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THE

WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

JAMES GALLAHER,

BOSTON:

PUBLISHED BY CROCKER AND BREWSTER.

NEW YORK : M. W. DODD.
PHILADELPHIA: WILLIAM L. MARTIEN.

1850.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1850, by

JAMES GALLAHER,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.

STEREOTYPED AT THE
BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY.

PREP ACE.

The articles in the Western Sketch Book are
mostly on religious subjects. It was not intended,
however, that they should be exclusively so : some
of the anecdotes are merely historical ; yet- it is
hoped that they will convey to the reader valuable
information.

In the sketches here furnished of "men and
things," great regard has been had to accuracy and
truth. The facts stated may be relied on as of the
most authentic character. It was the settled purpose
of the author, that as an historical record, this pub-
lication should occupy the highest ground. There
are a few articles of an allegorical cast, given as
professed extracts from ancient books which have
long since been lost — " the Book of Ahijah the
Shilonite," "the Book of Nathan the Prophet,"
"the Book of the Visions of Iddo the Seer," &c.
The reader will, of course, understand that the
giving of these articles as "extracts," is merely a
part of that allegorical or figurative mode of repre-
sentation which the author has chosen to employ.

iv PREFACE.

The views on the subject of revivals of religion,
which pervade this volume, are such as the author
believes he has received from the Bible, and has
had confirmed by an experience in the ministry of
more than thirty-four years.

When describing scenes in which I m^^'self have
been concerned, I have used the pronoun in the first
person singular. On this subject I fully agree with
Dr. Dwight, former president of Yale College.

'•' Dr. Dwight," said an inquirer, "is it not better
for a minister, when speaking of himself, to say
'we,' rather than 'I?'

"I think not," answered the doctor.

" But it avoids the appearance of egotism."

" Ah, well," said Dr. Dwight, " I would rather
have egotism than wegotism."

.CONTENTS.

Page.

Introduction, 7

The Honey-Bee, 9

The Great Western Revival, 19

Recollections of General Jackson, 67

The Eagle and the Gnat, 87

Elijah and tl^e Carmelite ; or, the Evils of Rain, 94

Stage-coach Discussion, 112

The Skeleton Preacher, and the Congregation of Dry Bones, . . 128

The Little Auger and King Solomon, 151

The Great Men of the Bible 157

The Public Rebuke, 172

The Living and the Dead Prophets, 177

The Divinity Student, 194

Jo ; or, the Voice of Conscience, 201

Red River, 213

The Red River Buzzard, 230

Sudden Conversions, 240

Growth in Knowledge, 251

Saints to excel Angels in Glory, 257

Tlie Doctrines preferred in Heaven, 262

The Millennium, 272

Bel and Nebo, 301

1 *

6 CONTENTS.

Exposition of Scripture, 306

A Vision, 310

Anecdote of Rev. E. F. Hatfield, 335

The Mississippi Judge 339

Recollections of Gideon Blackburn, 347

Camp Meetings, 359

Recollection of Dr. David Nelson, 369

Arminianism vs. the Millennium 393

Revival Measures, 401

Temperance Song, 405

Patriotic Song of the Tennesseean, 407

THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

INTRODUCTION.

I STOOD on the bank of the Mississippi, and gazed
upon the rush of its mighty stream. Wave pressed
on wave ; and the broad tide, with a force that no
earthly power could withstand, swept onward to the
ocean. " Great river ! " I exclaimed, " hast thou rolled
on thus from age to age ? Hast thou maintained this
majestic niarch through the lapse of more than fifty
centuries ? Then what is the history of this immense
country on thy borders ? What people gazed upon thy
stream three thousand years ago? Were there then
intellectual beings here, to adore that mighty God who
dug thy deep channel, and spread out at thy side these
broad, fertile plains, and covered thee with the bright
blue heaven ? " Such were the questions that arose in
my mind ; but there was none to answer. I looked
back on the past history of the west. But, beyond
the period of sixty or seventy years, there sets in a
thick, impenetrable darkness — "even darkness which
may be felt ; " and all is, to us, buried in the gulf of
hopeless oblivion. Events that transpired then, how-
ever interesting they may have been, are irrecoverably
lost : no effort of ours can call them back, or secure
for them a record on the pages of memory.

Another question arose : Will the man who stands

8 INTRODUCTION.

where I stand now, a hundred or a thousand years ■
hence, experience the same desire to know the early
history of the mighty west, of which I now am con-
scious ? The answer is clear : He will. Then I am
resolved to "gather up the fragments," not already
lost, of the history of the west, and preserve them, —

" That ages yet unborn may read,
And trust and praise the Lord."

The west is, as yet, only an infant. But this infant
possesses the elements of a fearful and stupendous
growth. Ere long, the inhabitants of the world will
open their eyes, and with astonishment behold a giant
standing here. His height will be terrible, and his
power such, that earth's foundations will bend beneath
his footsteps; and at the lifting of his hand distant
nations will tremble.

Yes, the teeming millions of a crowded population
will soon spread over this wide and wonderful region.
The banks of these long rivers will be studded with
" cloud-capt towers and gorgeous palaces ; " and reli-
gion, and education, and science, and cultivated society
will be here, to an extent that earth has not witnessed
in ages that are gone. In that day, the mighty popula-
tion of the west will eagerly inquire after the early
history of their country.

I have determined, therefore, to gather up the facts
within the period of my own memory, and arrange
them, and dedicate the record to the generations fol-
lowing. A larger work, entitled " The Early Religious
History of the West," which the author has for years
been preparing, is more particularly referred to, than
the mere sketches contained in the present volume. -

THE HONEY-BEE.

How strong is the propensity in man to honor the
prophet that is dead, while he rejects the prophet that
is living ! Scribes, Pharisees, and Jewish rulers would
build the sepulchres of Samuel, Isaiah, and Zachariah ;
but when Jesus Christ, the living Prophet, appeared,
preaching the same truths, they cried out, " Away with
him from the earth ! Crucify him ! crucify him ! "

Men admire and eulogize those very attributes in the
dead prophet which they cannot bear in the prophet
that is living. Go to any revival-fighting Presbyterian
minister in the west or south. He will expatiate with
much enthusiasm on the preaching of John Knox, when
such multitudes, in one generation, were tmiied from
darkness to light. He will hastily search his library
for a printed account of that remarkable sermon of
Livingston, in Scotland, on the Monday of a sacra-
mental meeting, under which five hundred souls were
converted to God. He will speak, with great interest
and earnestness, of the blessed results that followed the
preaching of Samuel Davies in Virginia, and James
Waddell, afterwards known far and wide as the Blind
Preacher mentioned by Wirt in his " British Spy."
These preachers and their hearers are gone from earth.

" Their hatred and their love is lost,
Their envy buried in the dust ;
They have no share in all that's done
Beneath the circuit of the sun."

10 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

But speak to this same man of a revival in the present
age. ''Ah, there were sad indiscretions!" "animal
excitement ! " " spasmodic movements ! " &c. That is
it : build the sepulchre of the prophet that is dead, and
scowl at the prophet that is living. Eulogize Elisha
and Daniel, but stone Stephen to death, and crucify
his Lord and Master.

In like mamier, we are ready to acknowledge a
providence of God toward those who are dead and
gone, which we are slow to admit in reference to those
now living. We can believe that God sent against
Pharaoh " swarms of flies," armies of frogs, and le-
gions of locusts. These were judgments from God.
His hand was made bare. We see it at once, and
confess it without difficulty ; for these things took
place above three thousand years ago. We can be-
lieve that God brought the quails around the camp of
the Israelites as they journeyed through the wilderness,
and that he sent hornets before them to drive out the
Canaanite, the Hittite, and the Hivite, (Ex. xxiii. 28.)
for these things, also, were done in a remote age of the
world. But are we willing to believe that there are, at
this hour, around the church and around the individual
saint, the same careful, constant, almighty guardianship
and direction that there were in the days of Moses, of
Joseph, and of Abraham? Are we willmg to believe
that now the sparrow does not fall to the ground with-
out the hand of God? and that the very hairs of our
heads are all numbered ? To such questions, many
will give the practical answer, "A^o.'"

This infidelity concerning the presence and provi-
dence of God in our own day, is the crying sin of the
present age. The High and Holy One is the same from

THE HONEY-BEE. 11

everlasting to everlasting. With him there is no "vari-
ableness, or shadow of turning." And had we an
inspired account of what God is doing now in behalf
of his redeemed people, we should find that for the
good of each believer the hand of the Lord is stretched
out still, and that his providence has all the divine
minuteness and particularity, at this moment, which it
possessed when Noah, Daniel, and Job stood before
him.

Modern unbelief will scarcely scruple to admit that
God may have controlled the affairs of this world long,
long ago ; but now, in this enlightened age, it is fanat-
icism to believe in a particular, all-directing providence.
Now, all events are the sport of blind chance, contin-
gency, accident.

I am about to state a well-authenticated fact in the
early history of the western country. The honey-bee,
with strict, constant, and invariable uniformity, goes in
front of the Christian population, as the wave of emigra-
tion rolls westward. No one fact is more unquestionably
established than this, in the experience and observation
of frontier western men. Ten, twenty, thirty miles in
advance of the white settlements, the honey-bee swarms
in every forest, filling with delicious honey the hollows
in the trees, and often the caverns, crevices, and open-
ings in the rocks. Long has it been the custom, with
those near our western border, to take their wagons, in
the latter part of the summer, and go a few miles in
advance of the population, and load them with honey.
But go two hundred miles into the Indian country, and
there has not been a honey-bee there in two thousand
years — never, within the memory of the present race
of Indians. The Indians regard the bee as the certain

12 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

forerunner of the white men. The moment they find
that the bee has penetrated their country, they begin to
lament and wail — " The white man is coming ! We
must give up the country ! "

I will state another fact. The quail follows the white
man. Q,uails, by hundreds and by thousands, come
flocking around the tent, the camp, or the cabm of the
white man as he journeys west. But go one hundred
miles into the Indian territory, no quail has ever been
seen there since the red man occupied the country.
How do you account for these facts ? Let me ask,
how do you account for the hornets going before the
camp of Israel, to drive out the Canaanite, the Hittite,
and the Hivite ? How do you account for the quails
coming round the camp of Israel in such quantities ?
In both cases we see the hand of God. " The church *'
was with Israel "in the wilderness," (Acts vii. 38,)
and it was for the sake of the church those wonders
were done. God now has a chm'ch among our western
population. The ark of his covenant is there, and still
his hand does wonders for Z ion's sake.

As the above facts may appear strange to some of
my readers, I wish here, somewhat at large, to " speak
what I know, and testify what I have seen." My
father lived, from my earliest recollection, within a few
miles of the Tennessee River. South of this river,
within the bounds of the state of Tennessee, was the
Indian territory. It was a lovely and inviting country,
but the Indians positively refused to sell it to the white
people on any conditions. In this obstmate refusal they
persisted for more than twenty yeai's ; and the wave
of American emigration in that direction was cheeked,
and stood, like the tide of Jordan in the days of Joshua,

THE HONEY-BEE. 13

as if held back by an arm divine. At length the fore-
runner of the white man passed the barrier, and spread
among the red people consternation far and wide. I
remember the morning well, when my father's brother
called at our dwelling and made the announcement,
" The bees have crossed the Tennessee, and are spread-
ing among the Indians, who are greatly alarmed, and
believe that they must now give up their country."
Few records have been preserved in the west of the
events of that early day. I cannot, therefore, be exact
as to dates. But this I remember well — that, shortly
after the above announcement, the Indians left the
country, and the beautiful land which they had held
so long was covered with a numerous and enterprising
white population.

Many years ago, I was informed, by what I then con-
sidered good authority, that when the bees first crossed
the Ohio River, in the neighborhood of where Shawnee-
town now stands, the old Indian chiefs went through
the woods wailing and lamenting, " The white man is
coming ! We must leave the place of our birth, the
graves of our fathers, and go to the west ! The white
man is coming ! "

I distinctly remember the narrative given at my
father's fireside, by Andrew Jackson, while acting as
one of the judges of our state, and some time before
his election to the office of major-general of the militia
of Tennessee. He told of that memorable mustering
of the bees at Nashville, which has since been so care-
fully recorded in Hon. Judge Haywood's " History of
Tennessee." The period was about the year 1800 or
1801. Nashville was then a very small village, just
struggling into existence. On a certain day, swarms
2

14 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

of bees began to collect in the garden of Judge
McNary. Five swarms were there at once — present-
ly, ten, twenty, thb-ty, forty, fifty. They clustered
together on every shrub in the garden, then on the
fence that surrounded it, banked up on each side of the
fence, until barrels, hogsheads, and wagon-loads were
there. The population became greatly excited.
They apprehended that this phenomenon must be
ominous, and multitudes came from far to witness it.
But, so far as I know, it has remained without explana-
tion, unless, indeed, the opinion prevalent among the
pioneer population be taken as such ; to wit, that this
was the mustering of the armies of the honey-bee, pre-
paratory to their sallying forth to take possession of the
mighty plains of the great west ; for as yet the white
man had only taken possession of portions of Temies-
see, Kentucky, and Ohio.

When the news reached the settlements of the Creole
French, in Southern Missouri, that the honey-bee had
appeared at Kaskaskia, in Illinois, a lady inquired of
her neighbor, " Could we not send over and get a. pah'
of them, and raise bees ? "

An American female had reached St. Genevieve, on
the west bank of the Mississippi, somewhat in ad-
vance of the emigrating multitude. She discovered a
honey-bee dancing at the window of a house occupied
by a family of Creole French. " Why, there's a bee,"
said she to the lady of the house. " Ah ! " said the
lady, " is that the thing that makes the honey ? Well,
could we not catch it, and tame it, and keep it ? "

It was stated to me by an old citizen of Missouri,
that when the first swarm of bees came to St. Louis,
and settled, in a large mass, on some object in the town,

THE HONEY-BEE. 15

several of the primitive population ran to procure straw
and fire to burn them up, thinking that they were
wasps, or hornets, or something in that .line. But an
American was providentially there, who remonstrated
against giving to the strangers a reception so rude and
inhospitable. He explained something of their nature
and usefulness, and prevailed on some one to construct
a hive, and allow the new comers a home in the then
young metropolis of the mighty west.

About the month of August, in the year 1840, at
Plattville, in Wisconsin, I met a Methodist missionary,
named Cavanaugh, who had been for years employed
among the Indians up near the mouth of the St. Peter's.
He told me that the progress of the bees, moving as a
" pillar of cloud " in front of the white settlements, was
then an object of troubled apprehension and dread
among the Indians where he labored. " Old Indian
chiefs," said he, " will now ask, with trembling
anxiety, ' How far have the bees got up the Missis-
sippi?'" In the month of February, 1849, at Co-
lumbus, in Indiana, I met again this same brother
Cavanaugh, and inquired, " How is it now with your
Indians and the bees?" "Ah," said he, "the bees
have reached those Indians now, and the white emi-
grant is close upon their trail."

The following passage is found in the " Report of
the Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains in
the Year 1842, by Captain J. C. Fremont," p. 69 :
"Here, on the summit, where the stillness was absolute,
unbroken by any sound, and the solitude complete,
we thought ourselves beyond the regions of animated
life ; but while we were sitting on the rock, a solitary
bee came winging his flight from the eastern valley

16 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

and lit on the knee of one of the men. We pleased
ourselves with the idea that he was the first of his
species to cross the mountain barrier — a solitary
pioneer to foretell the advance of civilization."

Gregg in his "■ Commerce of the Prairies," p. 178,
vol. i., says, " The honey-bee appears to have emi-
grated exclusively from the east, as its march has been
observed westward. But none have yet reached this
portion of the western dominion." And at p. 206,
vol. ii., he says, " The bee, among western pioneers, is
the proverbial precursor of the Anglo-American popu-
lation. In fact, the aborigines of the frontier have
generally corroborated this notion, for they used to say
they knew the white man was not far behind v/hen
the bees appeared among them."

Many other interesting specifications might be given,
but my design is not to extend this article beyond a
reasonable limit. Enough has been said to show that
this notable fact in the history of western emigration
is a clear manifestation of the hand of God. And not
only so, but it is a dispensation of great kindness to
his people, many of whom are found among the fron-
tier emigrants, I have seen very pious people sending
out their children to collect this honey and the honey-
comb. The comb yielded the beeswax, a valuable
commodity. The honey also was an important article
in the commerce of the country. The western rivers
bore these articles to New Orleans, where they were
sold or exchanged for the benefit of the families in the
frontier settlements. Many households were thus
made comfortable, who, without such a provision in
divine providence, must have felt the pinchings of
want. Often has the western minister expatiated on

THE HONEY-BEE. 17

these themes. Often has he reminded the people that
Jehovah is a covenant-keeping God, that he " keepeth
covenant and mercy with them that love him, to a
thousand generations ; " that the temporal as well as
the spiritual wants of his people are the objects of his
care. And as he scattered the manna over the face of
the wilderness before his ancient church, so now he
is mindful of his covenant. He giveth bread to the
hungry, and the redeemed of the Lord have abundant
reason to say that his mercy endureth forever.

There are persons now living in Illinois, in Missouri,
in Iowa, and in Wisconsin, who arrived there before
there was a quail in all that country. But soon after
the Anglo-Americans had pitched their tents in the land,
the quails came around them by thousands and by tens
of thousands. Why is this ? From whence do they
originate ? It is the hand of God. I will mention one
great purpose that is answered by the quail. It strikes
dumb the lips of pride. He who wishes not to see the
hand of God, will say the bees that go before the wave
of American population proceed from domesticated
bees among the settlers, although the vastness of their
multitude, and notable facts like that at Nashville,
utterly refute the theory. But where the sceptic can
find even the shadow of an argument against the hand
of God, he will, like Pharaoh of old, harden his heart.
But ask him, " From whence come the quails ? From
domesticated quails ? He is dumb. The fact is, you
cannot tame a quail. At least, I have known some
very thorough experiments, which resulted in total
failure, and believe that the quail is generally regarded
as incapable of domestication. Should any one say the
quails feed on the farmer's grain, — his corn and his
2*

18 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

wheat, — and therefore they follow the American
emigrants, I answer, that this does not touch the mys-
tery ; because the prairie hen, or American grouse, the
wild goose, and the crane, are just as fond of corn as
the quails — perhaps more so. But these birds are all
over the face of the wilderness, and, live independent
of the cultivated fields of the white man. Yet
when the farmer comes near their wild abode, and
ploughs up the earth, and produces his crop of corn,
you will see the prairie hen, the wild goose, the crane,
clustering around the corn stacks, and manifesting far
more greediness for grain than you ever see exhibited
by the quail. The mystery is not touched. Whence
comes the quail ?

