers always expressed their delight at
the artistic effect — and it was his! I wonder if anyone else
ever saw or dreamed of a design so beautiful and fitting for
a village church?
" Do you remember those morning gatherings for prayer
in the cosey lecture-room? We boys and the girls began
our day there while on our way to school. Boys and
girls do not go to prayer-meetings at everyone's beck, espe-
cially so early in the morning. They crowded the room for
him.
" When he was here all the seats in the church were filled
with attentive worshippers. The Allegheny hills and beau-
tiful Angelica vale remain, and the church that you and he
built, and a few of the people. His influence., too, and his
work remain in lives here, and in the lives of others moving
in wider spheres.
" What a wonderful thing that the result of a good,
strong Christian life is so enduring. What a blessed thing
that its memory is so cheering and inspiring."
From the Rev. Samuel T. Lowrie, D.D., Philadelphia:
" I beg the privilege of expressing to you and your family
my sorrow at the death of your beloved and honored hus-
band. I may speak also particularly for his fellow-members
of the Board of Relief.
" We feel that we have sustained a severe loss in what
concerns the administration of that sacred trust, for Dr.
[83]
Niles has been very wise in counsel and very helpful by rea-
son of the high esteem in which he was held by the Church
at large.
" But we most keenly feel the grief of the thought ' that
we shall see his face no more.' You will not fail to bless
God for so much love and happiness that have been yours so
long, but that God has now taken away."
From the Rev. Dr. George B. Stewart, Auburn Theological
Seminary:
" As I have been away I have just heard of your sore
bereavement and the great loss the Church has sustained
in the calling home of dear Dr. Niles. I hasten to send you
my heartfelt sympathy in this hour of darkness. It is truly
a great affliction and one which falls heaviest on you,
though the whole Church feels the loss.
" A good man has gone home and the earth is poorer. I
love.d him and I sorrow with you."
From the Rev. Dr. James W. Rogan, Flemington, N. J.:
'* I esteem it an honor and a privilege to have known
your husband and to have had the right to call him friend.
" As I write the memory comes to me of our pleasant in-
tercourse at Saratoga, our enjoyment together of the
World's Fair in Chicago, visits in Baltimore, and exchanges,
games of croquet, trip down the Hudson, and other scenes
enjoyed together.
" I had hoped he would be one of our next party to
Europe, as I knew he was planning the trip. Now he has
gone forever to that other shore.
" I see from the paper he was more than thirty years my
senior, but I would never have dreamed it. To all intejits
and purposes I ever found him my own age, in thoughts and
[84]
^txnmt of IJcnrp €titoarti ^i\t^
feelings. Dr. Henry E. Niles was a man who could never
grow old, because he kept young in heart and young in the
keenness and freshness of his sympathies for those around
him and for what was transpiring in God's world,
" As I write these things I am aware of the fact that they
will be told over to you again and again, for your husband
was a man who must have had a host of friends. He was
ever so genial, so cordial, so kind-hearted, so courteous, so
thoughtful for others, that he inevitably attracted men to
him.
" He was ever ready to say a hearty, kind word of another
brother's sermon and of the brother himself. I do not re-
member ever hearing him speak ill of anyone, though he
was a man of such strong, decided convictions, and not afraid
to speak them out. But his broad Christ-like spirit ever
pervaded all he did.
" I am glad and grateiul that our pathways crossed in life,
and that it was my privilege to know him so intimately. I
dare not think how dark and empty this world is to you now.
Was ever so devoted and happy a husband?
" The star of Dr. Niles's life has been removed from these
lower skies; but he has left his light behind him and — best
of all — the star is not blotted out. It has only seemed to
sink, but to rise and shine in other spheres.
* Were a star quenched on high,
For ages would its light,
Still travelling downward from the sky,
Shine on our mortal sight.
So when a great man dies,
For years beyond our ken.
The light he leaves behind him lies
Upon the paths of men.' "
[85]
From the Rev. T. B. Nichols, Germantown, Pa.:
" Dr. Niles was so much to me in the pulpit and in private
intercourse, during the two years I was in the Y. C. I., that
I cannot refrain from bearing witness to my own sense of
loss.
" It will be said of him as of Barnabas, ' He was a good
man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith.' His influence
will abide."
I
\86]
CHAPTER VII
Sermons
THE three sermons here printed have been selected
out of the 1,200 which he left behind, as typical of
his style, thought, theology, and catholicity.
The sermon on " Meditation " was preached in one form
and another twenty-five times, and greatly changed with
each repetition.
The last sermon given was one of the last he wrote.
How full of special significance his words of warning and
exhortation, as, reading them now, we realize that his work
was well-nigh ended, his reward to be entered into with the
New Year!
[87]
Eph. iv. 1 6 : *' From whom the whole body fitly joined
together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth^
according to the effectual working in the measure of every
part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself
in love"
The Apostle is speaking in this chapter of the constitu-
tion and order of the Christian Church and of the mutual
relations and duties of those who are connected with it.
However imperfectly the science of anatomy may have been
understood in his time, certain it is that under guidance
of inspiration he has here drawn from it one of the most
beautiful and instructive figures by which to illustrate
spiritual truth. In this animal body with which we are en-
dowed, what a number of distinct parts are " joined together
and compacted " for securing the greatest harmony and
efficiency. Two hundred and sixty-three bones in the hu-
man frame, i8o joints, several hundreds of muscles; so
numerous the blood-vessels that you cannot perforate the
skin anywhere without piercing one, so minute the ramifica-
tions of the nerves that wherever the point of a needle pene-
trates it touches one, and so multiplied the absorbents that
millions of them are employed in taking up the chyme of the
food and conveying it to the veins. How different in struct-
ure and function are the various organs, the hands and the
feet, the stomach and the lungs, the heart and the liver, the
eye and the ear, the nose and the mouth! How unlike are
the muscles and the arteries, the nerves and the veins, the
bile and the chyle! Yet no part is useless, none is idle, none
to be overlooked. Connected with the head, where, as if
enthroned in eminent security, the brain exercises regal
functions and sends out vitalizing influence, these solids and
liquids complete an organism which has been for ages the
[88]
wonder of science and often has awed arrested skepticism
into reverence!