Ascertain from whence the hornets came, that went
before the standard of Israel ; ascertain from Avhence
the quails came, that fell around their camp ; and then
you will have no difficulty in understanding the phe-
nomena that now precede and accompany the standard
of Zion, as she lengthens her cords and enlarges her
boundaries. God's church is in that moving multitude
which is pressing westward. The ark of his covenant
is there. And now, as in ancient times, his church
is '^ engraven on the palms of his hands." You can
account for the above-mentioned facts, just as you ac-
count for the sea giving up its dead at the sound of the
last trumpet. It is the hand of God.

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 19

THE GREAT WESTERN REVIVAL

OF 1800.

Whoever has carefully examined the history of Israel,
as detailed in the sacred oracles, may have remarked,
that very often the prophets endeavored to recall to the
minds of that people the period and the scenes of their
first espousal to God. Indeed, there is no narrative
more calculated to wake up in our own heart the living
emotions of religion, than the story of our first saving
acquaintance with Christ. It is profitable to the indi-
vidual, to the family, and to the church at large, that
these manifestations of God's power and mercy should
be told to children, and to children's childi'en.

In relation to this matter, I have often thought that
the church of God in the west has reason to adopt the
language of the Psalmist, '■'■ Come and hear, all ye that
fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my
soul." " He brought me up out of a horrible pit, out
of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and
established my goings. And he hath put a new song
in my mouth, even praise mito our God : many shall
see it and fear, and shall trust in the Lord."

It is now my purpose to sketch some of the scenes
in the early history of the chm'ch of God in the west.
Before the close of the revolutionary war, large bodies
of emigrants had settled in Tennessee and in Kentucky.

20 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

Many of them were from Virginia, many were from
Pennsylvania, and many also were from North and South
Carolina. Q,uite a large number of these were religious
men. Extensive and powerful revivals of religion
had been granted to the American churches, while we
were yet colonies of Great Britain. In New England,
Edwards, Bellamy, and their fellows, were the favored
instruments. In New Jersey, Gilbert and William
Tennant, and their contemporaries, were greatly blessed.
In Virginia, Samuel Davies, whose sermons have since
been so widely circulated, and James Waddell, labored
with immense success. Among my earliest recollec-
tions are the glowing descriptions which old persons,
then living in my father's neighborhood, would give
of the preaching of this James Waddell. There was
a kindling animation in the aged countenance, and
their eyes would fill with tears, at the mention of his
name. He is the Blind Preacher so eloquently described
by Hon. William Wirt in his " British Spy." When
Wirt saw him, he was old, and frail, and blind ; yet
evidently the wreck of a superior man. Long before
this period, he had been a messenger of mercy to mul-
titudes of the perishing ; and the gospel, through his
instrumentality, had been to many glad tidings of great
joy. It should be mentioned further, that in the Caro-
linas also, and in Georgia, the gospel, at this time, had
made great progress. Georgia was one of the first
points in America where George Whitefield preached ;
and from thence to the most northern colony he found
the fields white to the harvest. Indeed, there were
such religious prospects in om* country before, the
revolution, that Jonathan Edwards entertained and
published the opinion that the millennium, or latter

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 21

day glory, would first shed its light on the souls of
men in America.

NoAV, such was the condition of the American
church, when that wave of population, which had risen
on the sea-shore, and rolled abroad over the Atlantic
regions, began to ripple over the comb of the Alle-
ghany, and rush down and spread itself over the fertile
plains of the west. Many of the first emigrants from
Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the Carolinas, carried their
religion with them. And it seems that, at that early
period, religion could better "bear transportation,"
than at a later day.

War has almost invariably a demoralizing tendency ;
and the war of our revolution, however necessary and
important in its connection, was not exempt from this
unhappy concomitant. But, perhaps, in no other part
of our country were the sad results of wax realized,
at that time, to the same extent as in the new settle-
ments of the west. There the supply of Bibles and
pastors was limited. Religious privileges were few.
And many of the population were as sheep having no
shepherd. There was less, therefore, to counteract
the evils incident to war than in other sections of our
land.

Above all this, it must be observed, that when peace
was concluded with Great Britain in the year 1783,
and other citizens could return to the pursuits of peace-
ful life, and the enjoyment of gospel ordinances, the
frontier population of the west were embroiled with
hostile Indians for the space of half a generation.
During this period of fierce conflict between the white
and the red man, those Indian tribes that hung around
oiu: western border produced not a few "men of
renown."

22 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

Headed by some of these daring chiefs, a strong
band of Indians would make a sudden incursion into
the white settlements, and mm-der, burn, rob, and perpe-
trate cruelty in the most frightful and barbarous forms.
The scalping-knife was red with the blood of the
mother, the tomahawk was buried in the brain of the
helpless child ! Until, terrified with the apprehension
of the vengeance they had provoked, the Indians would
fly with the utmost precipitation. Then, for ten or
fifteen miles around, the white population was aroused,
and the Indians were pursued not only with retaliating,
but with exterminating vengeance. Who will wonder,
that, when seventeen years of such life as this came
right in after the seven years of the revolutionary war,
the Sabbath and sacred things were in a great measure
forgotten or trodden down ? A generation sprang up,
in which dexterity and prowess in Indian warfare were
the great objects of ambition, and, indeed, the high road
to fame. And in the mean while, the light of religion,
carried to the west at the time of its first settlement,
surrounded long by adverse influences, shone but
faintly, while iniquity abounded and waxed bold.

It is necessary here to pause and notice the state of
things in Europe at this period. Om* country, when
young, was far more influenced by Europe than she is
nov/. The year 1728 is memorable as the great era
of infidelity in Europe. Yoltaire formed, about this
period, his great plan for destroying the Christian
religion. I quote the language of Dr. Dwight, of Yale
College. This eminent writer observes that Voltaire,
for the purpose of blotting out Christianity, " engaged,
at several succeeding periods, a number of men, distin-
guished for power, talents, reputation, and influence —

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 23

ail deadly enemies to the gospel, atheists, men of profli-
gate principles and profligate lives. This design he
pursued with unabated zeal fifty years ; and was
seconded by his associates with an ardor and industry
scarcely inferior to his own. In consequence of their
united labors, and of the labors of others, from time to
time combined with them, they ultimately spread
the design throughout a great part of Europe; and
embarked in it individuals, at little distances, over
almost the whole of that continent. Their adherents
inserted themselves into every place, ofiice, and employ-
ment, in which their agency might become eflicacious,
and which furnished an opportunity of spreading their
corruptions. They were found in every literary insti-
tution, from the abecedarian school to the academy
of sciences ; and in every civil office, from that of the
bailiff to that of the monarch. They swarmed in the
palace ; they haunted the church. Wherever mischief
could be done, they were found ; and wherever they
were found, mischief was extensively done. Of books
they controlled the publication, the sale, and the char-
acter. An immense number they formed ; an immense
number they forged ; prefixed to them the names of
reputable writers, and sent them into the world, to be
sold for a song ; and when that could not be done, to
be given away. Within a period shorter than could
have been imagined, they possessed themselves, to a
great extent, of a control, nearly absolute, of the literary,
religious, and political state of Europe.

" With these advantages in their hands, it will easily
be believed, that they left no instrument unemployed,
and no measure untried, to accomplish their own malig-
nant purposes. With a diligence, courage, constancy,

24 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

activity, and perseverance, which might rival the efforts
of demons themselves, they penetrated into every
corner of human society. Scarcely a man, woman, or
child was left imassailed, wherever there was a single
hope that the attack might be successful. Books
were written and published, in innumerable multitudes,
in which infidelity was brought down to the level
of peasants, and even of children, and poured with
immense assiduity into the cottage and the school.
Others, of a superior kind, crept into the shop and the
farm-house ; and others, of a still higher class, found
their way to the drawing-room, the university, and the
palace. The business of all men who were of any
importance, and the education of the children of all
such men, were, as far as possible, engrossed, or at least
influenced, by these banditti of the moral world ; and
the hearts of those who had no importance but in their
numbers and physical strength. A sensual, profligate
nobility, and princes, if possible, still more sensual and
profligate, easily yielded themselves and their children
into the hands of these minions of corruption. Too
ignorant, too enervated, or too indolent, to understand,
or even to inquire that they might understand, the ten-
dency of all these eflbrts, they marched quietly on to
the gulf of ruin, which was already open to receive
them. With these was combined a priesthood, which,
in all its dignified ranks, was still more putrid; and
which eagerly yielded up the surplice and the lawn,
the desk and the . altar, to destroy that Bible which
they had vowed to defend as well as to preach, and
to renew the crucifixion of that Redeemer whom they
had sworn to worship. By these agents, and these
eff'orts, the plague was spread with rapidity, and to an

THE GREAT REVIVAL. ■gS

extent which astonished heaven and earth ; and life
went out, not in solitary cases, but by a universal
extinction.

" While these measures were thus going on, with a
success scarcely interrupted, Dr. Adam Weishaupt,
professor of the canon law in the university of Ingold-
stadt, a city of Bavaria, a man ofe? no contemptible
talents, but of immense turpitude, and a Jesuit, estab-
lished the society of Illuminees. Into this establishment
he brought .all the systematized iniquity of his brother-
hood — distinguished beyond every other class of men
for cunning, mischief, an absolute destitution of con-
science, an absolute disregard of all the interests of
man, and a torpid insensibility to moral obligation.
No fraternity, for so long a time, or to so great an
extent, united within its pale such a mass of talents,
or employed in its service such a succession of vigorous
efforts. The serpentine system of this order Weis-
haupt perfectly understood. The great design of the
Jesuits had always been to engross the power and influ-
ence of Europe, and to regulate all its important affairs.
The system of measures which they had adopted for
this end, was superior to every preceding scheme of
human policy. To this design Weishaupt, Who was
more absolutely an atheist than Yoltaire, and as cor-
dially wished for the ruin of Christianity, superadded
a general intention of destroying the moral character
of man. The system of policy adopted by the Jesuits
was, therefore, exactly fitted to his purpose ; for the
design, with this superaddition, was exactly the same.

" With these advantageous preparations, he boldly
undertook this work of destruction, and laid the axe
at the root of all moral principle, and the sense of all
3

26 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

moral obligation, by establishing a few fundamental
doctrines, which were amply sufficient for this purpose.
These were, that God is nothing ; that government is
a curse, and authority a usurpation ; that civil society
is the only apostasy of man ; that the possession of
property is robbery ; that chastity and natural affection
are mere prejudices ; and that adultery, assassination,
poisoning, and other crimes of a similar nature, are
lawful, and even virtuous. Under these circumstances
were founded the societies of lUuminism. They
spread, of course, with a rapidity which nothing but
fact could have induced any sober mind to believe.
Before the year 1786, they were established in great
numbers throughout Germany, in Sweden, Russia,
Poland, Austria, Holland, France, Switzerland, Italy,
England, Scotland, and even in America. In all these
was taught the grand and sweeping principle of corrup-
tion, that the end sanctions the means — a principle
which, if every where adopted, would overtm-n the
universe.

" The design of the founder and his coadjutors was
nothmg less than to engross the empire of the world,
and to place mankind beneath the feet of himself and
his successors.

" Voltaire died in the year following the establish-
ment of Illuminism. His disciples, with one heart
and one voice, united in its interests, and, finding a
more absolute system of corruption than themselves had
been able to form, entered eagerly into all its plans and
purposes. Thenceforward, therefore, all the legions of
infidelity are to be considered as embarked in a single
bottom ; and as cruising together against order, peace,
and virtue, on a voyage of rapine and blood.

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 27

" The French revokition burst upon mankind at
this moment. Here was opened an ample field for the
labors of these abandoned men in the work of pollution
and death. There is no small reason to believe, that
every individual Illuminee, and almost, if not quite,
every infidel, on the continent of Europe, lent his
labors when he could — and his wishes when he could
not — for the advancement of the sins and the miseries
which attended this unexampled corruption. Had not
God taken the wise in their own craftiness, and caused
the wicked to fall into the pit which they digged, and
into the snares which their hands had set, it is impos-
sible to conjecture the extent to which they would
have carried their devastation of human happiness.
But, like the profligate rulers of Israel, those who
succeeded regularly destroyed their predecessors.

"Between ninety and one hundred of those who
were leaders in this mighty work of destruction, fell by
the hand of violence. Enemies to all men, they were,
of course, enemies to each other. Butchers of the
human race, they soon whetted the knife for each
other's throats ; and the tremendous Being who rules
the universe, whose existence they had denied in a
solemn act of legislation, whose perfections they had
made the butt of public scorn and private insult, whose
Son they had crucified afresh, and whose word they
had burnt by the hands of the common hangman,
swept them all, by the hand of violence, into an un-
timely grave. The tale made every ear which heard
it tingle, and every heart- chill with horror. It was, in
the language of Ossian, " the song of death." It was
like the reign of the plague in a populous city. Knell
tolled upon knell ; hearse followed hearse ; and coffin

S8 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

rumbled after coffin ; without a moiu*ner to shed a tear
upon the corpse, or a solitary attendant to mark the
place of the grave. From one new moon to another,
and from one Sabbath to another, the world went forth,
and looked after the carcasses of the men who trans-
gressed against God ; and they were an abhorring unto
all flesh."

Our revolutionary war closed about the time when
this French infidelity was at its height, and before its
frightful results had been fully disclosed.

The government of France had taken part with us
in our struggle against England. The noble-hearted
Lafayette had embarked in our cause with a generous
enthusiasm that deeply affected the American people.
Other distinguished Frenchmen had been our friends.
Now, it was at this juncture, when we were disposed
to give the warmest welcome to whatever came from
France, that a deep, dark tide of that horrible infidelity
ploughed its way, like the Gulf Stream through the
Atlantic, and heaved its huge surges on the Ameri-
can shore. The valleys were flooded ; the swelling
waves rose and buried the hills ; upward the awful
deluge prevailed, and rolled its black bfllows above the
tops of the tallest mountains. In the new settlements
of the west the desolation was dreadful. There were
few that escaped the deadly inundation. So rare
were religious privileges, that it was extremely difficult
to find materials sufficient to construct an ark, in which
one entire family might be saved. It was proclaimed
over all the land, that France — enlightened, scientific,
fashionable France — had renounced the gospel, had
burned the Bible in the streets of Paris by the hands
of the common hangman, and had inscribed in broad

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 29

characters, over the entrance into the common burying-
ground, that " death is an eternal sleep."

And moreover it was confidently asserted, by those
who had opportunity to know, that Thomas Jefferson,
regarded in the west as a great political Imninary, had
rejected the gospel, and adopted the infidelity of France ;
that most of our enlightened statesmen were follow-
ing his example. Jeff"erson, as a politician, had, at that
period, immense popularity ; and the influence of his
name, when in unison with the downward current of
depravity, was mighty.

Such was the attitude of the west, in relation to
religion and religious privileges, from the year 1783 till
1800 — harassed by almost incessant Indian wars,
impelled in the broad road by the folly and wickedness
bound up in its own heart, and bewitched and bewil-
dered by the abominable example of those whose
names possessed fascination, because they were in-
scribed on the rolls of fame.

In the midst of this period of spiritual darkness,
Paine's "Age of Reason" came forth. Paine was
favorably known to the American people as a political
writer during the conflict of the revolution. His
works entitled " Common Sense," and " The Rights
of Man," had secured for him a wide-spread reputation.
And in the minds of the multitude, he was closely
identified with the cause of American freedom. Rarely,
in his assaults on the church of God, has that " arch-
angel ruined," whose name is called Apollyon, been
able to occupy such vantage-ground. The appeal to
the American people was this : " You have thrown ofi"
allegiance to the British king ; now throw ofi" the yoke
of superstition, and be freemen indeed." Paine scoffed
3*

so THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

at all that was sacred in religion — profanely mocked
and blasphemed the ordinances of God. O, it was a
tremendous eruption of the bottomless pit ! ■ The shock
had well nigh thrown down the hope of the church.
The smoke that ascended filled all the air with black-
ness, and eclipsed the sun ; while ashes, cinders, and
lava came down, threatening to bury every vestige of
good that yet remained in society.

In a letter to the editors of " The New York Maga-
zine," the venerable Gideon Blackburn says, " About
the years '98 and '99, the darkness was thick, like that
in Egypt, — a darkness which might 'be felt.' The
few pious in the land were ready to cry out, ' Has God
forgotten to be gracious ? Are his mercies clean gone ?
Will he be favorable no more ? ' "

About this period, pious men in the west began to
call on the name of the Lord with that earnestness and
importunity which takes no denial. In Logan county,
Kentucky, Rev. James McGready and some Christian
people appointed seasons of special prayer. They also
set apart days of fasting and humiliation before God.

The great revival of 1800, like that granted to the
disciples on the day of Pentecost, was preceded by
a season of deep humiliation and earnest prayer to
God.

THE REVIVAL.

The first conclusive proofs that the Lord had heard
prayer, and visited his people, were received in Logan
county, Kentucky. The work began " at the house
of God." It was according to the prayer of the
Psalmist : " Restore unto me the joys of thy salva-
tion, and uphold me with thy free spirit ; then will I

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 31

teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be con-
verted unto thee." The people of God were brought
near to him. The preaching of the gospel and the
ordinances of the Lord's house were to them the bread
and the water of life. And while they admired the
freeness, the fulness, and the firmness of God's cove-
nant mercy, the very dust and ruins of Zion were
precious in their eyes, and believing prayer in her
behalf went up as a " cloud of incense " before God.
Presently an awful solemnity took hold of the public
mind. Persons hitherto careless flocked, in great
numbers, to the place of worship. The power of
preaching was greatly increased. God was " fearful in
his praises." And in prayer, Christians were enabled
to " come boldly to a throne of grace."

I design to give, presently. Dr. Baxter's account of
these seasons, written at the time ; but first I wish to
lay before the reader some particulars which are
imprinted on my own memory, and have remained
most distinct and clear, through all the years that have
intervened. The " little cloud " which had begun to
pour out its blessing on the churches in Logan county,
Kentucky, soon spread, like that in Elijah's day, until
it covered the face of heaven. My father's residence
was then in East Tennessee, some two hundred and
fifty miles distant from the point where the revival
first appeared ; but brief was the time that elapsed until
it was in the midst of our population.