" The undevout astronomer," says a familiar adage, " is
mad." But with equal propriety may it be said, " No one
can study the delicate, complicated, and unequalled mechan-
ism of the human frame without recognition of an Infinite
Creator, unless such an undevout anatomist be mad! " " I
will praise Thee," exclaims the Psalmist, " for I am fearfully
and wonderfully made! Marvellous are Thy works, and
that my soul knoweth right well ! " And now, the Apostle's
illustration is, that as the human body is made up of various
parts, compactly joined together, and is nourished and in-
creased by the effectual working of every part, according to
its measure or power, so in the Church of Christ there are
different officers and members, with every variety of gifts
and influence, yet closely connected with one another, and
all united to Christ, their common head!
United to Him, " in whom dwelleth all the fulness of the
Godhead bodily," in whom are hid all the treasures of wis-
dom and knowledge, by whom were all things created that
are in Heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions, principalities or pow-
ers, all things were created by Him and for Him. And He
is before all things, and by Him all things consist. And He
is the Head of the body, the Church Head of that mystical
organism which is made up of saints on earth and in Heaven ;
yea, and of all who shall hereafter live and believe on His
name! The true Church does not consist of any one order
or denomination of Christian people, but of those in every
age and clime who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, ac-
cording to His word. And what a mighty multitude they
will form, from Abel, the first martyr, down to the last pol-
ished jewel that shall be set to sparkle in the Redeemer's
[89]
Sr^cmoir of J^enrp Ctitoarti ^i\t^
crown! " Who can count the dust of Jacob or the number
of the fourth part of Israel! " Who can estimate that re-
deemed company which shall be gathered out of all nations,
countless as the atoms that float in a summer's sky, as the
drops that fall in a summer's shower, as the vapors that rise
on a sun-illumined earth, as the stars that sparkle in the
firmament of heaven!
From Him, their Infinite Head, they shall derive life and
nourishment, strength and vigor, wisdcm and righteous-
ness, sanctification and redemption. United by faith to
Him, they shall partake of His fulness and be sharers of His
glory. United closely to each other, they shall contribute
" according to the effectual working in the measure of every
part " to each other's growth and welfare.
At present we see only dim foreshadowings of such perfec-
tion; for the body is yet incomplete. Part of the members
are in Heaven, part in this world, and part yet to be born.
And even of those now on earth some have not yet been
" quickened " from spiritual death. Some are just waking
into life, some have had a little experience, and some are
further advanced, but none are perfect ! None yet wear their
singing-robes, nor wave the palms of victory, nor are
crowned with immortal glory. None appreciate, as they
will hereafter do, the dignity of their privilege, nor their obli-
gations for redeeming mercy, nor what manner of persons
they ought to be in all holy conversation and godliness! "
Nevertheless, even in this imperfect condition of the
Church, may we not discern clear prophecies of what her
final glory is yet to be? May we not see good reason why
no member should be regarded as useless or should remain
idle and unemployed? We see ministers variously gifted,
church officers variously endowed, and private members with
their different qualifications and spheres of influence. Some
[90]
are logical in argument and others eloquent in speech. Some
mighty in interpretation of Scripture and others in the analy-
sis of Christian experience. Some are eminent in prayer and
others in active labors. Some are burning with zeal for pub-
lic usefulness, and others, like the quiet sunbeams or silent
dew, gently diffuse their blessed influence in more retired
circles. Some are educated and ready to teach. Others
ignorant and glad to be taught. Some affluent and willing
to give, others needy and thankful to receive. Some bold
and fitted to lead, others timid and anxious to be led. Some
bounding with hope and others drooping with fear. Some
fitted for one station and others for another. But who shall
say that they all are not needed, each in his appropriate
place, doing his appropriate work, and helping on the com-
mon cause? And, if each professing Christian were actually
and experimentally one, animated with regenerate disposi-
tions, and striving for the sake of Jesus to do his whole work;
if, in his appointed place, he were so manifestly living in
union with Christ, the Head, that all could take knowledge
of him, then how evident Avould be the importance of each
one!
Then would it appear, that though this spiritual body is
" not one member but many," yet that each member has his
own office, and is essential to the perfection of the whole!
That " the eye cannot say to the ear, I have no need of thee
nor the hand to the foot, I have no need of you." Nay,
further, that those members of the body which seem to be
more feeble; those Christians who are most retiring and con-
cealed from public gaze; the humble, the meek, and the pray-
erful, those who are much confined by sickness and infirmi-
ties, but who bear the interests of Zion on their hearts, and
abound in intercession for her advancement, like the lungs
and heart and brain of the phvsical body, are even more
[91]
necessary than the comely parts which are prominent and
visible !
Were such the spiritual condition of Christians, how soon
would the importance of each one be recognized! What
anxiety would be felt if his pew was empty for a single Sab-
bath!
How would his absence from the prayer-meeting be
mourned, from the Sabbath-school, and from the scene of
associated duty! How would his removal be deplored, his
death lamented, his memory cherished, and his name be held
in sacred remembrance! But now, alas! in each local
church and throughout the entire visible body, how imper-
fectly is the vital power yet exhibited! Though there be
some life and warmth apparent, how many paralytic arms,
and halting feet, and deafened ears, and bleared eyeballs are
also visible. How much torpidity and imperfect action!