1. A deep solemnity pervaded the entire community,
filling the minds of old and young with awe and
reverence in view of God and his holy gospel. I
remember, with a distinctness that is marvellous to
myself, the unparalleled impression in our neighbor-

32 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

hood. We had assembled in the house of worship.
Each man and woman seemed to realize the sentiment
of the patriarch, " Surely the Lord is in this place."
Rev. Mr. Dobbins, then of North Carolina, afterwards
well known in Ohio, preached a sermon. The atten-
tion was profound. During the sermon, two young
men of respectable families, well known in the congrcr
gation, began to tremble in their seats ; they were
perfectly silent, but their trembling was visible to all
that were in the house ; the people felt that the great
Master of assemblies was among them. They knew
that this was that mighty power of God, of which
they had heard among the churches m Kentucky.
How much a young mind may have erred in its esti-
mate, I cannot say. But it then seemed to me, that
the appearance of the forerunner of the final Judge,
approaching our earth with the trump of God, could
scarcely have added to the awfulness of the solemnity.
Stout, stubborn sinners, who before had blasphemed
God and scoffed at sacred things, were struck down as
literally as Saul of Tarsus, on his way to Damascus.
But this brings me to another branch of the subject ;
that is, —

2. The FALLING DOWN. Tliis was one of the forms
of that bodily exercise, as it was then called, which
accompanied this remarkable work. It must be borne
in mind that the country had been overrun by a bold,
blaspheming infidelity, which scowled at sacred things,
and attempted to browbeat and bear down all that
was called by the name of the Lord Jesus. Thomas
Moflit, Esq., now of Springfield, Illinois, assured me,
that in the part of Kentucky where his people then
lived, " it was believed that, at the commencement of

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 33

the year 1800, at least one half of the men and women
were the avowed disciples of Thomas Paine." I
mentioned this statement to the aged and venerable
Abraham McElroy, of Northern Missouri. His reply
was this : " Say not one half ; say nine tenths ; for thus
it was in the region of Lebanon, Kentucky, where
I then resided; and I myself was among the num-
ber."

Such is a sample of western society at the commence-
ment of that revival. The awful solemnity which
now arrested the public mind was accompanied with
bodily affections as notable and singular as those of
Saul on his way to Damascus. Bold, brazen-fronted
blasphemers were literally cut down by the " sword
of the Spirit." " The word of God was quick and
powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and
spirit, and of the joints and marrow." Under the
preaching of the gospel, men would drop to the ground,
as suddenly as if they had been smitten by the light-
ning of heaven. Among these were many persons in
the prime of life — strong men ; business men ; men
whom no human being ever thought of charging with
enthusiasm. Here was the avowed infidel, prostrate on
the ground, confessing and lamenting his folly before
God. There was the . notorious profligate, crying for
mercy. Here was the celebrated frontier warrior,
famous for his dexterity and prowess during the Indian
troubles ; and now, " behold, he prayeth ! " And there
was the humbled politician, seeking an inheritance
more durable than earthly fame. The language em-
ployed at that time, by the plain western people, in
describing the results of these meetings, was, that so

34 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

many "fell." At one meeting, "fifty fell;" at
another, " seventy-five ; " again, at another, " one
hundred and twenty fell." Dr. Baxter speaks of a
meeting, at which many thousands attended, where
" three hundred fell." He mentions another at which
" five hundred fell." At the great meeting at " Cane-
ridge," which continued for six days, and at which it
was believed there were twenty thousand people, it
was said that not less than " one thousand fell."
Those who fell would generally lie perfectly quiet for
a considerable time ; in some instances, an hour ; in
some, much longer ; in others, not so long. There
were cases, though of comparatively rare occurrence, in
which persons lay for the space of twelve or twenty-
four hours.

From their own statements, I learned that those who
lay in that quiet state were entuely sensible of all that
was passing around them, while, at the same time,
their views on divine subjects were wonderfully clear
and impressive. Their minds were directed to the
holiness and grandeur of God ; the purity and sacred-
ness of his law ; the guilt and hatefulness of sin ; the
great love of God in giving his Son to redeem lost
man ; the beauty and glory of Christ as Mediator ; the
worth of the soul ; the preciousness of the gospel ; the
value of time ; the brevity of life ; the solemnity of
death, of judgment, and of eternity.

Christ, the divine Savior, was exalted and extolled
in the preaching, the praying, and the praising of the
church, in that day. Perhaps I cannot better present
this feature of that work, than by inserting a popular
hymn, then in very general use, which was a favorite
with many thousands. O, the multitude of voices,

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 35

now silent in death, which once sent up these strains
to the praise of the blessed God !

" Thy mercy, my God, is the theme of my song,
The joy of my heart, and the boast of my tongue :
Thy free grace alone, from the first to the last,
Hath won ray affection, and bound my soul fast.

" Without thy sweet mercy, I could not live here ;
Sin soon would reduce me to utter despair ;
But tlirough thy free goodness my spirits revive,
And He that first made me still keeps me alive.

" Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart,
Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart.
Dissolved by thy goodness, I fall to the ground.
And weep to the praise of the mercy I've found.

" The door of thy mercy stands open all day
To the poor and the needy, who knock by tlie way ;
No sinner shall ever be empty sent back.
Who comes seeking mercy for Jesus's sake.

" Thy mercy in Jesus exempts me from hell ;
Its glories I'll sing, and its wonders I'll tell :
'Twas Jesus, my Friend, when he hung on the tree.
Who opened the channel of mercy for me.

" Great Father of mercies, thy goodness I own.
And the covenant love of thy crucified Son :
All praise to the Spirit, whose witness divine
Seals mercy, and pardon, and righteousness mine."

3. A spirit of prayer was granted to these converts
that was truly marvellous. Men who had never before
prayed in public, and from the careless tenor of whose
lives it might be fairly inferred that they had rarely, if
ever, prayed in secret, would now pour forth their sup-
plications with a liberty and a propriety of expression
that utterly astonished their former acquaintances.

36 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

They would quote Scripture, in their addresses to the
Deity, with a pertinence and an accuracy that could only
be accounted for on the principle that " their hearts
were lifted up in the ways of the Lord," and that all
the powers of their mind were quickened by the divine
Spirit. The compass of their petitions, and the force
of their language, were wonderful. This extraordmary
gift in prayer evidently accompanied that bodily exer-
cise. Even children but five or six years old had
this power in prayer, and those clear, affecting views
of divine truth, when they were the subjects of that
singular dispensation. A worthy Presbyterian elder,
now a citizen, of Springfield, mentioned to me the
case of a little girl, at the meeting at Caneridge :
her exact age he did not know, but she was so small
that her father carried her about in his arms. She
spoke of Christ in a manner that melted down all who
heard her. She talked of his everlastmg love, that
brought him to earth to save lost men ; the deep
sorrows he bore for our sakes. She spoke of the
scenes in Gethsemane and on Calvary, the grave in
which Christ was laid, his resurrection, his ascension,
his intercession, and the solemnities of his second
coming. Careless and hard-hearted sinners gathered
around, some of them old in sin, some who had been
avowed unbelievers ; but all within the hearing of her
voice were overcome and brought to tears by the
affecting truths which she uttered.

I wish to record another fact. Of the professors of
religion who were in the country when this revival
began, perhaps one half became the subjects of this
bodily exercise ; that is, they either fell, or were affected
in some other way. These were invariably baptized

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 37

with that spirit of prayer. In many cases, the bodily
exercise did not continue long. But that marvellous
power of prayer was lasting as life. I could mention
names in abundance to substantiate this fact. I com-
menced preaching on the 15th of December, 1815. I
lived and labored in the ministry until 1830, on the
ground where this work had prevailed with power and
great glory. The meridian splendor of this revival
was from the year 1800 to 1805, though it continued,
in many places, for several years longer. Now, I can
name men, with whom I was well acquainted during
the first fifteen years of my ministry, — which reaches a
period thirty years distant from the commencement of
this wonderful work of God, — men of humble preten-
sions, ordinary capacity and acquirements, who had
been church members before, but were now blessed in
this revival, who, when they engaged in prayer, would
at once rise above and beyond themselves ; yes, above
and beyond all that I ever heard, whether elder, dea-
con, or minister, who had not been baptized with the
spirit and power of that memorable divine visitation.
And I state this, while I tell the reader that I was
not myself a subject of that great work. My father,
my mother, and my eldest sister were ; but I never had
any hope of conversion during that season of mercy.
Yet its leading facts are indelibly imprinted on the
tablet of my memory ; and when I speak of it, "I
speak what I know, and testify what I have seen."
One fact more. This extraordinary power in prayer
continued with those persons through their life. Many
of them are now gone. Some, however, continue to
this day. And the man who has been acquainted with
that strain or manner of prayer^ will know it in a
4

38 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

moment, whenever or wherever he may have the op-
portunity to hear it again.

The God of the Bible is the God of providence.
And there is often an affecting analogy between facts
which we now observe, and notable facts in the early
history of the church, as recorded in the sacred book.
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, after that
wonderful interview with God, his face shined in a
manner that was marvellous, and it continued thus to
shine till the day of his death. I have thought of this,
when meditating on the unquestionable fact, that those
who were brought so near to God in this great revival
of 1800, and had granted to them such clear vision of
Jehovah's holy character, and of that Mediator whose
name is " Wonderful," and whose death purchased
redemption for men, had a striking peculiarity in-
stamped on their prayers, which continued through all
the remaining part of their earthly pilgrimage.

The following letter from Dr. Baxter, written at
that day, is exceedingly valuable. I give it to the
reader, as it contains a picture of the times drawn by
the hand of a master. Through the entire prime of
his life, the writer ranked among the very first minis-
ters in the Presbyterian church. For many years, he
was president of Washington College, at Lexington :
and at the time of his death, he was professor of
theology in the Union Theological Seminary, Virginia.

Letter from the Rev. George Baxter to the Rev. A. Alexander, dated
Washington Academy, Virginia, Januaiy 1, 1802.

" Rev. and Dear Sir, —

" I now sit down, agreeably to promise, to give
you some account of the revival of religion in the

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 3^

State of Kentucky. You have, no doubt, heard already
of the Green River and Cumberland revivals. I will
just observe, that the last summer is the fourth since
the revival commenced in those places ; and that it
has been more remarkable than any of the preceding,
not only for lively and fervent devotion among Chris-
tians, but also for awakenings and conversions among
the careless ; and it is worthy of notice, that very few
instances of apostasy have hitherto appeared. As I
was not myself in the Cumberland country, all I can
say about it is from the testimony of others ; but I was
uniformly told by those who had been there, that their
religious assemblies were more solemn, and the appear-
ance of the work much greater, than what had been
in Kentucky : any enthusiastic symptoms which might '
at first have attended the revival had greatly subsided,
whilst the serious concern and engagedness of the
people were visibly increased.

" In the older settlement of Kentucky, the revival
made its first appearance among the Presbyterians, last
spring. The whole of that country, about a year be-
fore, was remarkable for vice and dissipation ; and I
have been credibly informed that a decided majority of
the people were professed infidels.

"Diuring the last winter, appearances were favorable
among Baptists, and great numbers were added to
their churches. Early in the spring, the ministrations
of the Presbyterian clergy began to be better attended
than they had been for many years before ; their wor-
shipping assemblies became more solemn ; and the
people, after they were dismissed, showed a strange
reluctance at leaving the place : they generally con-
tinued some time in the meeting-houses, in singing or
in religious conversation.

4B THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

" Perhaps about the last of May or the first of June,
the awakening became general, in some congregations,
and spread through the country in every direction, with
amazing rapidity. I left that country about the first
of November, at which time this revival, in connection
with the one in Cumberland, had covered the whole
state, excepting a small settlement which borders on
the waters of Green River, in which no Presbyterian
ministers are settled, and I believe very few of any
denomination. The power with which this revival has
spread, and its influence in moralizing the people, are
difficult for you to conceive, and more difficult for me to
describe. I had heard many accounts, and seen many
letters, respecting it, before I went to that country ; but
my expectations, though greatly raised, were much
below the reality of the work.

" The congregations, when engaged in worship,
presented scenes of solemnity superior to what I had
ever seen before ; and in private houses it was no un-
common thing to hear parents relate to strangers the
wonderful things which God had done in their neigh-
borhoods, whilst a large circle of young people would
be in tears. On my way to Kentucky, I was told by
settlers ^on the road, that the character of Kentucky
travellers was entirely changed, and that they were
now as distinguished for sobriety as they had formerly
been for dissoluteness ; and, indeed, I found Kentucky
the most moral place I had ever been in : a profane
expression was hardly heard, a religious one seemed to
pervade the country, and some deistical characters had
confessed that, from whatever cause the revival might
originate, it certainly made the people better.

" Its influence was not less visible in promoting a

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 41

friendly temper : nothing could appear more amiable
than that undissembled benevolence which governs the
subjects of this work. I have often wished that the
mere politician or Deist could observe with impartiality
their peaceful and amicable spirit. He would certainly
see that nothing could equal the religion of Jesus for
promoting even the temporal happiness of society.
Some neighborhoods, visited by the revival, had been
formerly notorious for private animosities ; and many
petty lawsuits had commenced on that ground. When
the parties in these quarrels were impressed with
religion, the first thing was to send for their antagonists ;
and it was often very affecting to see their meeting :
both had seen their faults, and both contended that
they ought to make concessions ; till at last they were
obliged to request each other to forbear all mention of
the past, and to act as friends and brothers for the
future.

" Now, sii", let modern philosophists talk of reforming
the world by banishing Christianity, and introducing
their licentious systems ; the blessed gospel of our God
and Savior is showing what it can do. Some circum-
stances have concurred to distinguish the Kentucky
revival from most others of which we have had any
account ; I mean the largeness of the assemblies on
sacramental occasions, the length of time they con-
tinued on the ground in devotional exercises, and the
great numbers who have fallen down under religious
impressions. On each of these particulars I shall make
some remarks.

" With respect to the largeness of the assemblies :
It is generally supposed that at many places there were
not fewer than eight, ten, or twelve thousand people.
4*

42 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

At a place called Caneridge meeting-house, many were
of opinion there were, at least, twenty thousand : there
were one hundred and forty wagons which came loaded
with people, besides other wheel carriages : some per-
sons had come two hundred miles ; the largeness of
these assemblies was an inconvenience ; they were too
numerous to be addressed by one speaker ; it therefore
became necessary for several ministers to officiate at
different stands : this afforded an opportunity to those
who were but slightly impressed with religion to
wander to and fro between the different places of
worship, which created an appearance of confusion,
and gave ground to such as were unfriendly to the
work to charge it with disorder. Another cause, also,
conduced to the same effect. About this time, the
people began to fall down in great numbers under
serious impressions ; this was a new thing among
Presbyterians : it excited universal astonishment, and
created a curiosity which could not be restrained.
When people fell, even during the most solemn part of
divine service, those who stood near were so extremely
anxious to see how they were affected, that they often
crowded about them so as to disturb the worship.
But these causes of disorder were soon removed ; differ-
ent sacraments were appointed on the same Sabbath,
which divided the people ; and the falling down be-
came so familiar as to excite no distmbance. In
October, I attended three sacraments : at each there
were supposed to be between four and five thousand
people, and every thing was conducted with strict pro-
priety. When persons fell, those who were near them
took care of them, and every one continued quiet until
the worship was concluded.

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 43

" The length of time that people continue at the
places of worship, is another important circumstance
of the Kentucky revival. At Caneridge, they met on
Friday, and continued till Wednesday evening, night
and day, without intermission, either in the public or
private exercises of devotion ; and with such earnest-
ness that heavy showers of rain were not sufficient
to disperse them. On other sacramental occasions, they
generally continued on the ground until Monday or
Tuesday evening ; and had not the preachers been
exhausted and obliged to retire, or had they chosen to
prolong the worship, they might have kept the people
any length of time they pleased ; and all this was, or
might have been done, in a country where, less than
twelve months before, the clergy found it difficult to
detain the people dming the usual exercises of the Sab-
bath. The practice of encamping on the ground was
introduced, partly by necessity, and partly by inclination.
The assemblies were generally too large to be received
by any common neighborhood. Every thing, indeed,
was done, which hospitality and brotherly kindness
could do, to accommodate the people. Public and pri-
vate houses were opened, and free invitations given to all
persons who wished to retire. Farmers gave up their
meadows, before they were mown, to supply the horses.
Yet, notwithstanding all this liberality, it would have
been impossible, in many cases, to accommodate the
whole assemblies with private lodgings. But besides,
the people were unwilling to suffer any interruptions in
their devotions, and they formed an attachment to the
place where they were continually seeing so many
careless sinners receiving their first impressions, and so
many Deists constrained to call on the formerly despised

44 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

name of Jesus ; they conceived a sentiment like what
Jacob felt at Bethel — ' Surely the Lord is in this
place ; this is none other but the house of God, and
this is the gate of heaven.' The number of persons
who have fallen down under serious impressions, in this
revival, is another matter worthy of attention ; and on
this I shall be more particular, as it seems to be the
principal cause why this work should be more sus-
pected of enthusiasm than some other revivals. At
Caneridge sacrament, it is generally supposed not less
than one thousand persons fell prostrate to the ground,
among whom were many infidels. At one sacrament
which I attended, the number that fell was thought to
be more than three hundred. Persons who fall are
generally such as have manifested symptoms of the
deepest impressions for some time previous to that
event. Immediately before they become totally pow-
erless, they are seized with a general tremor, and some-
times, though not often, they utter one or two piercing
shrieks in the moment of falling. Persons in this situ-
ation are affected in different degrees : sometimes, when
unable to stand or sit, they have the use of their hands,
and can converse with perfect composure. In other
cases, they are unable to speak ; the pulse becomes
weak, and they draw a difficult breath about once in a
minute. In some instances, their extremities become
cold, and pulsation, breathing, and all the signs of
life, forsake them for nearly an hour. Persons who
have been in this situation have uniformly avowed that
they felt no bodily pain ; that they had the entire use
of their reason and reflection ; and when recovered, they
would relate every thing that had been said or done
near them, or which could possibly fall within their

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 45

observation. From this it appears that their falling is
neither a common fainting, nor a nervous affection.
Indeed, this strange phenomenon appears to have taken
every possible turn to baffle the conjecture of those
who are not willing to consider it a supernatural power.
Persons have sometimes fallen on their way from public
worship, and sometimes after they had arrived at home ;
in some cases, when they were pursuing their com-
mon business on their farms, or when retired for secret
devotion.