What poor digestion of the truth! What partial assimila-
tion! How little growth of bone and muscle, and all that
constitutes moral stability, promptness, and efficiency! Ah,
these weak, dyspeptic organs! These rheumatic, shrunken,
powerless limbs. With what heavy burden do they weigh
down and impede the action of others that may be full of
life! Oh! that the power of the Holy Spirit might be felt
upon them! That He who could breathe upon the dry
bones seen by Ezekiel, and cause those grim and ghastly
skeletons to stand forth a marshalled army of living men,
might with his heavenly breath impart vitality and power to
every branch and every member of the visible Church ! O
that throughout the Church the heavenly influence might be
felt, quickening that which is dead, warming that which is
cold, strengthening that which is feeble, stimulating that
which is torpid, uniting all in the bonds of Christian sym-
pathy, and guiding all to labors of Christian love. Then,
[92]
a^cmoir of i^cnrp CDtoarti l^iic^
whatever might be done with reference to organic union
between different branches and different denominations;
results for which so many are praying and hoping; what is
far better, spiritual union, would certainly be more fully
realized. Then would the whole body of Christ, the great
visible Church, appear as one, though with many parts!
Then would be no more jealousies, nor brooding suspicions,
nor denominational prejudices, nor sectarian exclusiveness,
but with fraternal harmony would each division of the
Church and each individual be contributing to the moral
force and beauty of the whole.
Then in every station of life would be found a larger num-
ber of stalwart wrestlers at the throne of grace, like Daniel,
and Bradford, and Payson, who should contribute immeas-
urably by their prayers for the advancement of the Redeem-
er's cause. Others would be especially noted for their godly
example and affectionate devotion, like John the Beloved,
and Melanchthon and McCheyne, and others for their pa-
tient continuance in welldoing, like Stephen and the Wesleys
and Judson and Scudder. Others again would contribute
especially by the force of their logic and the wealth of their
instruction, like Paul and Butler and Edwards. Others by
a scholarly display of the Christian " evidences," like Paley
and Hopkins and Wayland. Others by their fearless de-
nunciation of error, like Nathan the Prophet and John Knox
and Martin Luther. Others by the eloquence of their
preaching, like Whitefield and Guthrie and Spurgeon.
Others, like Milton and Heber and Watts, by their poetic
inspirations, exponents of the noblest thought and most
fervent piety of the Church.
And again others would contribute by their official pre-
rogative to the establishment of Christian institutions.
Others by the cheerful consecration of their property to
[93]
Christ in open-handed benevolence. Others by dedicating
themselves to the work of missions. And, better still, be-
cause more numerous and everywhere at work — such as by
God's grace may be raised up in every city and town and
hamlet and home — the multitude of private Christians who
shall occupy well their several stations, and in the scenes of
ordinary life make manifest the spirit of Jesus. Men who
shall carry their religion with them into the circles of daily
business, into politics and social life wherever they are called
to move. Women, too, young and old, rich and poor, who
shall show forth the praises of their Lord. Women like
Mary Mother, Salome, Susannah Wesley, Mrs. Booth, Fran-
ces Willard, and hosts of mothers and sisters and daughters
all around us who are making manifest how pure, gentle,
self-effacing, and benignant Christian women can be.
Thus in the golden age of the Church will all the mem-
bers be at work, some in one way, and some in another, ac-
cording to their several circumstances and abilities, but each
contributing, as is most fitting, to the life and development
and growing strength of the mystical body of which Christ
is the living head.
And now the text declares what shall be the result of
such co-operative and consecrated effort: " Increase of the
body unto the edifying of itself in love."
Just as the animal structure grows when there is health-
ful union of all parts with the head and reciprocal communi-
cation with the different parts, so it is in the spiritual body!
United by faith to Christ, the source of all wisdom and grace,
believers must also be united to each other in the bonds of
Christian affection, sympathizing with, comforting and
strengthening one another, and so growing up together
towards the " measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."
[94]
Jlti^cmoir of l^cnrp €titoarli i^ilc^
In nature there is such a law of interdependence and growth.
And the God of Nature is Head of the Church. He has ap-
pointed her component parts, with their various relations
and offices. And He has determined that His Church shall
grow, her cords be lengthened, her stakes strengthened, and
all her interests advanced. Truth shall conquer error, light
shall dispel darkness, order shall prevail over confusion, and
love shall lay her olive branch upon the grave of buried hate!
As in His earthly ministry Christ laid all nature under
tribute to His purpose, made the lilies which breathe their
fragrance in the summer air, the harvest field with its golden
sheaves, the birds providing for their young, the forests with
their pillared arches and cathedral anthems, the mountains
with their solemn shadows and hoary cliffs, and the ocean
with its chimes of resounding billows, all sources of illustra-
tion for spiritual truth; so, in the accomplishment of His
future purposes with reference to the Church, which is His
body, will He make all things subservient to His ends, until
the stars in their courses, the winds in their currents, the
ocean with its tides; until science with its discoveries, and in-
vention with its novelties, and art with its wondrous achieve-
ments; until all the powers of nature, all the energies of the
human mind, and all the gushing affections of the human
heart, shall be united to promote the symmetry and beauty
and power of the Redeemed Church.
Whether this glorious consummation be destined to ap-
proach the world by the same gradual and apparently tardy
steps as in days that are past, or whether the Great Head
of the Church is preparing to bring about more rapidly the
final result, the practical lessons are very plain.
1st. That no member of the Church should regard him-
self, or be regarded by others, as of little account. Old or
[95]
St^mioir of I^enrp €titoarb ^ilc^
young, male or female, rich or poor, learned or illiterate,
every true Christian holds an important place in Christ's
plans, and has an important work to do in His service.
Everyone, therefore, should be in his or her place, like
the heart, the lungs, the eye or the hand, the minutest nerve
or the smallest blood-vessel, else there must be derangement
and imperfect service. The humblest member has no more
right to be unemployed than the most conspicuous and
prominent. If he withhold his sympathies, his prayers, his
contributions, his personal influence, and his active efforts —
anything which he is appointed and fitted to give, then does
he by so much destroy the healthful action of this spiritual
body and introduce paralysis and inefficiency!
Secondly. Union in the Church is absolutely necessary
for her prosperity; union in love. Like the human system,
we have seen that the body of Christ is made up of various
materials, differing greatly from each other, but love is the
bond of perfectness by which all the parts may be closely
conjoined and made to co-operate in beautiful harmony.
Where envy and strife are there are confusion and every evil
work, but where Christian charity prevails there peace and
prosperity are ensured.
Like oil upon machinery, so is love between the different
members of Christ's body. To the feet of love soft and
flowery is the path which leads to a brother's house where
Christian communion may be enjoyed or Christian kindness
bestowed. To the hand of love soft is the palm of one who
has touched even the hem of Jesus's garment! To the eye
of love beautiful is the countenance of one who bears the
likeness of Jesus! To the ear of love musical are the tones
of one who is ready to speak of Jesus, and to the scent of
love refreshing is the smell of one who has been with Jesus
to the Mountain of Myrrh and to the Hill of Frankincense!
[96]
Then let us strive for greater nearness to Jesus, and to be
more possessed with the spirit of Jesus. So shall we, as
parts of His mystical body, be more consciously united to
all that are His.
Our hopes, our fears, our joys, our aims, would be more
fully harmonized and our utmost energies be ready to co-
operate in every good work. So while gaining increasing
evidence of personal salvation we would each be con-
tributing to give to the world a deeper impression of the
truth and loveliness of Christianity.
The Church would so convince all that the religion of
love is an emanation from the skies, an exotic on these cold,
bleak shores of time, its origin celestial, its power irresistible,
its final triumph universal.
Is not this the acme of human privilege; to grow up into
Him in all things who is the Head even Christ, from whom
the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that
which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual work-
ing in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body
unto the edifying of itself in love?
[97]
sr^cmoir of i^mrp <!Btitdarti l^ilc^
Psalm civ.j^: "My meditation of Him shall he sweet.
I will be glad in the Lord."
The age in which we live is one of activity rather than of
thoughtfulness. It is easier to act than to think, much
easier to be taken up with the whirl and excitement of the
nineteenth century occupations than in quietness and care-
fulness to fix the mind on the truth of philosophy and re-
ligion.
But it is thought that moves the world, and men of
thought are they on whom the world's progress really de-
pends. Horace Greeley once said, " For forty years I have
been trying to find time to go a-fishing, but I have not found
;it yet! " In that he represented the spirit of our age. He
was the type of a large class of busy workers, hurried along
under constant pressure, with no opportunities for needful
recreation!
As a people, Americans are in altogether too much haste.
Thirty, forty, fifty miles an hour is not favorable for long
inspirations and good digestion. The patriarchs dwelled in
tents and travelled on foot, or with mules and camels, but
we wonder how they could have endured to make only six
miles an hour!
With them the chief end of life was not to go ahead! In
our day it is different, when so much energy seems spent in
" catching trains," in hurrying through whatever is present
and possible, for the sake of reaching some prizes in the
future, which at best are contingent and doubtful! On the
score of physical health this must be a pernicious habit. Ob-
servant physicians tell us that such railway style of living
causes hurtful strain upon all the faculties, especially accel-
erated action of the heart, which often leads to fatal results.
[98I
You cannot run an engine fifty miles an hour without wear-
ing it out in half the time for which it might otherwise be
serviceable. Neither can the complicated human machine
be overworked without similar results.
This is true of our mental and spiritual being, quite as
much as of the physical. In order to sound and healthy
action an essential requisite is meditation. By this is meant
faithful direction of the mind to worthy subjects, pondering
their nature, tracing their relations, and yielding to their
appropriate influence.
Meditation is a kind of spiritual rumination by which
nourishment is extracted from ideas, sweetness and soul
vigor from the very aliment which supplies them. Reading
and hearing are for the higher nature what eating is to the
body. Meditation is the digesting process which extracts
essential elements and incorporates them into the spiritual
being. Judging by the number of books which are read
and of newspapers circulated, and of sermons and lectures
delivered, the present generation might be supposed full of
sages. Judged by the stricter standards, the estimate might
be very different. Better if there were less reading and hear-
ing, but more thinking, more deliberate and thorough ex-
amination of even a little truth, than trifling with or half un-
derstanding so much! Men of masterful power have usually
been men of patient thought. From the lonely heights of
meditation, they have gained wider vision of existence, and
from thence have come down to educate the ideas of their
fellows, to touch the springs of popular action, and to
change the destinies of the world! Such men as Moses
among the legislators, David among the kings, Daniel
among statesmen, Paul among preachers, Luther among
reformers, whose souls were lifted above the range of ma-
terial interests, sanctified by prayer and ennobled by com-
[99]
Sl^emoir of i^cntp €titoarti Ij^ile^
munion with Heaven. Their meditation of Him was sweet,
they were glad in the Lord.
How is it with you, my hearer? Have you found this
habit delightful and soul-profitable? Or are you so little
accustomed to the exercise that it seems irksome, bewilder-
ing, and unsatisfactory when you try to engage in it? It
is difficult and unsatisfying just in proportion to the infre-
quency of its performance. King David " loved the law of
God " all the more because in that law he did " meditate
day and night." But Philip Henry, speaking of the natural
aversion to patient thought, said, " It is easier to go six
miles to hear a sermon than to spend one-quarter of an hour
in thinking it over when we have reached home! "
Many, moreover, there is reason to believe, shrink from
the habit not only as difficult, but also as gloomy and de-
pressing. They associate it with the dark experiences of
human life, rather than with those which are bathed with
sunshine and vocal with the music of joy. They think of
it as appropriate to the dejected, not the happy; for funerals,
not for festivals, for burials rather than bridals. But the
Psalmist evidently did not think so, for he speaks of medi-
tation as " sweet " to his spirit, as an exercise that made
him " glad in the Lord." He did not find it " a gloomy
thing " to turn aside from the cares of kingcraft and the
distractions of worldly engagement, to hold communion
with the sovereign of the universe, the centre of excellence,
the fountain of purest joy!