'' It was observed, generally, that persons were
seriously affected for some time previous to their
falling. In many cases, however, it is otherwise ; num-
bers of thoughtless sinners have fallen as suddenly as
if struck with lightning. Many professed infidels and
other vicious characters have been arrested in this way,
and sometimes at the very moment when they were
uttering blasphemies against the work. At the begin-
ning of the revival in Shelby county, the appearances,
as related to me by eye-witnesses, were very surprising
indeed. The revival had before this spread, with irre-
sistible power, through the adjacent countries ; and
many of the pious had attended distant sacraments
with great benefit. These were much engaged, and felt
unusual freedom in their addresses at the throne of grace,
for the outpouring of the divine Spirit, at the approach-
ing sacrament in Shelby.

" The sacrament came on in September. The peo-
ple, as usual, met on Friday ; but all were languid, and
the exercises went on heavily. On Saturday and Sun-
day morning, it was no better. At length, the commun-
ion commenced ; every thing was still lifeless. While
the minister of the place was speaking at one of the

46 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

tables, without any unusual animation, suddenly there
were several shrieks from dififerent parts of the assem-
bly ; instantly persons fell in every direction, the feel-
ings of the pious were suddenly revived, and the work
progressed with extraordinary power till the conclusion
of the solemnity.

^' This phenomenon of falling is common to all
ages, sexes, and characters ; and when they fall, they
are differently exercised. Some pious people have fallen
under a sense of ingratitude and hardness of heart,
and others under affecting manifestations of the love
and goodness of God ; many thoughtless persons under
legal convictions, who have obtained comfort before
they arose. But perhaps the most numerous class
consists of those who fall under distressing views of
their guilt, who arise under the same fearful apprehen-
sions, and continue in that state for some days, perhaps
weeks, before they receive comfort. I have conversed
with many who fell under the influence of comfortable
feelings ; and the account they gave of their exercises
while they lay entranced was very surprismg. I
know not how to give you a better idea of them, than
by saying that in many cases they appear to siupass
the dying exercises of Dr. Finley ; their minds ap-
peared wholly swallowed up in contemplating the
perfections of the Deity, as illustrated in the plan of
salvation ; and whilst they lay apparently senseless and
almost lifeless, their minds were more vigorous, and
their memories more retentive and accurate, than they
had ever been before. I have heard men of respecta-
bility assert that their manifestations of gospel truth
were so clear as to require some caution, when they
began to speak, lest they should use language which

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 47

might induce their hearers to think they had seen
those things with bodily eyes ; but at the same time,
they had seen no image nor sensible representation, nor
indeed any thing beside the old truths contained in the
Bible. Among those whose minds were filled with the
most delightful communications of divine love, I but
seldom observed any thing ecstatic. Their expressions
were just and rational ; they conversed with calmness
and composure ; and on their first recovering their
speech, they appeared like persons recovering from
a violent disease, which had left them on the borders
of the grave. I have sometimes been present when
those who fell under the influence of convictions
obtained relief before they arose. In these cases, it was
impossible not to observe how strongly the change in
their minds was depicted in their countenances.
Instead of a face of horror and despair, they assume
one open, luminous, and serene, and expressive of all
the comfortable feelings of religion. As to those who
fall down mider legal convictions, and continue in that
state, they were not different from those who receive
convictions in other revivals, excepting that their dis-
tress is more severe. Indeed, extraordinary power is the
leading characteristic of this revival ; both saints and
sinners have more striking discoveries of the realities of
another world, than I have ever known on any occasion.
" I trust I have said enough on this subject to enable
you to judge how the charge of enthusiasm is applica-
ble to it. Lord Lyttleton, in his letter on the conversion
of St. Paul, observes, (I think justly,) that enthusiasm
is a vain, self-righteous spirit, swelled with self-
sufficiency, and disposed to glory in its religious attain-
ments. If this be a good definition, there has been,

48 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

perhaps, as little enthusiasm in the Kentucky revival
as in any other. Never have I seen more genuine marks
of that humility which disclaims the merit of its own
duties, and looks to the Lord Jesus Christ as the only
way of acceptance with God, I was, indeed, highly
pleased to find that Christ was all and all, in their
religion as well as in the religion of the gospel. Chris-
tians, in their highest attainments, seemed more sensible
of their enthe dependence on divine grace ; and it was
truly affecting to hear with Avhat agonizing anxiety
awakened sinners inquired for Christ as the only
physician who could give them any help. Those
who call these things enthusiasm ought to tell us what
they understand by the spirit of Christianity. In fact,
sir, this revival operates as our Savior promised the
Holy Spirit should, when sent into the world : it con-
vinces of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment — a
strong confirmation, to my mind, both that the promise
is divine, and that this is a remarkable fulfilment of it.
It would be of little avail to object to all this, that
probably the professions of many were counterfeited.
Such an objection would rather establish what it meant
to destroy ; for where there is no reality, there can be
no counterfeit ; and besides, where the general tenor
of a work is such, as to dispose the more insincere pro-
fessors to counterfeit what is right, the work itself
must be genuine. But as an eye-witness in the case, I
may be permitted to declare that the professions of
those under religious convictions were generally marked
with such a degree of engagedness and feeling as
wilful hypocrisy could hardly assume. The language
of the heart, when deeply impressed, is very distm-
guishable from the language of alfectation. Upon the

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 49

whole, sir, I think the revival in Kentucky, among the
most extraordinary that have ever visited the church
of Christ, and, all things considered, peculiarly adapt-
ed to the circumstances of that country. Infidelity
was triumphant, and religion on the point of exjDiring :
something of an extraordinary nature seemed necessary
to arrest the attention of giddy people, who were
ready to conclude that Christianity was a fable, and
futurity a dream. This revival has done it ; it has
confounded infidelity, awed vice into silence, and
brought numbers beyond calculation under serious
impression. While the blessed Savior was calling his
people, and building up his church in this remarkable
way, opposition could not be silent. At this I hinted
above ; but it is proper to observe, that the clamorous
opposition which assailed the work at its commence-
ment, has been in a great measm'e borne down before
it ; a large proportion of those who have fallen were
first opposers, and their example has taught others to
be cautious, if it has not taught them to be wise.

" I have written on this subject to a greater length
than I first intended ; but if this account should give
you any satisfaction, and be of any benefit to the com-
mon cause, I shall be fully gratified.

" Yours, with the highest esteem,

" G. BAXTER.

" The Rev. A. Alexander."

I now close this article with a very few remarks.

1. Were there not many disorders and irregularities

connected with this great work of God ? The reader

has seen Dr. Baxter's opinion ; and he was regarded

through life as a man of clear and sound judgment,

§0 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

whose decisions were entitled to much regard. But I
ask the question again, because there has been much
mistake on this point. There has been much written
and published in the east concerning the irregularities
and disorders of that day, for which there was just
about as much foundation as there has been for the
lugubrious effusions of certain English tourists in
America, in view of the semi-barbarian condition of
the American people. As most persons are prone to
regard themselves as very highly civilized, so we are
all ready to look upon ourselves as peculiarly ''dis-
creet " and "judicious." There is often in the church
much difficulty in finding persons who are willing to
labor for the conversion of sinners ; who are ready to
" go out into the highways and hedges, and compel
them to come in, that God's house may be filled."
But who ever saw any lack of persons who were eager
to do "the judicious," "the prudent," "the cii-cum-
spect," " the fault-finding," which the good of the
church demanded ? There is no supererogation to
which we are more prone, than that of indulging pain-
ful apprehensions lest all the " prudence," " sound
judgment," and " descretion," should have been allotted
to ourselves. Thoughtful, anxious man ! vex not in
vain thy righteous soul. There is not the least danger
that fretting, fault-finding, or any of the virtues belong-
ing to that amiable constellation, will die with thee !
How slow are men to learn the lesson taught by the
death of Uzzah ! He supposed it was necessary for
him to take hold of the ark, in order to keep it steady.
He had no right to touch it. " And God smote him
there for his error ; and there he died by the ark of
God." (2 Sam. vi. 6, 7.)

THE GREAT REVIVAL. ' 51

Two of the ministers who labored in that revival,
with whom I was afterwards well acquainted, were
graduates of Princeton College, during the presidency
of Dr. Wither&poon. Rev. Samuel Doak, D. D. and
Rev. Edward Crawford were " burning and shining
lights," at that period, among the churches of the
west. Dr. Doak was, for more than twenty years,
occasionally the subject of the "bodily exercise."
Indeed, from its appearance in 1800, until his death in
1830, he was often affected by it. He was a powerful
man in both mind and body ; an excellent scholar,
such as Princeton graduates at that day generally were ;
and a thorough Calvinist, of the Scotch Presbyterian
school. He was among the very early settlers in the
west ; emigrated there from Virginia near the close
of the revolutionary war ; and, through a long life, glo-
rified God, and preached the gospel of peace and good
will to men. He was the president of the college at
which Gideon Blackburn, Dr. Nelson, and many of our
western ministers were educated. With Rev. Edward
Crawford I spent a number of months, while I was a
student of theology. My impression is, that he was
never in person affected by the bodily exercise ; but he
labored abundantly in the churches where it prevailed.
I have heard him speak of it often. He believed that
similar bodily affections had frequently taken place in
the experience of Bible saints. He would quote the
text where Abraham fell on his face before God " and
laughed." (Gen. xvii. 17.) He would point to the
soldiers of King Saul, and the case of Saul himself,
( 1 Sam. xix. 18 — 24, ) and to David dancing and shouting
before the ark of the Lord. (2 Sam. vi. 14, 15.) He
would refer also to the scenes described Neh. viii. 9 — 11,

M THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

where it required all the authority of Nehemiah, Ezra,
and the Levites, to "still the people." So overwhelm-
ing were their emotions when they "understood the
words of the law." He would repeat the language of
Christ, (Luke vi. 23,) "Rejoice ye in that day, and
leap for joy ; for behold, your reward is great in
heaven." How would a venerable apostle appear in
our eyes at the present day, should we see him,
wrapped in his plain mantle, his long white beard reach-
ing down to the waist, leaping for joy, in view of his
reward in heaven ? Mr. Crawford would illustrate and
confirm his opinion of the bodily agitations which
attended that revival, by reference to the scenes on the
day of Pentecost, the conversion of Saul of Tarsus,
and the bodily prostration of both Daniel and St. John,
when blessed with visions of God. It would have
been thought "passing strange" by the good people
among whom these venerable fathers lived and labored,
had any one charged them with " lack of judgment,"
" want of discretion," or asserted that their views of the
revival were not entitled to high respect. Gideon
Blackburn was in the prime of life durmg this precious
season of divine mercy. He was then, and long after-
wards, extensively known to the American churches as
an effective and indefatigable minister of the New
Testament. Dr. Anderson, of Tennessee, who labored
much with Blackburn, has often expressed the opinion,
that, in all likelihood, the disclosures of the judgment
day will show that the seal of God, in the form of
" souls renewed," was set to the ministry of Black-
burn, to an extent rarely equalled, since the days of
inspiration, among ambassadors of the cross.

Blackburn's opinion of the great revival Avill be seen

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 53

by the following extract of a letter to a friend in Phila-
delphia, dated

" IiIarytille, Tenn., January 20, 1804.

" Rev. and Dear Sir, —

" The wonderful appearances attendant on the
revival in the state of Tennessee, has arrested the atten-
tion of both the friends and enemies of religion. The
bodily exercise has assumed such a variety of shapes
as to render it a truly Herculean task to give an intelli-
gible statement of it to any person who has never seen
it. However, I do not hesitate to say, that it is evi-
dently the Lord's work, though marvellous in our eyes.

" Since my return to the state of Tennessee, I have
attended eight sacraments ; and these in diiferent parts
of the country. Prom one thousand to thii'ty-five hun-
dred have been assembled together — of course, col-
lected from considerable distances. I have conversed
particularly with upwards of eight hundred persons on
their exercises, views, feelings, &c., and I am con-
strained to say, that I have discovered far less extrava-
gance, disorder, and irregularity, than could have pos-
sibly been expected in so extraordinary an awakening,
especially when part of it took place among persons
settled in the back parts, and entu'ely destitute of the
means of grace. If crowded audiences, earnest praying,
practical preaching, and animated singing, may be con-
sidered irregular, there is a great deal of iiTcgularity.
If crying out for mercy, if shouting glory to God for
salvation, are disorderly, then there is some disorder ;
but, I presume, not more than there was at the day of
Pentecost.

" The only thing with us, which can be construed
into disorder or extravagance, is the motions of the
5*

54' THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

body under the exercise. In most of the cases, when
the paroxysm begins to go otf, the subject feels the
strongest desire for prayer, and frequently expresses
himself in the most pathetic, fluent, and pertment
manner I ever heard. Children of five or six, and
persons who before appeared grossly ignorant, express
themselves in such a manner, form their petitions so
judiciously, and introduce Scripture so pertinently,
that I question if the greatest doctor of divinity in
America would not blush in the view of his own
inferiority.

" The subjects of those exercises are found in all
classes, ranks, and degrees — the person of eighty and
the child of four ; the master in afiiuence, and the
slave in bondage ; the clergy in the pulpit, and the
laity in the pews ; the man of long religious standing,
those of a recent date, and many who have no religion
at all. It is universally agreed that there is no religion
in the bodily exercise ; yet it is thought to be a very
solemn, external call, is well calculated to impress the
mind, and ought to be improved.

" In short, I have not only heard of it, and seen it,
but have/e/i it, and am persuaded that it is only to be
efi"ected by the immediate finger of God. There are
some impostors, there are some extravagances ; but
these make no characteristic feature of the work, and
are held in absolute abhorrence by the pious. The
best evidence of a revival is the fruit produced. To
this we shall attend : a full enumeration of this would
swell my long letter to a volume. The infidel of
many years' standing is often seen laying down his
weapons at the foot of the cross, and heard crying out,
" There is a Savior. I enjoy more sweetness in a

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 55

moment, than I have done for years,' (fee. These
things I have seen and heard. They have also de-
clared, that men and books could never have so effec-
tually convinced them of the truth, as the bodily
exercise has done. Those of the same class, who are
not convinced, are completely silenced. The ball
room, tippling shops, and taverns, have, in a number of
instances, been thrown open to the pious, and converted
into places of prayer and praise in social exercise.
The most profane settlements, where religion was not
known, or the name of God mentioned only in blas-
phemy, are regularly formed into societies, and meet
weekly for social prayer. The very caves of the
mountains, where a few of the more indifferent had
crowded, are now sounding with praise to God, Pray-
ing societies may be attended every day or every night
in the week, by a ride of a few miles. In these, boys
of twelve or fifteen will cheerfully take their part,
when called upon. In all these societies, there is
one appointed to preside, who reads the Scriptures,
chooses and points out the hymns, and calls on persons
to pray, as he chooses ; and thus all is conducted with
decency and order. It is not uncommon on Sabbath
evenings, and frequently in the week, to find twenty or
more children associated in a silent grove, none of them
more than twelve years old, and engaged in the most
solemn prayer.

" I have drawn near them, and seen and heard won-
ders indescribable — some crying to Jesus for mercy ;
some shouting, ' Glory to God for salvation ; ' others
praying for their own souls — their brothers, sisters,
fathers, mothers, friends, ministers — praying for the
church — the heathen — yea, for the world at large, O,

56 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

sir, nothing but the hosannas of the children on the
entry of Christ into Jerusalem, could equal the praises
of these infants. Nor is this a hasty flash, but con-
tinues, while they are evidently become both more
dutiful and docile. Their desire, as soon as they take
the bodily exercise, for instruction and for the means
of grace, is past conception. The poor black slaves are
much reformed ; they are more dutiful, faithful, and
upright ; and many of their nights, after days of
fatigue, are spent in social prayer. In a word, the
Christian is animated, the hypocrite alarmed, and sin-
ners tremble. The doctrines of the cross are thirsted
after, and more fully understood, than they would have
been, in a common way, in ten years' regular attention.
Total depravity, free grace, inexcusable rebellion,
and infinite mercy, are favorite topics. The great
object appears to be, to despise self, and exalt the
Redeemer. The sinner ceases to make terms with his
Creator, and surrenders in entire, unconditional sub-
mission. The love of Christians for each other has
increased at least tenfold, especially with those who
have been the subjects of the bodily exercise, (for it is
to be remarked, that all Christians are not the subjects
of it,) and the zeal for the interest of Zion has had a
proportionate increase. Prayer, praise, and religious
conversation, are clearly the order of the day ; and this
practice, passing through the common circles of society,
has bettered their state and sweetened the relations
of life.

" These are some of the effects produced ; and while
such is the fruit of the moral tree, I shall consider the
root good, and the cause producing it divine. I ought
to have remarked, that the bodily exercise is not the

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 57

eifcct of the weakness of the nervous system, for the
weak, hysterical female will often remain umnoved,
while the stout and sturdy veteran will sink and fall
by her side. As soon as any person who has been the
subject of the exercise has been attacked by sickness,
the exercise leaves him entirely, until he again recovers
strength, when it returns with force proportionate to
his returning strength. After all I have said, you will
not be able to form an accurate judgment of the thing
without being a spectator yourself; nor can it be fully
described by any man on earth. I have simply stated
facts so far as I have gone, not any by hearsay, but
what I have seen myself. Should the bodily exercise
produce as good fruits in Philadelphia as it has done
here, I should sincerely v/ish to hear of it making its
appearance in that city. When persons are under the
bodily exercise, they can think and express themselves
beyond their common level very considerably ; and of
this I am convinced by experience.
" I am, &c.
0 "GIDEON BLACKBURN."

2. But were there not alarming errors in doctrines
that sprang up in the west during that revival ? Did
not Arianism and Socinianism come in like a flood ?
Did not Shakerism appear and make many converts ?
I answer, Arianism and Socinianism, in their various
forms, were making great progress at that time in Ger-
many, in England, in the province of Ulster, Ireland,
and in portions of our Atlantic states. And it is true,
that while the public mind was waked up on the great
subject of religion in the west, Arianism and Socinian-
ism appeared in some parts of the country : there were

58 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

some cases, among both ministers and people, where
these forms of error were embraced, which occasioned
deep regret in the church. It is further true, that three
Shaker missionaries, from Lebanon, in New York, I
believe, came to the west, and succeeded in forming
two small societies in Kentucky, and one in Ohio.
This is about the extent to which Shakerism obtained
any permanent foothold in the west. The revival
prevailed over large districts of Western Pennsylvania,
The region round about Pittsburg was greatly blessed.
It prevailed extensively in Western and South-western
Virginia. It literally covered most of the settled por-
tions of Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and visited
extensive regions in North and South Carolina and
Georgia. Through this entire range of comitry, the
Baptist church, the Methodist church, and the Presby-
terian church, were blessed and prospered greatly ; and
yet, because Socinianism and Arianism made a limited
impression in portions of Kentucky and Ohio, while
they were marching in triumph through some of the
Atlantic regions and through large districts o^Europe,
and because Shakerism was imported from the east,
and planted at two points in Kentucky, and one in
Ohio, the devil has labored hard to send abroad the
proclamation, that the great western revival resulted
in little else than disorders — Arianism and Shakerism.
In a conversation which I once had with Dr. Nelson,
concerning this outpouring of the Spirit of God, by
which the overspreading tide of infidelity was arrested,
and the west transformed into a Christian land, he
expressed much regret that this richest blessing, be-
stowed by a bountiful God, in our early history, should
have been so egregiously misrepresented and misun-

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 59

derstood in other parts of the Union. I asked him this
question —

" Do you not think, doctor, that the devil must have
immense talent ? "

"Sir," said he, "my respect for his talent is rising
regularly, the more I see of his management."