Neither did our Savior show that the spirit of religion is
inconsistent with the purest of earthly pleasures. At the
marriage in Cana of Galilee He mingled with the happy
before He went to weep with the sorrowing.
There is reason to believe that the Savior's presence
greatly enhanced the gladness of that festive scene. And
flr^mioir of i$mtp €tiljjarti ^iW
so it ought always to be. It ought to be esteemed the high-
est privilege to have communion with that Divine Friend
who is revealed in so many aspects of goodness and beauty,
and in the celebration of whose glories the highest intelli-
gences in the universe rejoice. Of Him ought every Chris-
tian to say, " My meditation shall be sweet."
1st. My meditation of Him as made known in His works.
Throughout the kingdom of nature are evidences of divine
wisdom, power, and skill sufficient to command the atten-
tion, and stimulate the researches, and excite the wonder-
ing praises of every intelligent beholder. " The heavens
declare God's glory, and the firmament showeth His handi-
work." " The earth is full of His riches; so also is the great
wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both
small and great beasts! " This world is one vast panorama
of beauty, grandeur, and mystery.
" These are Thy glorious works, Parent of Good !
Almighty! Thine this universal frame,
Thus wondrous fair ! Thyself how wondrous then ! "
It is a blessed privilege thus to recognize God in Nature !
to go forth amid the evidences of infinite wisdom, power, and
goodness and be lifted up and purified by contemplation of
them. But how often when the opportunity is given is the
lack of ability plainly manifest ! So unused to Nature as not
to know how to enjoy it! Look at the men, jaded, worn,
driven almost to death with business cares, yet who have so
little knowledge of Nature that they are awkward and un-
sympathetic, amid her most enchanting scenes.
As someone has said, " They have plenty to retire on,
but nothing to retire to! " So they stand in their tracks,
grind away at the mill, starve their souls as to noblest aliment
and support, and at length are snuffed out in premature ex-
haustion!
[lOl]
Or, of those that do go on vacation, how many who know
not how to improve it?
See them in the rail car, men and women, young and old,
gliding, it may be, through some of the loveHest landscapes
of earth, yet scarcely bestowing a glance upon them! Some
engaged in commonplace talk. Some poring over the daily
newspaper, even to the advertisements. Some reading
cheap novels, some discussing matters of business or poli-
tics, or amusements, and some often fretting because the
train does not whirl them more rapidly along the way! High
pressure all the time ! Putting their vacations through in a
feverish, extravagant style that destroys both the pleasure
and the profit! They must go in the fashionable routes,
stop at the fashionable places, tire themselves out with
fashionable amusements, till they return home at length
perhaps more jaded and unnerved than when they went
away! How different the case of those who, "in the love
of Nature, seek communion with her varied forms," and are
led by them up to Nature's God!
Secondly. Another field for meditation is God's works
of providence. " Most holy, wise and powerful, preserving
and governing all His creatures and all their actions! "
Wonderful doctrine! Laden with suggestions of com-
fort and encouragement for the devout Christian! God's
counsels are of old, from eternity. His providence is but
the execution of those decrees. Oftentimes obscure or in-
explicable, that providence is always wise and just and good.
It is directed by infallible wisdom for the accomplishment
of noblest ends. In prosperity the Lord tests our gratitude,
in mediocrity our contentment, in misfortune our submis-
sion, in temptation our steadfastness. At all times our
obedience and trust.
" Blessed is that disciple who has been in the school of
C 102 ]
Divine Providence and has learned his lessons well! " As
the Psalmist wrote, " I will remember Thy wonders of old !
I will meditate on Thy work and talk of Thy doings! "
Thirdly. In the next place meditation upon the Word of
God is, to an appreciative soul, very sweet. Milton's " Para-
dise Lost " is poetry, Bacon's treatises are philosophy,
Burke's orations are eloquence, but the Word of divine in-
spiration is supreme with wisdom, purity, and power. Writ-
ten as no other book has been written, published in more
languages than any other, circulated in so many forms,
tested by so many unanswerable evidences, this Bible of
God is destined more and more to be acknowledged as the
text book and standard for all people. What does the In-
finite declare concerning His own Word? " It shall not re-
turn to Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please
and shall prosper in the thing whereunto I sent it."
The empire of the Csesars has passed away, the conquer-
ing legions of Rome have been disbanded, the Imperial
Guards of the great Napoleon are no more. Princely Tyre
is now a barren rock. Babylon, Carthage, Thebes are as if
they had never been, but " the Word of the Lord abideth for-
ever! " /
Fourthly. In this Book of books, the central figure is
Christ. Concerning Him, every Christian may say, " My
meditation shall be sweet." What name in any language so
musical and full of meaning, what name so sweet on earth
or sweet in Heaven as this, before His wondrous birth, to
Christ, the Savior, given? " Thou shalt call His name
Jesus," said the angel, " for He shall save His people from
their sins." From the penalty of sins, because He hath borne
punishment in our stead. From the power of sin ; that na-
tive tendency and wayward habit which would, otherwise,
govern with tyrant sway and lead the captive subject, con-
[ 103 ]
trary to his better convictions, often contrary to his real
purposes and aims. For this He loved the Church and gave
Himself up for it, " that He might sanctify and cleanse it
with the washing of water by the Word, that He might
present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or
wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and
without blemish."
Is not that the very consummation for which every true
disciple of Jesus aspires? Is not that " the kingdom " for
which earnest believers continually pray? An empire, every
subject of which shall appear clothed in the spotless robe of
redemption! A Paradise through whose fadeless bowers
not a single trail of the Old Serpent shall be seen! Well
may His name be called " Jesus," who is the Head of such a
Kingdom, and concerning Him our meditations may ever
be " sweet."
There are other titles also applied to our Savior by the
inspired Word, each of which is full of significance. When
oppressed by conscious guilt and ruin we may meditate on
His name, " Jehovah Tsidkenu (the Lord, our righteous-
ness!)." When disquieted with trouble, on His name, " Je-
hovah Shalom (the Lord, send peace!)." When struggling
with spiritual adversaries, on His name, " Jehovah Nissi (the
Lord, our Banner!)." When enfeebled by sickness, on His
name, "Jehovah Rophi (the Lord, our Healer!)." When
anxious about future comforts, on His name, " Jehovah
Jireth (the Lord will provide)," and when the thought of
darkest experiences, even as the valley of the shadow of
death, confronts us, we may meditate on that name, " Je-
hovah Shammah (the Lord, is there!)."
Finally, every believer may think of Jesus as a per-
sonal friend, one that sticketh closer than a brother. Look
at that record in the Gospel history! What illustrations
[ 104]
does it give of His unmeasured kindness and readiness to
help! See Him, from the beginning of His Hfe work, mani-
festing tender sympathy for the suffering and needy, break-
ing over the conventionalisms of society, sitting at the
Pharisee's table, going to the house of the publican, con-
versing at the well with the Samaritan woman, becoming a
guest of Zaccheus, no sanctimoniousness in His bearing, no
exclusiveness in His habit, willing to eat and drink with
notorious sinners, and to be called " their friend," if only
He might do them good and save their souls!
O! He never seemed so tender as when He was deaHng
with such! He never preached so sweetly as when He was
expostulating with such, or when inviting them, weary and
heavy laden, to come to Him for rest.
And, as He preached to sinners, so He prayed for them,
prayed all night, sometimes on the cold mountains and in
the garden shades! Prayed until He sweat, as it were, great
drops of blood falling down to the ground. At length He
died for sinners, received the fiery sword of justice, which
otherwise would have fallen upon them! He went into the
grave for them! For them submitted three days to the dis-
honors of the tomb! For them He rose again, and finally
ascended, angels escorting Him to His heavenly seat.
" They brought His chariot from on high,
To bear Him to His throne,
Clapped their triumphant wings and cried,
'The glorious work is done!'"
'Twas done for sinners! The scattered gifts of His coro-
nation, the royal bounties of His Kingdom are for us! And
now, on the throne, He ever liveth to give repentance and
remission of sins to those who turn to Him in the appointed
way.
[^05]
a^cmok of i^enrp €tihjarti ^iit^
How is it with you, my hearer? Is the Lord Jesus Christ
your Savior? Do you love to think of Him through whom
alone any lost child of Adam can be delivered from ruin and
admitted to the Kingdom of Heaven? Are you resting im-
plicitly upon Him who " executeth the offices of prophet,
priest, and king " in behalf of his people? If so, you have
reason to delight in Him whose works are perfection, whose
word is wisdom, whose names are glorious, and whose smile
is life for the soul.
As to the time for meditation I can only add it may be
any time, at midnight, or cock-crow, or in the morning, just
whenever the spirit desires communion with God and with
noblest truths. Meditation before prayer is especially ap-
propriate. It is like the tuning of an instrument and setting-
it for harmony before the anthem begins !
As to the place for meditation, it may be anywhere.
Devout souls can think and pray and praise in the closet,
in the parlor, in the office, in the shop, on the street, on the
mountain side, in the leafy forest, by the shore or the sound-
ing sea, just wherever circumstances suggest. You have
only to recall your mind and seclude your spirit, and give
yourself up to the guidance of the Great Teacher, the Holy
Ghost. So shall you feel God's presence anywhere. So
shall your meditation of Him be sweet, and you shall be
"glad in the Lord!"
[io6]
fll^enioir of l^enrp €DUjarti l^ile^
Genesis xlvii. 8: ^^ How old art thouf'
The scene pictured before us in this chapter is a presenta-
tion at court. A gray-haired, venerable man who had not
been accustomed to such splendor is introduced to a royal
palace, adorned with all the barbaric magnificence of the
most ancient and, at that time, the most powerful mon-
archy in the world. Far away from courts his life had
been spent, guarding flocks on the hills of Palestine, caring
for his numerous household and listening to those mys-
terious, awe-inspiring, yet gracious revelations that came
down to him from the Infinite. Sorrow and sin had been
mingled with his experience, with much of piety and exalted
privilege. He had often erred and bitterly suffered. Yet
he had maintained the character of one who sincerely chose
the service of Jehovah, and as such he had been abundantly
rewarded. He had seen visions of the Almighty, and had
dreamed golden dreams. He had slept at Bethel, and be-
held a ladder reaching from earth to Heaven. He had so
journeyed as an exile in Padan Aram, and had been pros-
pered under the smile of Divine Providence. He had set
up the heap of witness at Mizpah, and met the angels of
God at Mahanaim. He had wrestled with the angel of the
covenant at Peniel, and set up an altar at El Bethel. He had
buried his beloved Rachel at Bethlehem, and had, by a
series of painful domestic experiences, been separated from
his son Joseph, for whom he had mourned as one dead. At
length he had learned that, instead of having been " de-
voured by wild beasts," that long-lost son had, by the lead-
ings of mysterious Providence, been taken down into Egypt
and become exalted as governor, under King Pharaoh.