When God has been pleased graciously to visit a
people with the quickening power of his Spirit, and
many have been turned from sin to holiness, and from
Satan to God, is it not marvellous that good men can
be so deluded by the wiles of the great adversary as to
become evidently eager to impute all the wrong things
that may appear in that community, for ten or twenty
years afterwards, to the influence of the revival ? With
as much propriety, you might charge the apostasy of
Judas to the ministry of Jesus Christ.

Inspiration tells us, that .in order to accomplish his
base designs, the devil assumes various disguises. At
one time he is a serpent — " that old serpent." Again,
"he goeth about as a roaring lion." And again, he
appears a* a '• great red dragon." Now, I venture to
surmise, that had we an inspired history of the strata-
gems of the devil at this day, we should find, that
he resorts to another disguise, in order to deceive, to
wit, that of a turkey-buzzard ; and he will flutter and
flap his foul wings over a fragment of his favorite car-
rion, and, if possible, raise dust enough to prevent you
from discerning all the beauty that is visible among
"the cattle upon a thousand hills."

Why should Arianism, Socinianism, or Shakerishi
be brought up to dishonor the western revival of 1800,
when all these " isms," originated elsewhere, were but
imported into the west, and never prevailed there as

60 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

they have prevailed in regions where that revival was
unknown ? Certain it is that no men more regretted
any departures from sound doctrine than did those
good men whose labors were so abundantly blessed in
that dispensation of the Holy Spirit, by which the
west, in its infancy, was consecrated to the service of
God.

Nor do I believe that now, after the lapse of near
fifty years, there is any part of the Christian world,
where, in proportion to their numbers, there is m the
several evangelical denominations more of that religion
which God approves, than in the region visited by the
revival of 1800.

I will here mention one district, one denomination,
and one family.

The district is that included within the bounds of
the Presbyterian synod of Tennessee, that is, East
Tennessee, and a portion of South-western Virginia.
This region was powerfully visited with the Spirit of
God during the great revival. And in fact, the revival
continued there when it had ceased at many other
points. Fifteen years after the commencement of this
glorious work, I entered the ministry in that comitry,
and labored there until 1830. I was extensively
acquainted with churches and families through much
of that region. It was then called the '' Switzerland
of America," in reference to the mountainous features
of the country, and the prevalence of pure, Protestant
religion. If, at that period, there was any considerable
number of Arians and Socinians. or even one Shaker
family, in all that range of country, I know not where
they were to be found. An accm'ate and extensive
knowledge of the Bible, in connection with a conse-

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 61

cration of the soul to God in Christ, existed among
that people to a degree that is rare in this fallen world.
This was the fruit of God's Spirit in that memorable
revival.

The denomination to which I refer is that of the
Cumberland Presbyterians. This body of Christian
people began their organized existence during that
great divine visitation. They now have a member-
ship numbering, as I am informed, some hundred and
twenty or thirty thousand. I say nothing of the
shades of opinion, in which they may vary from other
Presbyterian bodies. They preach salvation through
the atonement of a divine Redeemer, and the renewing
power of the Holy Spirit. There are among them
very many strong men — "workmen that need not
to be ashamed." And their blessed Master has been
with them in every part of that wide field where they
have labored, and has made his gospel " the power of
God unto salvation " to many thousands of believing
souls. From my inmost soul I honor these men, and
I will speak of it in the presence of the church of
my God. For without patronage or prospect of ade-
quate worldly support, they '' did put their life in their
hand," and met difficulties and dangers that were for-
midable and many, and by their instrumentality '' the
Lord wrought a great salvation." Zion's friends have
seen it, and rejoice.

I have no hesitation in declaring my belief, that
during the last forty years, no body of Christian min-
isters in America, or even in the world, have preached
so much good, effective preaching, and received so little
worldly compensation, as the ministers of the Cumber-
land Presbyterian church. That church now stands
6

62 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

before earth and heaven a monument of God's great
work in the revival of 1800.

The family I wished to mention is that of my
grandfather. I am confident that there is no impro-
priety in this. My aim is that Z ion's God may be
glorified, and the work of God's Spirit may be seen m
its bearing on a single house.

My grandfather, with a family of seven sons and
two daughters, emigrated from the state of Pennsyl-
vania to East Tennessee very soon after the treaty of
peace with Great Britain, in 1783. Both the parents
died within a few years after their removal, leaving
this large family of young persons, amid the trials and
dangers of a new country, distracted with Indian hos-
tilities. One of the brothers went to a distant part
of the country at an early day. The conclusion of his
earthly history I never knew. But the six brothers
and the two sisters, all now married and blessed with
families, were living comparatively near to each other
at the commencement of the great revival. Thus far
they had all lived '' without God and without hope in
the world." In that wonderful visitation of divine
mercy, these six brothers and their wives, these two
sisters and their husbands, were all made the happy
subjects of renewing grace. O, I have heard these
brothers, and these sisters, after they had entered on
their march for the city of God, singing the honors of
their Redeemer in such lines as these : —

" Amazing grace ! how sweet the sound !
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found ;
Was blind, but now I see.

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 63

" 'Tvvas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fear relieved.
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believed !

" Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come ;
'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

" The Lord has promised good to me ;
His word my hope secures ;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

" Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail.
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

" The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine ;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine."

These brothers and sisters are now gone to " the
heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company
of angels." From most of their families I have been
separated for many years. But I have received the
joyful intelligence that among them the mercy of the
Lord has gone down to children, and to children's chil-
dren. Of the family of one of these brothers, however,
I can speak more particularly. In that family, both
of the parents lived and "walked with God" more
than forty years from the period when they first
entered into his holy covenant. They then died in
faith, and in hope of a glorious immortality. Ten of
their children attained the years of maturity : all of

64 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

these consecrated themselves to God early, in the
morning of life. Six of their number have already
crossed the cold stream, and gone up "to the general
assembly and church of the first born, which are writ-
ten in heaven." Of the surviving four, three are sons,
who have long labored in the west as ministers of the
gospel in the Presbyterian church. Two of them, at
this date. (November, 1849,) have been preaching about
twenty-five years. Their ministry has been owned
of God, and blessed to the souls of many. The other
son, however unworthy of the privilege, has preached
the gospel of Christ almost thirty-four years. In his
family, the six eldest children have dedicated them-
selves to God while very young ; one at the age of
nine years, and all the others before their years had
numbered twelve.

These humble statistics are recorded, in the
" Western Sketch-Book," to the glory of the great
name of Z ion's King, and that honest inquirers, who
are desirous of knowing the truth, may have facts
before them from which to judge of the fruits and
results of the " western revival of 1800."

The facts given here, however, are but a " handful to
the harvest." But, O, "the Lord shall count, when
he writeth up the people, that this and that man was
born there." And distant generations will rise up and
give hallelujahs to his name, that he baptized our
beloved western country, in its early infancy, by this
memorable outpouring of his Holy Spirit.

There is here another mstance of that beautiful
analogy, before mentioned, between the ancient and
modern dispensations of God's providence and grace.
" When the day of Pentecost had fully come, there

THE GREAT REVIVAL. 65

were dwelling at Jerusalem " — that is, they were col-
lected to celebrate the feast of Pentecost — '' Jews,
devout men, out of every nation under heaven."
God's grace came down on them, and three thousand
were converted in one day, and five thousand in
another, and great multitudes were thus added to the
infant church. Now, mark, when this pentecostal sea-
son was concluded, and all these converts returned to
their homes, they carried the elements of Christianity
with them into almost every part of the heathen world.
When the apostles afterwards went abroad among the
nations to preach the gospel and organize churches, in
almost every province, in almost every city, in almost
every nook and corner of the Gentile world, they found
more or less of these early converts, to hold up their
hands, to join with them in prayer, to assist them by
their counsel, and, in fact, to furnish a nucleus around
which churches might be gathered ; and the apostles
rejoiced, while they marvelled, at the depth, and height,
and perfection of the counsels of God.

Now, for more than thirty years, communities at a
distance have been emptying their population into the
great valley. Not only have the streams poured in
from the older states of our happy Union, but Euro-
pean nations have sent over their thousands and their
hundreds of thousands. With the alien character of
our foreign population, and the proneness of the
American emigrant to forget his religion when he goes
to the west, we know not what the results might
have been, had no other element been thrown in by
divine Providence. But God had interposed. He had
imbued the strong, resolute western man with supreme
love to Christ and his church. He had, by his Holy
6*

66 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

Spirit, made this fearless, decided western man a Chris-
tian and a Protestant. And the mmister who for more
than thirty years has travelled in the west, preaching
and organizing churches, has found this firm, deter-
mined western man standing up at every point for the
honor and for the church of his divine Master. And
he, with great frequency, is the nucleus around which
young churches are formed in the wide west to the
glory of our Redeemer.

Other agencies have come into the field since, and
they have done well. But '' render unto Cesar the
things that are Cesar's, and unto God the things that
are God's." Be it known, therefore, unto thee, " O
earth ! earth ! earth ! " that the mighty west is a Chris-
tian and Protestant land, because the God of glory
appeared there at an early day, and poured the abun-
dance of his salvation upon her people. Ah, she will
carry down to far distant ages the decided impression
and fixed character instamped upon her childhood by
the seal of the Holy Spirit.

RECOLLECTIONS OF GEN. JACKSON. 67

RECOLLECTIONS OF GENERAL
JACKSON.

Colonel Samuel M. Grant, of Northern Missouri,
first waked up my mind to the importance of recording
and preserving the testimony of General Jackson on
the subject of the truth and value of the Christian
religion. Said he, " I was in Palmyra at the time the
news was received of General Jackson's public profes-
sion of faith in Jesus Christ. A gentleman, whom I
had long known as a professed rejecter of the gospel,
hailed me at the door of his office, and desired me to
come in. I entered, and he held up a newspaper, and
said, ' I have just been reading the account of General
Jackson making a profession of the religion of Jesus
Christ. It is long since my eyes have known a tear ;
but now I have been weeping freely in view of that
venerable old man standing up in the church and
confessing Christ as his Savior.' " Such was Colonel
Grant's account of this incident in Palmyra, which, he
said, affected his heart much, as he had long known
this gentleman, and had regarded him as hopelessly
sunk in the vortex of infidelity ; and now he was sur-
prised and gratified to find him startled and roused to
such an extent by the public religious stand taken by
General Jackson. Colonel Grant then proceeded to
remark, " In my early days, the palpable and notorious

68 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

infidelity of Thomas Jefferson spread a desolation that
was mournful over the entire face of the western coun-
try. Jefferson was distinguished as a politician. His
fame was every where as the draughtsman of the Dec-
laration of Independence. And when it was blown
abroad that Thomas Jefferson had imbibed the French
infidelity, and rejected the gospeL it was like ' the
destruction that wasteth at noonday.' The enemies
of religion took courage, put on airs of immense con-
sequence, boasted, plmiied themselves, and threw up
their blasphemy in the face of Heaven. Ah ! it was
reputable, it was literary, it was scientific, to scowl
at the gospel, and pour forth ' great swelling words '
against all that is sacred. But now," continued Col-
onel Grant, " here is a man, raised up by the hand of
God to the possession of an influence far beyond all
that Jefferson ever possessed ; for Jefferson never was
able to wield public opinion, in this great nation, cis
General Jackson has done. And yet this man publicly
prostrates himself before the cross, and calls on the
crucified Redeemer as his Lord and his God. The
American church should not suffer this important testi-
mony of General Jackson to be overlooked or for-
gotten." Such were the remarks of Colonel Samuel
M. Grant. I felt their appropriateness and their power.
I had known General Jackson personally from early
childhood. My father's house was one of his occa-
sional resting-places, while he officiated as judge in
the state of Tennessee, long before he was elected
general. I remembered his conversation in the family.
I remembered that when the infidelity of Yoltaii-e,
Volney, and Thomas Paine were fashionable, rampant,
and considered as almost essential to the standing of a

RECOLLECTIONS OF GEN. JACKSON. 69

gentleman, Judge Jackson freely and frequently averred
his full and unwavering confidence in the divine author-
ity of the Bible, and the truth of the gospel declaration
that Jesus Christ is the only Savior of lost men, and
that we must repent of sin, and obey the gospel of
Christ, or our souls cannot be saved. I often thought
of the imp'ortance of recording General Jackson's tes-
timony in relation to the gospel ; but his name was so
identified with the politics of the country, that it was
difficult to say any thing concerning him, without
touching some political chord, which I wished not to
agitate.

But now the old general is gone. The political am-
bition which his name so often awakened, has almost
wholly died away. The generation with which he
was identified is rapidly passing into eternity. And
soon the language of the poet, in its fullest extent,
will be applicable to him in his earthly history : —

" He suffered, but his pangs are o'er ;
Enjoyed, but his delights are fled ;
Had friends — his friends are now no more ;
And foes — his foes are dead."

Andrew Jackson was the son of an eminently pious
mother, who died when he was about fourteen years
of age. By this mother he was early taught the Holy
Scriptures, and his young mind deeply imbued with
the knowledge of the great doctrines of the gospel.
With the Catechism of the Westminster Assembly he
was familiar before his mother's death. The Christian
counsel, the prayers, the pious example of that mother,
attended him through all the meanderings of his
eventful life, and had a controlling agency in mould-

70 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

ing and guiding the thoughts and sentiments of his
powerful mind.

He emigrated from South Carolina, his native state,
to Tennessee, when infidelity flooded all the land.
With that infidelity Andrew Jackson would have no
communion. He was not then a church member ;
but he honored God in word by the frank, full, and
often-repeated declaration of his absolute confidence in
the truth of the Holy Scriptures, and man's need of
the great salvation therein revealed. It was, indeed, a
rare and affecting spectacle — a young lawyer of
acknowledged talents, great promise, and brilliant
worldly prospects, standing up the fearless advocate of
the religion of the Bible ; breasting, with undaunted
fortitude, a perverted and polluted public sentiment,
and amidst the scoffs and sneers of popular sceptics
around, unmoved as the rock that breaks the billows
which in vain attempt to shake it.

The elements of true greatness were already con-
spicuous in the character of the youthful Jackson.
Those extraordinary attributes of mind already stood
forth, which in after life enabled hmi to sway and
direct public opinion in one of the greatest nations on
the earth — attributes of mind which so lifted him up,
that, in fact, he will be to posterity the most notable
landmark of the age in which he lived. For this
reason his testimony to the divinity of the gospel had
great weight. General Jackson was not at this period
a professor of religion. Nor can it be said that he
avoided the fashianable amusements of the day. But
he honored God in word. And when the faithful
minister of the gospel publicly rebuked sin, Jack-
son honored the messenger of God, and acknowledged
the righteousness of the message.

RECOLLECTIONS OF GEN. JACKSON. 71

An instance of this occurred in the ministerial labors
of Rev. Robert Henderson. This venerable man was
a zealous and powerful preacher, who labored abun-
dantly among the plain, frontier population of the west.
In those primitive days, the minister of the gospel
considered it his duty to rebuke sin, in whatever circle
of society it might lift up its deformed head. Hen-
derson had a courageous heart, fervent piety, and
descriptive powers of a very high order. Perhaps the
reader would be pleased with a specimen of the style
of Henderson in reproving sin. If so, he shall be grati-
fied. Among the popular vices then in vogue, horse-
racing and cock-fighting were preeminent. The latter
fashionable sport, as it was then called, had many
admirers among western gentlemen. Of this number
General Jackson was one. The consequence was, that
game chickens were in high repute, and were objects
of much attention. There had been a large collection
of gentlemen at one of our western villages, and Gen-
eral Jackson was among them. The day had been
spent in their favorite sport. It was Saturday ; and, as
the evening drew on. Rev. Robert Henderson rode into
town, stopped at the principal hotel, and announced that
he would preach in the comt-house on the next day.
The tidings went abroad on the wings of the wind,
for Henderson was well known, and it was generally
expected that, when he appeared, popular and fashion-
able vices would meet with rough handling.

The morning came. The congregation assembled.
The sermon commenced. " Lo, this only have I found,
that God hath made man upright ; but they have
sought out many inventions." (Eccl. vii. 29.) The
preacher spoke in elevated terms, of the exalted and

72 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

noble existence which the great God bestowed on man
at his creation. He was created rational and immortal.
He was endued with capacity for receiving the knowl-
edge and enjoying the fellowship of the Most High.
He was made but a little lower than the angels. He
was created in the image of God ; and when man,
perfect in body and soul, was stationed in Eden, the
spectacle was so interesting, that enraptured throngs
of celestial beings fastened their fixed gaze upon him.
Angelic multitudes came from far to behold this new
specimen of the wonderful workmanship of the Most
High. And while they saw, in holy, happy man, rich
disclosures of the wisdom, the goodness, and the glory
of the Eternal One, 'the morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy.'

■'But, O, 'how are the mighty, fallen ! How has
the fine gold become dim ! ' Paradise is lost, and

man is

" Fallen, fallen, fallen, fallen,
Fallen from his high estate ! "

The trail of the serpent degrades and pollutes the earth
on which we tread. The energies of Adam's sons are
now exhausted in pursuit of bubbles and vanity. ' They
sow the wind, and they reap the whirlwind.' I will
give you an example. On my arrival at this place on
last evening, I was happy to learn that quite a number of
distinguished gentlemen were in town — colonels, and
generals, and judges ; men whom then- fellow-citizens
have delighted to honor, and to whom God has
given endowments calculated to bless and adorn
society. I anticipated an intellectual feast. I was
glad of the opportunity of spending an evening in
such an enlightened circle. I congratulated myself in

RECOLLECTIONS OF GEN. JACKSON. 73

prospect of an entertainment so rich both in pleasure
and in profit.

" And now, friends, what do you suppose was the
great theme of discussion in this assembly of superior
men ? Some may, perhaps, conjecture that they dis-
coursed of international law — those measures of enlight-
ened policy which are calculated, on the largest scale,
to benefit the human race. But no ; such was not their
theme. Others may suppose that the attention of this
select body of men was occupied by some new dis-
covery in astronomy. As om* glasses are improved,
remoter fields of creation come to view. But no ; this
was not theii- subject. Or, do you imagine that their
eyes were directed to the wonders of redemption,
which drew down celestial armies to Bethlehem, and
caused them to sing heavenly anthems in the hearing
of men ? No, friends ; such was not their topic. The
whole burden of conversation for the evening —
I blush while I repeat it, but the duty is imperative —
the whole burden of conversation was, ' game chick-
ens ! game chickens ! — their long pedigrees, their rare
qualities, tiieir bloody battles ! ' Tell it not in Gath !
publish it not in the streets of Askalon ! O, when will
our influential men learn and regard the divine maxim,
that ' righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a re-
proach to any people ' ! "

An inferior mind would have taken offence at the
plain dealing of this resolute ambassador of God. Not
so did General Jackson. Early the next morning, he
called at the minister's room, and, in a manner the most
frank and cordial, thanked him for his faithfulness in
rebuking sin, and his efforts for the best interests of
society. He declared his full conviction of the truth of
7

74 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK

the gospel, and that obedience to it was essential to sal-
vation. And from that period, General Jackson was the
firm, unwavering supporter of this minister, until Robert
Henderson was called to go the way of all the earth.

It was said, that General Jackson honored God ifi
word, long before he became a member of the church.
I wish to dwell a little on this point. For a number
of years, facts have been coming before my mind,
which have fastened upon it this conviction, that the
amount of guilt brought on the soul of man by evil
words, is very great. There is a wretched and wide-
spread delusion on the public mind in reference to this
matter. Many think that words are but breath, — mere
empty air, — and that there is but little crime in the
use of light and idle words on the subject of religion.
Hence many, whose conscience would cry out against
a sinful act, will indulge in light and jocular words on
serious things. I will mention one or two facts that
have deeply affected my own mind. In the year 1840,
I saw, in Northern Illinois, an old man, of steady and
regular habits, who kept aloof from the church, while
his wife, and daughter, and son-in-law, and other mem-
bers of the family, turned to the Lord. At length, I
asked him, in the presence of his family, if he was not
willing to turn to the Lord. He replied, " There is no
hope for me, I have said so much against the Lord."
I was not sure that I correctly understood him, and
therefore asked again, Avhat it was that he had
remarked. " There is no hope for me," replied the
old man, " I have spoken so much against the Lord.'"'
It was the first time in my life, that I had heard a
person single out the guilt contracted by sins of the
tongue, as pressing with awful weight on the troubled

RECOLLECTIONS OF GEN. JACKSON. 75

soul ; and for a moment I was silent. His daughter
was sitting by. She was a woman, perhaps, tAventy-
seven years of age. Said she, " Why, father, I don't
remember to have heard you speak against Christ and
his religion." "My child, it was before you were
born." His wife was present. They had been married
more than thirty-three years. " Why, husband," said
she, " I don't remember to have heard you speak against
the religion of Christ." "My dear, it was before you
were acquainted with me. When I was a young man,
I joined myself to a club of infidels. Our aim was to
bring religion into contempt by ridicule ; and, O, I have
said so much against the Lord, that there is now no
hope for me." Here was an old man, quailing under
the terrible load of guilt brought upon his soul by evil
words uttered some thirty-five or forty years before.
Take another instance. A man, whose head was white
with the frost of seventy winters, called upon me
when alone in my room in Missouri, and said, " What
can I do ? My heart is cold and dead. I fear I have
grieved away the Spirit of God. When I was young,
I courted infidelity. I thought it was evidence of a
superior mind to scowl at the gospel, and make light
of sacred things. I did so, till the habit was formed
and fixed ; and now for a long time I have been trying
to get rid of it. But my heart seems dead to the
gospel, and the ghost of that infidelity which I courted
when young, follows me wherever I go. It has been
haunting me for years ; and I shudder at the appre-
hension that it will haunt me into the grave."

One of the most successful politicians of his day,
in the western country, had allowed himself to profane
the language of God's word by introducing it on light

76 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

and trivial occasions. He would point a joke with a
quotation from the Holy Scriptures. When jesting
and indulging in playful remarks, the word of God
was in his mouth with painful frequency. He became
habitually addicted to an irreverent, profane, and shock-
ing familiarity with the words of eternal truth. Many
were amused and made merry with his supposed wit.
But every good man, that heard him sporting with the
solemn language of God, was grieved. At length, a
sad change came over him. He lost all interest for
political life. He lost all relish for the society of his
friends. He lost all regard for his own family. His
heart withered, life became a burden, heavy, horrible,
insupportable. And while occupying the governor's
chair, he took a loaded rifle, and put a violent end to
his earthly existence. It was thought that, by light
and vain words, he had grieved away the favor of God.
And woe to that man from whom God departs.

Addison's hymn entitled " Gratitude " is very beauti-
ful ; but perhaps the very finest stanza in that hymn is
this : —

" Ten thousand thousand precious gifts

My daily thanks employ ;
Nor is the least a cheerful heart,

That tastes those gifts with joy."

It is the smile of God that enables us to rise in the
morning with cheerfulness, and address ourselves with
good heart to the cares and toils of the day. But woe
to that man from whom the smile of God is taken away.

Wicked loords have an awful tendency to banish the
soul from the favor of God. Enoch, the seventh from
Adam, predicts that one leading object of the final Judge,
in the great day, is to execute judgment on sinners for the

RECOLLECTIONS OF GEN. JACKSON. 77

'' hard speeches " which they have spoken against him.
Two of the ten commandments are employed to guard
men against sins of the tongue. And it is a sin of the
tongue — blasphemy against the Holy Ghost — that
" shall never be forgiven, neither in this world, neither
in the world to come."

I visited General Jackson twice, in the month of Sep-
tember, 1843. He was then very frail, and had the
appearance of extreme old age ; but he was reposing
with calmness and confidence on the promise and
covenant of God. He had now been a member of the
church for several years. And when I witnessed his
serenity and his unclouded hope, I thought of the
manner in which he had honored God in word, when
the cause of religion was very unpopular, and when a
deluge of infidelity threatened to desolate the whole
land.

It is to be regretted that most of our political men, —
presidents, governors, and those high in authority, —
when they speak on the subject of religion, use language
so guarded and equivocal, that a Turk, a Jew, or an
enlightened heathen could adopt it. They will speak
of the '' Supreme Being," " the great Disposer of all
events," "the source of national prosperity," &c., &c.
But General Jackson's language was that of a decided
Christian. He spoke of the divine Redeemer ; his
wonderful union with the nature of man ; his vicari-
ous death in the room of sinners ; pardon through
his blood ; and eternal glory in heaven, bestowed on
believers for his righteousness' sake.

There was a little company of Christian friends
present in the Hermitage. After expressing the warm-
est interest in the church of Christ, and his hope that
7" #

78 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

she would yet prosper and bless the world, General
Jackson turned to me, and said, " There is a beautiful
hymn on the subject of the exceeding great and pre-
cious promises of God to his people. It was a favorite
hymn with my dear wife till the day of her death. It
has been very precious to me. It commences thus :
'How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord.' I^
wish you would sing it now." So the little company
in the Hermitage, at his request, sung the following
hymn : —

" How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in the excellent word !
What more can he say tlian to you he hath said,
You who unto Jesus for refuge have fled ?

" In every condition, in sickness, in health,
In poverty's vale or abounding in wealth,
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea.
As thy days may demand shall thy strength ever be.

"Fear not; I am with thee ; O, be not dismayed ;
I, I am thy God, and will still give thee aid ;
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

" When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow.
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

" When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-suflicient, shall be thy supply :
The flame shall not hurt thee ; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

" E'en down to old age, all my people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love ;
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in my bosom be borne.

RECOLLECTIONS OF GEN. JA3KSON. 79

" The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes ;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to sliake,
I'll never, no, never, no, never forsake."

The sublime and glorious doctrine embodied in this
hymn was the food of his spirit, the joy and the
rejoicing of his heart. When I looked upon him,
now desolate, in extreme old age ; his early friends
almost entirely gone ; his beloved wife in the grave ;
his own health failing amidst accumulating infirmities,
yet reposing, with absolute satisfaction and serenity,
on the free, the firm, the everlasting gospel, — I was
forcibly reminded of that rich, unparalleled paragraph,
near the close of Christ's Sermon on the Mount :
" Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine,
and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man,
which built his house upon a rock : And the rain
descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew,
and beat upon that- house ; and it fell not : for it was
founded upon a rock." I walked into his garden, and
there was the grave of his wife, covered with a plain
marble slab, with the inscription, " Rachel Jackson,"
with the date of her birth, and her death, and beside
it his own grave, all prepared and ready for the recep-
tion of his body, when death should call him home.

I learned, that when the weather was good, he spent
a portion of every day at this grave, in meditation and
prayer ; and that he believed he was there blessed
with the presence of Him who has taken the sting
from death, and the victory from the grave. I returned
to the house. My parents had long been his particular
friends, but they are now departed. He met me in
the hall, and said, " Your father and your mother are

80 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

gone ! " I silently assented ; my emotions forbade me
to speak. '•' Well," said he, " they lived to a good old
age.^^ It is impossible for any one, who never heard
General Jackson speak, to understand all the interest
that he threw into this brief Bible quotation. His atti-
tude, his tones, the whole manner of the venerable man
impressed me with a sense of new beauties in that
precious promise, (Gen, xv. 15,) "Thou shalt go to
thy fathers in peace : thou shalt be buried in a good
old age."

The Christian character of General Jackson is seen
in his reply to Commodore Elliott concerning the sar-
cophagus, or marble tomb, which had once been pre-
pared for an eastern king or emperor. Commodore
Elliott had brought from Asia this sarcophagus, and
presented it to the National Institute at Washington,
that through the National Institute it might be pre-
sented to General Jackson. The officer who present-
ed it to the Institute, remarked, ''It is believed to
have once held the remains of Alexander Severus,
and it is a fit resting-place for all that is mortal of An-
drew Jackson."

Commodore Elliott wrote to General Jackson, and
the following is his reply : —

" Hpnv S'r "Hermitage, March 27, IS-io."

" Your letter of the 18th instant, together with
the copy of the proceedings of the National Institute,
furnished me by their corresponding secretary, on the
presentation, by you, of the sarcophagus for their ac-
ceptance, on condition it shall be preserved, and in
honor of my memory, have been received, and are now
before me.

RECOLLECTIONS OF GEN. JACKSON. 81

" Although laboring under great debility and affliction
from a severe attack, from which 1 may not recover, I
raise my pen and endeavor to reply. The steadiness
of my nerves may, perhaps, lead you to conclude my
prostration of strength is not so great as here expressed.
Strange as it may appear, my nerves are as steady as
they were forty years gone by ; whilst, from debility
and affliction, I am gasping for breath.

" I have read the whole proceedings of the presenta-
tion, by you, of the sarcophagus, and the resolutions
passed by the board of directors, so honorable to my
fame, with sensations and feelings more easily to be
conjectured than by me expressed. The whole pro-
ceedings call for my most grateful thanks, which are
hereby tendered to you, and through you to the presi-
dent and directors of the National Institute. But with
the warmest sensations that can inspire a grateful heart,
I must decline accepting the honor intended to be be-
stowed. I cannot consent that my mortal body shall
be laid in a repository prepared for an emperor or a king.
My republican feelings and principles forbid it ; the
simplicity of our system of government forbids it.
Every monument erected to perpetuate the memory of
our heroes and statesmen ought to bear evidence of the
economy and simplicity of our republican institutions,
and the plainness of our republican citizens, who are
the sovereigns of our glorious Union, and whose virtue
is to perpetuate it. True virtue cannot exist where
pomp and parade are the governing passions; it can
only dwell with the people — the great laboring and
producing classes, that form the bone and sinew of our
confederacy.

"For these reasons I cannot accept the honor you,

82 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

and the president and directors of the National Institute,
intended to bestow. I cannot permit my remains to
be the first in these United States to be deposited in a
sarcophagus made for an emperor or a king. I again
repeat, please accept for yourself, and convey to the
president and directors of the National Institute, my
most profound respects for the honor you and they
intended to bestow. I have prepared an humble depos-
itory for my mortal body beside that wherein lies my
beloved wife, where, without any pomp or parade, I
have requested, when my God calls me to sleep Avith
my fathers, to be laid — for both of us there to remain
until the last trumpet sounds to call the dead to judg-
ment, when we, I hope, shall rise together, clothed
with that heavenly body promised to all who believe
in our glorious Redeemer, who died for us, that we
might live, and by whose atonement I hope for a
blessed immortality.

" I am, with great respect,

" Your friend and fellow-citizen,

"ANDREW JACKSON.
"To Com. J. D. Elliott, United States Navy."

This letter is among the last productions of his pen.
His death soon followed. I hope yet to see the above
letter beautifully printed, on fine material, liandsomely
framed, and kept in some conspicuous place in the
house of American families, for the instruction of cliil-
dren and children's children.

Christian people of America ! bless the name of
God, that he has given you a president who was not
ashamed to speak of " our glorious Redeemer, who
died for us, that we might live ; " " the sounding of

RECOLLECTIONS OF GEN .* J ACKS ON. 83

the last trump, to call the dead to judgment ; " and his
" atonement," through whom we " hope for a blessed
immortality."

The death of the worthy old general furnished a fine
illustration of the sustaining power of the gospel when
earthly comforts wither and die. " Henry," said he to
a highly-valued young friend who was attending in his
room — '' Henry, when we have lived as long as we can
be useful to others, and as long as we can enjoy life
ourselves, we should be willing to go at our heavenly
Father's call. That is now my condition. I have lived
long ; but, now the frailties of age are upon me, I can
no more be useful to my friends. Indeed, I can only
be a burden to them. I can no longer be useful to the
church of God. The pains of disease are upon me. I
can no longer enjoy the bounties of Providence in life.
What then ? It is time to die. My heavenly Father
calls, and I trust I am ready to go."

The physician who attended General Jackson on his
death-bed, wrote a very instructive and powerful letter,
describing the last parting scene in the Hermitage.
The chamber of death seemed very near " the gate of
heaven." The soul of the dying man was full of the
hope of immortality, while he took an aflfectionate fare-
well of the members of his family, the children, the
servants, all who belonged to the household. He com-
mended them to God in Christ — spoke with unwaver-
ing confidence of life in heaven for the followers of
the Redeemer. He then entered the cold stream of
death, and was seen no more.

" As some tall rock, that lifts his awful form,
Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm,
Though round its breast the rolling clouds are spread,
Eternal sunshine settles on its head."

84 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

With a few additional remarks I shall close this
article.

1. General Jackson, in theology, was a decided and
thorough Calvinist. That sublime system of divinity,
so clearly taught in the Holy Scriptures, and so accu-
rately epitomized in the Shorter Catechism of the
Westminster Assembly, was the joy and the rejoicing
of his heart. His ordinary conversation abounded
with references to the hand and counsel of God.
When rehearsing facts that had occurred in his military
or political life, he would repeatedly pause and say, " It
was the hand of God." " Divine Providence ordered
it so." " Such an officer was cut down ; he was a
noble man. I felt his loss much, but it was the
hand and counsel of God." This continual reference
to divine Providence, in all the events of life, was a
strongly-marked feature of his conversation. I must
here give an anecdote. An able jurist, born and edu-
cated at the east, had emigrated to the west; and, by
diligence and fidelity in his profession, he had become
prosperous and popular. He was now a candidate for
an important office, in a district where the popularity
of General Jackson was absolutely overwhelming. It
was well known that the candidate, whose friendship
for Jackson was in the subjunctive mood, would most
certainly be elected "to stay at home." It was indis-
pensable to success that the voters should know before
the election that the candidate was the friend and
admirer of Jackson. Our jiu'ist was very hostile to the
doctrines of Calvinism. Indeed, I fear his hostility
went further ; for I had been told how he worried
some young preachers, with sceptical objections to the
Bible. I was thrown into his society not long before

RECOLLECTIONS OF GEN. JACKSON. 85

the election day. After a few moments' conversation,
said he, '' Calvinism degrades the human mind. I say,
it degrades the human mind ! "

" Yes, sir," was my reply — " yes, sir, Calvinism
degraded your New England man Jonathan Edwards,
as all Europe and all America confess, into the most
distinguished theological writer who has ever put
pen to paper in the English language. Both hemi-
spheres maintain that Jonathan Edwards is unequalled
among English theological writers. How Calvinism
degraded him ! Again, Calvinism has degraded Gen-
eral Jackson, as you maintain in all yom public
addresses, throughout your electioneering canvass, into
the most eminent military and political man which the
world has produced in the present age. How degrad-
ing is the influence of Calvinism ! "

2. General Jackson, in his intercourse with his
neighbors and with society, was " the good man " and
the perfect gentleman. It is to be regretted that heated
politicians and crazy fanatics should be so successful in
misrepresenting men and things, as to keep worthy
citizens in one section of oiu* country under injurious
mistakes relative to their fellow-citizens in another
section. Christianity, common sense, love to God, and
benevolence to man, are the same, east and west, go
where you will, throughout our great country.

A few years ago, I, had the privilege of sitting for a
number of successive days in the senate chamber at
Washington. I looked on Webster from Massachusetts,
Wright from New York, Calhoun from South Car-
olina, Barges from Rhode Island, Preston, a native of
Yirginia, Clay from Kentucky, Judge White from
Tennessee, and all their fellow-senators ; and I said,
8

86 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK,

" Be you Whigs or be you Democrats, be you from the
east or from the west, from the north or from the south,
any country on earth might be proud to call you her
citizens. And I will rejoice that the beloved land
where I was born, nurses in her bosom such a body
of men."

3. Let me close with repeating, that General Jack-
son, from early life, was characterized by reverence for
sacred things. He spoke reverently of the word of
God, the house of God, the ordinances of God. He
honored God in word. And God blessed him while he
lived, and blessed him when he died.

THE EAGLE AND THE GNAT. 87

THE EAGLE AND THE GNAT.