When the tidings of this wonderful fact were brought to
[ 107 ]
him and that he had been sent for to leave his famine-stricken
country and go and dwell in that land of plenty, where he
might enjoy the society and filial care of his honored son,
it seemed almost too good to be true! But when he saw
the wagons which Joseph had actually sent to carry him
and his household down to his new home, we are told that
the spirit of Jacob revived, and he said: "It is enough!
my son is yet alive. I will go down and see him before I
die! " Now, the journey has been made! The one whom
he had supposed long dead has met him on the borders of
the country riding in a royal chariot to bring him to the
place appointed for his future residence!
Wonderful experience! What a throng of tender recol-
lections and emotions must have rushed into his mind! How
the form of his loved Rachel must have appeared before
him, as he caught her features imprinted on that manly face!
How the promises of God must have been remembered then,
as he saw more clearly their progressive fulfilment! And,
when that noble son " fell on his neck and wept on his neck
a good while," no wonder that the heart of Israel was full
almost to bursting, so that he exclaimed, " Now let me die,
for I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive! "
In due time, when recovered a little from his agitation
and accustomed somewhat to his new surroundings, this
patriarch was brought to the royal palace to be introduced
to the king. And Pharaoh said to Jacob (just what he
thought natural to say to a venerable old man — what we
often want to say when delicacy seems to forbid) : " How old
art thou? " And Jacob replied (mark how it always seems
when one looks back across the fleeting experience of past
life !) : " The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hun-
dred and thirty years. Few and evil have the days of the
years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days
[io8]
of the years of the hfe of my fathers in the days of their pil-
grimage! "
Yes! However long and attractive life may seem in pros-
pect— as one looks forward to the sunny heights of youth,
how different it appears in review, as contemplated in near-
ness to the grave! How noiselessly, how almost imper-
ceptibly, have the years glided by! From youth to man-
hood, how short the step! From manhood to middle age,
shorter still! From middle to old age, we hardly know the
change!
" No snow falls so lightly as the snow of age,
None rests so heavily, for it never melts."
We all are growing older! In a few hours the knell of
1899 will tell us " one year less to live! " Compared with
that eternity toward which we are hastening how short the
period, whatever it be, which we have passed! Compared
with our original plans and ambitions, how little have we
done. We, at least, who are furthest advanced and have
but small opportunity to repair our mistakes, what reason
have we for regrets and shame?
Even if, by the good Providence of God, we have been
spared from great disappointments and crushing sorrows,
in how many respects have we brought evil upon ourselves.
In view of so many failings and shortcomings, what can we
say? In view of the objects eagerly longed for, but never
gained, of noble attainments descried in the distance like far-
ofif islands of the sea, but which change to clouds as they
are approached, what a sense of incompleteness and unsatis-
factoriness we must feel. When we think of friends once
cherished but now separated from us forever and prospects
once pleasing now blighted forever, how natural the pa-
triarch's expression, " Few and evil have the days of the
years of my Hfe been."
[ 109]
At such times and with such convictions, what do the
aged need so emphatically as the power of the Gospel,
as the comforts of our holy religion, with its pleasing medi-
tations, its delicious acts of confidence, its soul-satisfying
experiences! Sad, indeed, is the spectacle of infirmity and
decay unaccompanied by the hopes of religion! It is like
the going down of a sun that is to be succeeded by no
rising, or like the gathering shades of a night which will
be followed by no returning day ! The aged Christian, when
about finishing his journey, and the aged sinner in the same
case, present a most impressive contrast. The one has
what he most needs, the other most needs what he does
not possess! He is a hopeless wanderer on the desert of
life with no provision for that to which he is going. But
the Christian, confessing himself a " pilgrim and a stranger "
here, goes confidently forward, his pathway illumined by
the grace of God and by the light of the heavenly glory.
Of him only can it be said,
" Then weaned from earth, he turns his steadfast eye,
Beyond the grave whose verge he falters nigh,
Surveys the brightening regions of the blest,
And, like a wearied pilgrim, sinks to rest."
An old adage says, " That life is long which answers life's
great end." As true as it is familiar. According to this
rule, let each one ask himself, at this close of another year,
" How old art thou? "
It is a solemn question to you and for me; and for every
intelligent person who knows that he is an accountable be-
ing. To this question I reply: First. There is none of us
so old as Jacob and none of us expects to live so long.
" One hundred and thirty years " he had already seen, and
nearly twenty more would be added to his age! But, in
[no]
later generations, the usual limit has been three-score years
and ten, perchance four-score, possibly ninety! — in only a
very few cases any more, or if there be more, " yet is their
strength, labor and sorrow! " As for the majority in any
congregation, it is sure that they will not live to be " old."
The flood will carry them away before that term can apply
to them.
How short the time seems since last we exchanged the
New Year salutations! The sands of the coming year will
fall yet more swiftly into the glass; and so it will be with
each recurring one until the last ! Story is told of an Italian
state prisoner who, after some weeks' confinement in his cell,
became aware that the apartment was every day becoming
smaller. He saw with horror that a movable iron partition
was gradually encroaching on the space, and that if the
movement went on it must at length certainly crush him to
death against the opposite wall! Similar to that is our con-
dition. True, we cannot, like him, see the limits of life
growing narrower and narrower every day, nor can we cal-
culate just how soon will be the crisis, but we know that
each day we live makes the number less that we have to
spend ! If so, the argument for living well becomes stronger
and stronger every day! If so, how thoughtful we ought
to be at the close of another year!
In the second place, to everyone who is a Christian comes
the question: "How old art thou?" When were you
born into the kingdom of grace? What was the date of
your spiritual birth? Or, if you cannot tell the very mo-
ment when you " passed from death into life," how long
have you been conscious of real desires to be Christ's and to
serve Him in newness of hfe ? What attainments have you
made in knowledge of truth, in the cultivation of faith, in
patience, in self-control, in Christian love, and joy and peace?