The following article was prepared for a highly prac-
tical purpose. In the region where the author lived,
that scriptural and sublime system of Christian doc-
trine, denominated " Calvinism," was most bitterly
assailed, and that too, in many instances, by persons
who had taken no pains to have their minds expanded
by searching the word of God. There is a curious
fact here. The man who has never looked into a law
book, knows that he is ignorant of law. The man
who has never read a medical work, knows that he is
ignorant of medicine. But the man who has neglected
to read the Bible, is not equally conscious of his igno-
rance on divine subjects. Tell that man of the " sov-
ereignty of God," the " doctrine of election," or any
kindred doctrine, and his heart will rebel against it at
once. And he will be " wiser in his own conceit than
seven men that can render a reason." The fact is,
men are born with hearts opposed to the sovereignty of
God, and the system of doctrine that maintains it. In
this controversy, the depraved heart decides, and not
the understanding. Now, when I have encountered
persons who were eager for argument, while they evi-
dently " loved darkness " and " hated the light," —
persons who would " glory in their shame," while they
were " willingly ignorant " of God's word and the

«8 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

sublime system of eternal truth unfolded there, — I have
sometimes rehearsed to them the story of " The Eagle
and the Gnat ; " and the result, generally, if it has not
been conviction, has certainly been silence.

The reader, if he chooses, may consider the ensuing
story as an extract from " The Book of Nathan the
Prophet," mentioned 2 Chron. ix. 29. detailing '• the
acts of Solomon first and last." A very valuable vol-
ume, containing an authentic and instructive history
of the times, but not being divinely inspired, it has
been lost amid " the war of elements and the wreck
of matter," which have intervened between the age
Solomon and the present day. The following extract
alone has come down to our time — a mere fragment,
still floating on the waves, the only remaining memo-
rial of the noble vessel that has perished forever.

EXTRACT FROM THE BOOK OF KATHAIS^ THE PROPHET.

" When Solomon had completed that greatest work
of his life, the building of the lemple of God, on Mount
Moriah, it excited much interest through a wide extent
of country. Persons who had a highly cultivated taste
for architecture — those who were fond of beholding
fine specimens of the building art — came from far, and
feasted their eyes on this beautiful house. And while
they gazed, they spoke one to another of the immense
blocks of white marble that appeared in the wall, the
tall pillars that rose in front of the building, the symme-
try and the splendor of Solomon's Porch, and, indeed,
the grandeur, the consummate proportions, and the un-
paralleled perfection of the entire ediiice.

" But the fame of this wonderful house not only

THE EAGLE AND THE GNAT. 89

spread among the children of men into distant lands,
— it attracted also the admiring gaze of other orders of
creation, as will appear from the following narrative.

" A broad- winged eagle, a mighty prince among the
feathered nations, had taken an extensive excursion
through the regions of the air, and chanced, in his
flight, to pass over the Mountains of Judea. Turning
his eye to survey the city of the great king, he beheld
the newly erected temple, adorning the topmost height
of the Hill of David. Captivated with the surpassing
beauty of the building, he at once paused in his rapid
flight, steadied and balanced himself on his wide-
spread wings, and resolved to take a full and satisfac-
tory survey of this majestic temple. That part of the
building which fronted the south was now directly
before him, and the clear, comprehensive eye of the
delighted eagle could take in the whole structure ' from
turret to foundation stone.' The grandeur of its noble
outline, the perfect proportion and exquisite finish of
each and every part, together with the matchless sym-
metry of the whole, excited the highest admiration. He
then moved slowly round to the east, and then paused
a while and viewed the temple from thence. He then
viewed it from the north, and then again from the
west. Having at length feasted his eye with a survey
of the temple on every side, the monarch of birds
resumed his lofty flight, and while indulging in vast,
exalted conceptions of the wisdom of Solomon, the
projector and the builder of this marvellous house, he
directed his course to the summit of the tallest clifl" of
Mount Carmel.

" No sooner had he arrived there, than the birds,
ever glad of an opportunity to cheer and honor their
8*

90 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

king, began to cluster in musical circles around him.
But the eagle appeared reserved, thoughtful, and
wrapped up in the meditations of his own mind. But
as the smaller birds, who were very anxious, and indeed
impatient, to receive his notice, kept perpetually

Giggling, ogling, bridling,
Turning short round and sidling,

the eagle at length, with mingled gravity and affec-
tion, addressed them thus : —

" ' My children, think it not strange, that, since my
return, I have been less prompt than usual to sympa-
thize with you in y9ur amusements and your joys. I
have just returned from beholding a spectacle that has
strangely engrossed all my thoughts, and in the con-
templation of which I have experienced, in an unusual
measure, astonishment and delight. I allude to the
splendid, majestic temple, which the wise king of Israel
has just completed on the Mountain of Moriah, to the
honor of the name of the great God. I have travelled
through the length and breadth of Egypt, acknowl-
edged among all the nations as the " cradle of the arts."
I have seen her towers, her temples, and her pyramids.
I have visited also Nineveh and Babylon, now at the
zenith of their glory ; I have beheld their cloud-capped
towers and gorgeous palaces. Yet nothing erected by
the hand of man has ever come before my eye that
will compare, in perfection of beauty, with the temple
which King Solomon has built at Jerusalem for the
worship of the God of his father.'

" The eagle ceased. There was something in liis
tone and manner that effectually silenced, for the time,
the throng of feathered warblers by whom he was sur-
rounded.

THE EAGLE AND THE GNAT. 91

" A great oak was standing near, and in the rough
bark which formed its outer covering was sticking a
small snail-shell. The original inhabitant had left it
fastened by a little slime to the bark of the oak. It
was empty, smooth, transparent, and exceedingly sonall.
A little gnat, distressingly inflated with self-conceit, had
found this untenanted mansion, and, in the vagaries of
his diminutive mind, had determined to pitch upon the
deserted snail-shell for his own habitation. He ad-
mired its glassy smoothness, its twirling fashion, and its
many adaptations to his convenience and comfort ; and,
when snugly housed there, he regarded himself as one
of the most prominent and important citizens that could
be found in all the lofty ranges of Mount Carmel.
This little gnat, puffed up with inordinate self-esteem
and vain glory, was sitting near the entrance of his
cell, and heard the description given by the eagle
of the magnificent temple of Solomon. Having un-
bounded confidence in his own superior capacity as a
judge of architecture, while he entertained serious
doubts as to the capacity of the eagle, he at once
determined to go to Mount Moriah, and examine the
building for himself. Having made every necessary
arrangement, he set off on his momentous mission, sing-
ing along as his little wings fanned the air. And
although neither bird nor beast took any notice of his
movements, or had the slightest idea that he was gone,
yet such were his vast conceptions of his own dignity
and weight in the community at large, that he doubted
not but that his departure on this jom-ney would be
chronicled among the memorable events in the history
of the hill country.

" After a most fatiguing flight, the little gnat, dilated

92 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

with immense imaginations concerning his great critical
powers, arrived at the far-famed temple. But, alas!
when he attempted to scan and siuvey the mighty
structure, his little eye had no capacity to perform the
task. The vast building rose before him in its length,
its breadth, its height, and all its majestic proportions,
while the diminutive gnat, so contracted were his
organs of vision, could only view a single point of the
stupendous edifice. Undaunted, however, aiid swollen
with self-esteem, he set forward in his work of exam-
ination.

" ' What huge, misshapen mass is this ? ' exclaimed
the indignant gnat, as he crawled over an immense
block of white marble, in the west wall of the temple,
on which the eagle, a little before, had gazed with
astonishment and delight. ' It must be entirely out
of proportion. One cannot find its termination in any
direction. What a shapeless, unwieldy mass it must
be ! ' Then moving on a little farther, he encountered
a pimple near the size of a pin's head : this, of course,
had been unnoticed in the comprehensive survey of the
eagle. But here the agitated gnat started back with a
gesture of horror. ' Most uncouth irregularity ! The
back of my hand to the wisdom of Solomon, and his
masomy, too, if this is a specimen of his proficiency in
the art of building ! ' A little farther on, and he found
a joint where two great blocks of marble came together :
a very fine hair could not have entered the crack ; but
to the tiny eye of the puffed-up gnat it seemed a
mighty opening. ' Heyday ! ' he exclaimed ; ' what
a frightful chasm is here ! yawning caverns ! yawning
caverns ! ' Thus the conceited and self-important
gnat went on, discerning none of the higher beauties

THE EAGLE AND THE GNAT. 93

of the temple, because of his total incapacity to take
an enlarged view, but stumbling on numberless objec-
tions, the existence of which were entirely owing to
the pitiful contraction of his own powers of vision.
Presently he declared ' that his taste was outraged and
his patience exhausted ,• that the whole building was
unworthy of criticism ; and that he should leave it in
disgust.'

" On his return to Mount Carmel, he alleged posi-
tively, that the statements of the eagle were false and
deceptive ; that he himself had given the whole
matter a thorough examination, in the conducting of
which he had drawn extensively on the resources of
his intellect and the treasures of his learning, and that
the grand results of his investigation were the fol-
lowing : —

" 1. That fame, which has gone forth into all lands,
pronouncing the temple an unparalleled building, is a
liar.

" 2. That the claim of Solomon, and his coadjutors,
Hiram the widow's son, and Hiram king of Tyre, to
be regarded as great master builders, is all humbug.

" 3. That the Q,ueen of Sheba, and her very great
train, ' with camels that bore spices, and very much
gold, and precious stones,' came from the uttermost
parts of the earth on a fool's errand.

'' 4. And finally, that the little, glassy snail-shell, in
which he, the selfsame illustrious and memorable gnat,
had taken up his abode, is a structiue incomparably
superior to the far-famed, consecrated house, which
Israel's king had built on the Mountain of Moriah."

94 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

ELIJAH AND THE CARMELITE;

OR,

THE EVILS OF RAIN.

The following article was written and published in the
year 1835. It first appeared in " The Cincinnati Jour-
nal and Luminary," then edited by Rev. Thomas
Brainard, now pastor of the Third Presbyterian Church,
in the city of Philadelphia. The history of its origm is
the following : From the year 1825 till the year 1832,
the' God of grace had blessed portions of his church in
the United States with precious revivals of religion :
perhaps from '28 till '31, they were most extensive and
powerful. Near this latter date, '' Letters on Revivals "
were published, in which "cautions," "indiscretions,"
and " evils," were marvellously conspicuous. If any
thing was said in favor of revivals, it seemed to be
only in order to prepare the way for a doleful enumer-
ation of " excesses," "extravagances," "mischievous
disorders," of which the venerable brother doubtless
had either heard or dreamed. Now, the church is suffi-
ciently prone to " leave her first love," and become
cold and dull in the cause of God ; but when this sad
tendency is aided and aggravated by letters or lectm-es
from respectable ministers, the results are distressing.

ELIJAH AND THE CARMELITE. 95

Alas for a drowsy church, when subjected to an undi-
kited dispensation of the nightmare !

Most of us can remember, when we were children,
how close we would cluster around a kitchen fire,
while a superstitious old nurse told her favorite ghost
stories — ''rawhead and bloody bones ; " "sheeted spec-
tres, taller than life, walking by moonlight through the
lonesome graveyard ; " " murdered men, seen at mid-
night, moving in solemn procession, each one carrying
his head under his arm," &c., &c. I have seen chil-
dren shuddering while they listened to such stories,
until each one was afraid to look over his shoulder,
and yet more afraid to go into a distant room to bed.
And, after all, the poor old superstitious granny had
never seen a ghost in all her life. Now, in like man-
ner, — if small things may be employed to illustrate
things that Eire great, — I have seen the church terrified
with '• ghost stories " about revivals, until she was
almost afraid to move in any good enterprise ; and the
narrator in the latter case had seen just about as many
" spectres " as in the former.

That man whose ministry God has never honored
with revivals, may be a useful and important man in
the church. He may render services that are valuable
in other departments of ministerial effort. But he
should publish neither " letters " nor " lectures " on
revivals ; because that, in this as in other matters,
experience teaches many things, of which the inexperi-
enced are necessarily ignorant.

I cannot set this subject in a stronger light than by
giving the following anecdote of Dr. Nelson : He had
been laboring in the west, with great earnestness, to
convert men to God. He would select a solemn

96 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

passage of Scripture, and prepare a sermon, and then
go and preach that sermon, expecting, through the pres-
ence and power of the Holy Spirit, to convert sinners
to God, as certainly" as the strong axe-man who goes to
work with a sharp axe, and is conscious of his depend-
ence on God, expects to cut down the forest-trees. In
the midst of these arduous and delightful labors, Nelson
was grieved to see a series of " letters on revivals,"
issuing from the study of a professor who had long
been mewed up in the seclusion of a seminary. The
author was a worthy man, qualified to give instructions
on a subject which he understood, but an entire
stranger to revivals of religion, so far as his own min-
istry was concerned, and likely to remain so ; while,
in the kingdom of God's grace, appropriate causes are
necessary in order to produce certain eifects.

But the "letters on revivals!" Lackaday ! They
abounded in proof of the position of John Bunyan,
that the old prince of darkness, in warring against man's
soul, surrounded the town with an army of twenty thou-
sand " doubters " ! And they doubted at ear gate, and
doubted at eye gate, and doubted at every gate, till
finally they doubted the gates open, and doubted the
whole town into the possession of the great adversary
of God and man.

Dr. Nelson's heart was filled with sorrow that such
disastrous influences should emanate fi'om such a quar-
ter. But what can a plain, western man do, when a cold,
blighting stream of " east wind " comes sweeping over
the garden of the Lord, chilling and nipping the tender
plants, and freezing all before it ? Alas for . the
churches in the west, when " the star in the east " is
overspread with mist and darkness !

ELIJAH AND THE CARMELITE. 97

Such was the attitude of things when Nelson made
a visit to the east. He was walking along a street in
one of the principal cities, when he discovered an
extensive bookstore. At one side of the door, on a
broad sheet, was an advertisement in large letters,

" Dr. on Revivals, for sale here." At the

other side of the door hung a similar advertisement,

"Dr. on Revivals, for sale here." Nelson

paused, surveyed the broad sheets for a moment, then
stepped into the store, and, addressing the bookseller,
said, " Have you got here the Treatise of the Emperor
Nicholas of Russia on the proper method of cultivating
Cotton and Sugar-Cane 1 "

"Why n-no," said the bookseller, drawling out the
answer ; " we have not got it, and I should think that
Nicholas, out in the far north, among the snoAvs of
Russia, would be likely to know very little on the
subject, as, most certainly, he has never seen a plant
of either cotton or sugar-cane."

" Well," continued Nelson, " have you got the
Dissertation of President Boyer of Hayti on the Proper
Method of building Ice-Houses ? " " No," replied the
bookseller ; " and there again, I should think that Boyer,
in the West Indies, having never seen ice, would be a
most unsuitable person to attempt to write a disserta-
tion on the subject."

" Ah ! " said Nelson, turning towards the door, " I

see that you have " Dr. on Revivals," and I did

not know but that you might have those other works.
Good morning, sir."

The reader now will readily understand the position
of things in the church, which called forth the dialogue
between " Elijah and the Carmelite." The article has
9

98 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

gone through many newspaper editions. It is now
presented to the public in a permanent form.

The reader will perceive that the great drought, in
Elijah's day, most probably took place long after the
close of the earthly pilgrimage of "Iddo the seer."
But if the prophet Daniel saw, in vision, the great
contest between the Persian Ram and the rough Mace-
donian Goat, which occurred ages after the good
prophet had slept with his fathers, who will object to a
similar privilege being granted to the author of " The
Visions of Iddo " ? This article, at its first publication,
was introduced by the following note : —

" Brother Brainerd, —

•' Many of our wise and worthy men have labored
much to put our church on her guard against the evils
that have attended revivals of religion ; and many of
our talented and substantial ministers have become so
watchful and prudent in guarding against these evils,
that in large sections of the church, revivals have
ceased altogether. Now, I am not going to debate
with those who act on the principle, that the best way
to guard against going wrong, is 7iot to move at all, and
that the surest mark of being sound in the faith* is to
be sound asleep. But 1 think it would be well for the
friends of revivals — and those writers are careful to tell
us they are such — to take some pains to count over the
blessings, as well as the evils, that attend them. I think
also that good might be done if some of the fathers
would write a series of letters on the evils of universal
stupidity and spiritual death in the church of the
living God.

'' The following article your readers may, if they

ELIJAH AND THE CARMELITE. 99

choose, regard as an extract from the book of ' The
Visions of Iddo the Seer.' It is not long since we
had from the east the announcement that the long-lost
book of Jasher has been found. Now, if we iii the
west have recovered from oblivion the book of the
Visions of Iddo, it is but another proof of the progress
of discovery and improvement of the present age.

J. G.

EXTRACT FROM THE BOOK OF "THE VISIONS OF IDDO
THE SEER."

" The sins of Israel had found them out. The terri-
ble scourge foretold by Moses was upon them — ' Thy
heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the
earth that is under thee shall be iron. The Lord shall
make the rain of thy land powder and dust.' The
brooks were dried up, and the streams of the rivers had
failed : for three years and six months there had been
no rain upon the earth. The fowls of heaven and the
flocks and herds of the field were crowding, in meagre
and famishing multitudes, along the dry channel, in
search of water, or, panting and reeling over the dusty
plain, were dying under the action of intolerable thirst.
In the city, the moan of the starving mother was an-
swered by the scream of starving children : there was
no water, there was no bread. The green earth was
faded; the flowers were withered and gone. The
fields, once beautiful with rising corn, now appeared
scorched and desolate ; and even the tall forest trees, on
the sides and summit of Mount Carmel, stood leafless
and dreary, as the prophet of God went up from the
place of sacrifice to the top of the mountain to pray
for rain. He cast himself down upon the earth, and

100 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

cried to the Lord God of Israel to have mercy on his
people, and send them the showers of heaven, that they
might live and not die. He felt deeply for those that
were perishing. He knew that none but God could
help, and he prayed with that earnestness and importu-
nity that takes no denial.

" While Elijah was thus engaged, he v/as approached
by one who had long dwelt in a cave in the side of
Mount Carmel. He was a tall, lean, hard-featured figure,
whose visage was strongly marked with expressions
of fretfulness and fault-finding — one of those ' mur-
murers and complainers ' who habitually overlook the
good in the kingdom of nature and the kingdom of
grace, and fix their minds only on what they consider
the evils. Inefficient and worthless himself, as to any
useful enterprise, the labors of his life had been to
decry and hinder the usefulness of others. He had
evidently been a sufierer during the long and destruc-
tive famine, for he appeared shrivelled and shrunken
in both soul and body ; but his sufferings had not pro-
duced in his heart self-abasement toward God, nor had
they awakened emotions of kindness and compassion
for Avretched, dying men. As Elijah now paused in
his prayer, and bade his servant ' go up to a lofty peak
of the mountain, that rose to a great height, and look
towards the sea,' if there were any evidences of a cloud
rising, he was thus addressed by the old Carmelite : —

" ' Prophet of God, I find you are praying earnestly
for rain. Now, I am di friend of I'ain. I approve of rain ;
that is, when rain comes as it ought to come, and as it
might come. But I have known many sore evils con-
nected with rain in this country ; yes, evils at the
very thought of which my heai't is in agony. And

ELIJAH AND THE CARMELITE. 101

you, prophet, should be very cautious and prudent how
you pray for rain, lest these distressing evils should
again befall us.'