[Ill]
a^cmok of ipentp oBtittjarti i^ilejf
What good have you done? Who has been benefited by
your labors, your gifts, your prayers, and your sacrifices for
Christ and His cause?
Surely, you are old enough to have been more useful in
this world. You and I, each of us, ought to have been
more watchful for opportunities, more prayerful for wisdom
in improving them, more careful in discerning what are the
best agencies to be employed. There have been around us
many gnawings of hunger to be fed, many pangs of loneli-
ness to be allayed, many tears of sorrow to be dried, many
shadows of ignorance to be lightened, many inquiries after
truth to be answered, many burdens of guilt to be brought
to the Savior of sinners. Oh, my brother, my sister, what
can we say in review of the past, what must we say when
our real record is compared with the possibilities which were
before us, and with the obligations under which we have
lived!
Are we not old enough to be better Christians, more pure,
more prayerful, more spiritually minded, more truly Christ-
like?
Ought we not, by the help of divine grace, to have
" added to our faith, virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and
to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience,"
yea, the whole list of Christian graces, that with these
abounding in us, we should be " neither barren nor unfruit-
ful in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
Oh, how much nearer we might have come to the standard
of worthy living, how much more into sympathy with angels
and " the saints made perfect " around the throne. Surely
we have reason to be humble for the past and to " redeem
the time " that remains in more assiduous consecration to
the Master's service.
We have reason to consider what is the type of piety espe-
[112]
cially needed at the present day. Not a spasmodic, emo-
tional, world-compromising religion, but that which is
steady, principled, practical; a kind of religion that has in it
some of the stern, self-denying, sin-hating spirit which
apostles and martyrs showed in former times. A religion
which turns away from the blandishments of worldly temp-
tation and prefers the ways of truth, purity, and holiness.
A religion which has fire in it that consumes sin, and mercy
in it that pities sinners, and love in it that leads them to the
cross of salvation.
Yes, indeed, we are old enough to put ofif quiescent,
negative qualities, and to put on the whole armor of active,
aggressive godliness.
We are old enough to be more " spiritually minded " and
to act it out in all the ways of godly living. We are old
enough to enjoy a confirmed Christian hope; carrying that
hope, not as a boy carries a bird's nest containing unfledged
nestlings which can scarcely peep, much less sing; but rather
as a full-grown songster, ready whenever the cords of
worldly occupation are loosed to rise and sing and soar
toward Heaven.
Thirdly. And now to those who do not point to any
spiritual birthday comes the solemn, searching question.
Have you not begun the real hfe? Not yet turned to Christ
the Savior? Not yet taken any decided steps toward
Heaven? Oh, my friends, whoever you are, whatever your
ages or circumstances, you are old enough to know that you
are sinners, to realize the dreadful fact; and to feel what work
you have for repentance. You are old enough to stop act-
ing unwisely, to stop violating the decisions of conscience
and grieving the Holy Spirit.
The youngest here is so great a sinner that he cannot do
without Christ, the loving Savior, and for the oldest it is
not too late if he will make haste to enter the open door of
salvation. To everyone the warnings, invitations, and
promises of the Gospel are, alike, addressed; and for each
it is madness to neglect. The importance of life as a period
of probation (wrote Albert Barnes) " steadily increases as
we come toward the end, and see a vast eternity not far
before us. The interests at stake grow larger and larger,
while earthly things which usually occupy the attention of
mankind dwindle almost to nothing. Suppose our earth
which, now, moves in an orbit of 95,000,000 of miles from
the sun, should leave that orbit and make its way in a direct
line towards the sun, how rapidly would the sun seem to en-
large its dimensions. How much greater and brighter
would it appear and, by comparison, how would our earth
sink into insignificance! So, it appears to me, is human
life. In earlier years, eternity seems far away in impor-
tance. But, at the period which I have now reached, it
seems to me as if the earth had left its orbit and the objects
of eternity, toward which I am being swiftly carried, rapidly
enlarge themselves. They seem overwhelmingly bright and
grand. They fill the field of vision while all that is the com-
mon object of human ambition seems retiring in the distance
and vanishing away! " *
" How old art thou? " Old enough, I am sure, to feel
the truthfulness and the pathos of such an utterance from
one who has long been within the veil! Old enough to
consider the supreme importance of those invisible realities,
toward which with the swiftness of time we are all hasten-
ing! This is the last day of 1899! At the coming mid-
night the gates of eternity will open to admit into the irrev-
ocable past, the old year! " At the stroke of 12 the patri-
arch will fall dead and the stars will be his funeral torches! "
* Barnes's " Life at Three-score," p. 26.
[114]
^tmmt of i^eiirp (t^DUjarU ^xW
Then another " New Year " shall be ushered in — the last
of the century. What its history for each one of us, God
only knows. " Our times are in His hands," and we want
grace to trust Him with impHcit confidence.
But for ourselves it is a practical question, " What shall
the New Year be? " Are we willing to say, " No better
than the past? "
Could we take the old record and write down against its
pages, " Such is my standard. That is the way I fain would
spend my time, be it longer or shorter, until I am called to
the final account? "
If the very suggestion is appalling, if you shrink at the
idea of such self-righteousness, then what is the practical
conclusion? Review! Repentance! Resolutions for better
living! Yes, "Resolutions" ! Don't allow that cheat of
Satan, " Afraid to make new resolutions lest they be soon
forgotten and not kept! " You need not forget them! As
an intelligent moral being you must not forget them!
Trusting the promises of Divine grace you should depend
on help of the Almighty. Looking to Him who is the
hearer of prayer, this should be the attitude of your spirit,
" So teach us to number our days that we may apply our
hearts unto wisdom " ; that wisdom which ensures everlast-
ing Hfe and blessedness, through Jesus Christ our Lord!
[rrs]
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