^'■Elijah. The evils of rain! certainly your fears
have taken a strange direction ; you had better be dep-
recating the evils of drought. Don't you see how the
earth is scorched with intense heat ? Every green
thing is burned up, the animals dead and dying, while
Famine is stalking, ghastly and grim, from house to
house, and from city to city. Nothing but the mercy
of God, speedily granting the showers of heaven, can
arrest the desolation, and prevent the universal extinction
of life ; and yet you are harrowing up your mind with
horrible apprehensions of the evils of rain,

" Here Elijah turned away from the old man in
anguish of spirit, and threw himself prostrate before
the Lord ; and his urgent prayer that the awful judg-
ment might be turned away from Israel was continued,
till his servant came back from looking towards the sea,
and said, ' There is nothing.' 'Go again,' said Elijah.
The servant went, and the old Carmelite resumed his
discourse.

" ' Prophet of God, I wish you to understand me. I
am decidedly iyi favor of rain. I think highly of it. In
fact, I wish we might have more rain than we have :
that is, rain of the right kind ; such, for example, as
they had in the good old days of our fathers, when
rains were of a much better description than they have
been of late. Indeed, in the early part of my own life-
time, I have seen rains that were far preferable to the
rains we have had during the last fifteen or twenty
years. And, prophet, this is a subject on which I have
a right to be heard, for I have been persecuted by the
9*

102 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

people of the land. While I have been warning them
against the evils of rain, they have taken up an opinion
that I am opposed to rain altogether. This I consider
downright persecution.'

'' Elijah. Warning them against the evils of rain !
Surely you have not been thus engaged during the last
three years and six months.

" Carmelite. Surely I have. Why, prophet, there
were so many deploring the prevalence of drought, and
expressing anxiety for rain, that I saw there was danger
of their not being sufficiently cautious and prudent ;
and while I heartily approve of genuine rains, — those, I
mean, that are under proper regulations, and rightly
conducted, — I wish to put the people on their guard
against rains that are spurious, and do more harm than
good. I have turned my attention, therefore, with
particular interest, to the evils with which the rains in
Israel for some years back have been attended.

^^ Elijah. Well, you are a curiosity, beyond a doubt.
There has not been a single drop of rain in all the land
for three years and six months ; we are wading to the
knees in dust, starving for water and for bread, and the
awful drought threatens to make the whole land a
desolation ; and yet you are fuming and fretting, and
raving round the country, warning the population to
guard against the evils of rain. You strongly remind
me of an absurdity that I have often seen among a
certain class of prophets, who have greatly troubled
Israel. I have seen one of these prophets go to a peo-
ple that were sunk in stupidity and spiritual death, and
preach and expatiate on the evils of excitement. There
is great absurdity in warning a people who are be-
numbed and torpid, and three fourths dead, against the

ELIJAH AND THE CARMELITE. 103

dangers of excitement. I felt constrained to rebuke
one of these but a day or two since. His people were
as cold as the clitfs of Mount Carmel. He was declaim-
ing on the ' evils of excitement ! ' Said I, ' Infatuated
man ! do you not see that your people are chilled to
the heart, \>^ your freezing ministry 1 Both you and
they are colder than the clods of the valley : why,
then, declaim against excitement ? There is no danger
from that quarter while you are their instructor. You
had far better exert yourself to warn them against
being spiritually frost-hiiten ! There is the real danger ! '

" Carmelite. Prophet, I wish you to understand me.
Uh ! uh ! (coughing. ) I have been lectm'ing — uh !
uh ! — lecturing and laboring — uh ! uh ! uh ! — amidst
trials and difficulties — uh ! uh ! — almost choked with
the dust — uh ! uh ! uh ! — that seems to be flying
in all directions — uh ! uh ! uh ! — trying to impress
the people with a sense of the vast importance of guard-
ing against the " evils of rain."

'■'■Elijah. Yes, the whole atmosphere is burdened,
almost to groaning, with dense clouds of dust, produced
by this dreadful di-ought ; and you yourself are choked
to the very verge of suffocation ; and moreover you are
withered, shrivelled, and shrunken into the likeness of
a mere skeleton, by that frightful monster famine, that
is scattering desolation round the land ; and yet such
is the wretched perversion of your mind, that instead
of realizing the true cause of all this distress, you are
boggling and boisterous about the 'evils of rain.'

" ' Wonderful infatuation ! Carmelite, interrupt me
no more.' So saying, he turned and addressed his cry
to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he
would remember his covenant, and have mercy on his

104 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

people. Here his servant returned the second time
from looking toward the sea, and said, ' There is noth-
ing.' ' Go again,' said Elijah, and continued his fer-
vent prayer.

" The old Carmelite, finding that the prophet would
consume no more time in listening to his murmuring
and complaining, addressed himself to the servant of
Elijah, whom he followed back and forth, as he went,
now to look toward the sea, and then to report to his
master the result of his observation.

" ' Servant of Elijah, while your master is praying
for rain, and you are looking out for evidences of its
coming, it is my duty to warn you of the evils you
are likely to bring on the house of Israel. Not that I
am opposed to rain, for I think well of it ; that is, ?'eal
rain, such as Israel had in days of old. Ah, if we could
have such rains now as they had in the days of Moses,
and Joshua, and Samuel, I should be among the first
to welcome and rejoice in them. Those were blessed
rains, and blessed days to Israel. O, if Elijah would
only pray for such rain as they had then, how heartily
would I unite with him, and hold up his hands ! But
these transient modern rains that, he is praying for, the
fact is, I cannot abide them.'

" Servant. And is not rain essentially the same
thing now that it was in the days of Moses, and Joshua,
and Samuel ? I must caution you in my turn : beware
of that spirit which eulogizes the prophet that is dead,
and persecutes the prophet that is living. Think not
to exalt Moses while you scowl at Elijah ; for one spirit
animated them both.

" Carmelite. Not at all, not at all : the rains in
the time of Moses and the fathers were widely differ-

ELIJAH AND THE CARMELITE. 105

ent from what they are of late. I can enumerate a
dozen evils connected with modern rains.

" Servant. Ah, that is a small business. The merest
cobweb-man can find fault, raise objections, and make
himself troublesome. A man may excel in that line,
and yet be himself utterly worthless, indeed ' worse
than worthless.' But, Carmelite, can't you join with
the prophet Elijah in his prayer ? Here is a perishing
population all around you — millions of people at the
very door of death. We must have help from Heaven
very soon, or it will be too late. Come, join with the
prophet, and wrestle in prayer for the showers of
heaven, that the many ten thousands of Israel may live
and praise the Lord.

" Carmelite. I doubt the ' discretion ' of Elijah.

" Servant. How ! What is that you say ? You
doubt the discretion of Elijah ?

" Carmelite. That is precisely what I said. Now
3^ou shall hear my reasons. Yery shortly before Elijah
passed the door of my cave, on his way up the moun-
tain, I was told that he had very recently been engaged
in some singular innovations.

" Servant. Ah ! What innovations ? Give the par-
ticulars.

" Carmelite. Why, it was reported that he had built
an altar of twelve stones, and that he made a trench
about the altar. And then he put the wood in order,
and cut a bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood,
and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the
burnt sacrifice and on the wood. ' And he said. Do it
the second time. And they did it the second time.
And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the
third time. And the water ran about the altar ; and he
filled the trench with water.' Is this true?

106 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

" Servant. True, every word true.

" Carmelite. Well, it was further reported that he
then prayed earnestly to the God of Israel. ' And then
the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacri-
fice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and
licked up the water that was in the trench.' And when
all the people saw it, they were so .powerfully affected,
that they fell on then faces ; and they said, ' The Lord
he is the God ! The Lord he is the God ! ' Now, is
this report true ?

" Servant. True to the letter.

" Carmelite. There must have been great danger of
'excitement' among the people, in view of such
scenes. But it is further reported that Elijah said unto
them, '■ Take the prophets of Baal ; let not one of them
escape. And they took them ; and Elijah brought
them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.'

" Servant. That history is also true.

" Carm,elite. The prophet Elijah must then be will-
ing to agitate the people and produce 'excitements.'
I have no confidence in his ' discretion.' But you
have interrupted me, and broken the thread of my dis-
course. I wished to speak of some of the 'evils of
rain.'

" Servant. Well, then, go on, in your own way.

" Carmelite. Well, in the first place, rain, in modern
times, does not come as it ought to come ; it ought to
come as a blessing. The face of heaven should be mild
and smiling, and calculated to inspire the hearts of men
with cheerfulness and joy ; then all would welcome
the rain with perfect unanimity, and the serenity and.
harmony of families and neighborhoods would not be
interrupted by it. Instead of this, I have seen the

ELIJAH AND THE CARMELITE. 107

black cloud roll up its pitchy volumes in the north-west,
and throw its terrible shadow across the heavens :
earth was shrouded- in darkness, its pale inhabitants
quaked with terror, and many have been driven to
absolute distraction. Yes, these evils I have seen in
connection with modern rains.

"2. When the rain descended, it did not come in
soft and gentle distillations, so as gradually to water
the earth to make it bring forth and bud ; but I have
seen it violently poured down from the rent cloud in
foaming cataracts, so as to tear up the earth, wash off
the soil, and do great injury.

" 3. Many modern rains have brought from the
clouds such an immense discharge of water, that the
streams were swollen above their banks, the plains
were overflowed, fences, stacks of corn, flocks and
herds have been swept away and destroyed : it was all
done by rain. Such calamities never were known to
happen in dry weather.

" 4. I have also known, along with modern rains,-
gusts of wind that um'oofed the buildings, prostrated
the fruit trees, and strewed the face of the country
with havoc and devastation. Can any one deny that
these are great evils ?

"5. It is also well known, that in connection with
modern rains, there have been flashes of lightning and
peals of thunder of awful character — the tall oak and
the majestic cedar have been shivered to atoms ; the
barn and the mansion house have been set on fire and
burned to the ground, and in many cases human life
has been destroyed in a moment. Who would not
prefer perpetual drought to rains attended with such
immense evils ? Nor is this all ; for.

108 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

" 6. I have known modern rains come quite out of sea-
son, and the ripe harvest was greatly injured, and the
mown grass was totally destroyed by excessive and
imseasonable rains ; and further,

'' 7. I have observed, with an accuracy that could
not be mistaken, that rains, after all that has been said
in their favor, actually nourish rank and noxious weeds.
Yes, thorns, thistles, briers, brambles, and innumerable
pernicious plants, are unquestionably nourished by rain.
In proof of this, see how clean the fields are now — not
a hurtful weed to be seen within the whole enclosure.
Ah, it is because we have had no rain for three yeai's
and a half to make such weeds grow and thrive.
That is the true reason.

" Servant. But the wheat is all burned up, too.
The scorching drought, that has destroyed the weeds,
has also consumed every vegetable that is valuable.

" Carmelite. Well, well ; I am not talking of wheat.
I am speaking of the noxious weeds that rain produces.
But as you mention wheat, I will tell you what I have
observed on that subject, and this will be evil number

"8. The rain, if it makes the wheat grow, makes
the chaff grow too. I have noticed, in seasons when
we had rain, that in close connection with the wheat,
there were quantities of chaff; not a grain of wheat
could you find, but there was chaff on the very same
stalk. Let the advocates of rain deny this, if they
can. And further,

" 9. Modern rains are very transient in their influ-
ence. I have seen the ground become as dry a few
weeks or months after the rain, as it was before it fell.
I tell you, that is one of my strongest objections to
modern rains: they are traiisient ; the ground will

ELIJAH AND THE CARMELITE. 109

actually get dry after it has been moistened by
them.

" Servant. Then you need another shower.

" Carmelite. Ah, there is where you are wrong.
If we had the right kind of rain, its influence would
not pass away so soon. Rain did not dry up thus in
the days of Moses and the fathers.

" Servant. I have read the history of Moses, and if
you will compare Ex. xv. 1 — 18, with the 24th verse
of the same chapter, and the 3d and 4th verses of
chapter xvi., you will find there were some sudden
droughts then, as well as in later days.

" Carmelite. But I have a tenth objection. I have
known the health of many worthy citizens ruined by
rain. In fact, many diseases, such as rheumatisms,
coughs, consumptions, (fcc, are promoted by rain. O,
if men could be persuaded to dwell on the top of Giboa,
where there is no rain, neither any dew, what delight-
ful health they might enjoy !

^^ Servant. Stop, Carmelite! stop, I beseech you!

They had now just reached the top of this lofty peak,
for the seventh time, that looked out toward the sea.
The servant, in a sudden transport of joy, seized the
Carmelite by the arm, and pointed eagerly to the south-
western horizon. ' Behold, Carmelite, behold, on the dis-
tant verge of heaven, don't you see a little object rising
there, like " a man's hand " ' ? The Carmelite looked for
a moment in the direction the servant pointed. Presently
unwonted paleness overspread his long, lean, leathern
visage. His frame began to tremble, and his knees
to smite one against another. ' That looks very much
like a cloud I ' he exclaimed in accents of troubled
agitation. ' Ah, yes, I see. It is spreading alcirm-
10

110 THE "WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

ingly ! It throws its volumes abroad in all directions !
We are threatened with rain ! My cave ! My cave ! My
only chance for shelter is in my cave ! ' And suiting
the action to the word, he hurried down the mountain,
and darted into his cave. There, in its deep and
gloomy recesses, he brooded over the awful condition
of the country, and wrung his hands, and exclaimed,
' Alas ! alas ! how imminent is the danger ! The
day is darkened ! The sun is eclipsed ! The black
clouds are over the entire face of heaven ! Just what
I apprehended and dreaded ! But the prophet Elijah
was so self-willed and obstinate that he would listen
to no reason, no remonstrance ! There ! there ! ' he
cried out, as he heard the roaring of ' a great and
strong wind that rent the mountains, and brake in
pieces the rocks,' ' There ! there ! my worst fore-
bodings are realized ! I said there would be wind !
How wide the desolation will spread ! But an indis-
creet prophet can't be managed. There's no making
him "judicious." Eh! Eh!' he suddenly shrieked,
in a sharp, shrill outcry, as a bright blaze of lightning
kindled up all the mountain side, and glared into the
cave of the Carmelite, so as to make every object, for
a moment, distinctly visible. ' There's the lightning !
there's the lightning ! and next we shall have the
thunder peal that will make the mountain tremble.
And the rain has already begun. Yes, I hear it, I
hear it. It's pouring down ! It's pouring down !
There goes a foaming torrent, dashing impetuously and
raving by the very door of my cave. I warned Elijah
faithfully of all this, but he was deaf to counsel. It
was all in vain ! It was all in vain ! '

" Thus the old Carmelite continued to writhe, wring

ELIJAH AND THE CARMELITE. Ill

his hands, and pour forth lamentations during all
the while that there was the sound of an abundance
of rain.' He remained close in his cave for a number
of days, brooding over the horrors of the alarming
visitation that had come upon the country in answer
to the prayer of Elijah, The evils, the evils of rain !
When, at length, he ventured forth, vegetation was
every where springing up ; the fields were clothed in
living green ; all nature was rejoicing, —

' For the queen of the spring, as she passed o'er the vale,-
Left her robe on the trees, and her breath on the gale.'

The lambs were leaping for joy, the tuneful birds filled
the groves with melody. Happy families were send-
ing presents and congratulations one to another. Age
smoothed its care-worn brow to bless the Lord, while
children clapped their little hands, and sung, ' Hosanna.'
'* But as for the Carmelite, none of those things moved
him. The evils of rain was the theme of his medi-
tation, and burden of his tongue. He passed from
farm to farm, inquiring whose field had been injured
by the washing rain, whose roof had leaked, who had
been caught out in the shower, who had taken cold,
or had a cough, or rheumatic pain aggravated ; and
from the facts he collected, he was greatly strengthened
in his notion about the evils of rain, and could declaim
on the subject more eloquently than ever."

112 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

STAGE-COACH DISCUSSION.

In the month of October, 1838, a company of travellers
were passing in a stage-coach from Vicksburg to Clinton,
in the state of Mississippi. Among the passengers was
a minister of the gospel, and a gentleman who was then
a member of the legislature of that state ; a senator, I
believe. And now, for a number of years past, he has
been a senator from Mississippi, in the congress of the
United States.

The free and desultory conversation in the stage
turned at length on the subject of religion. When the
following dialogue, in substance, took place : —

Senator. I understand that you are a minister of the
gospel.

Minister. Yes, sir.

Senator. There are some things in the Bible which
to me appear difficult of comprehension. I should
be pleased to hear your explanation, if you have no
objections.

Minister. None at all. But let me ask, have you
studied the Bible ?

Senator. Well — why — perhaps not so much as
I should have done.

Minister. Are you not then um-easonable ? That
book relates to eternity. It treats of subjects of im-
measurable importance. You have given it but little

STAGE-COACH DISCUSSION. 113

attention, and yet wonder that you do not comprehend
all that it contains. You act not thus in other matters.
Here is a man who never spent one half week of his
life in attempting to acquii-e a knowledge of mathemat-
ics. He takes up a volume of Euclid ; he looks into
it for a little time, and then objects, — " Here are points,
lines, angles, circles, triangles, &.c. I cannot compre-
hend their meaning." You would say to him, " Sir, you
have not given that book the attention which its impor-
tance demands. It is not strange, therefore, that you
do not comprehend its contents. If you will turn your
thoughts to it, and bestow upon it the proper amount
of study and of time, you will behold truth, beauty,
grandeur, in those very figures that now appear un-
meaning and mysterious."

" But, perhaps," said the minister to the senator,
" you were going to specify the particular difficulty that
you have encountered in the Bible."

Senator. I was about to mention the passage in
the book of Joshua, where Joshua commands the sun
and moon to stand still.

Minister. And what is the particular difficulty
there ?

Senator. To speak of the sun standing still, is not
good philosophy ; for we know it is the diurnal revolu-
tion of the earth that gives to the sun, and the moon,
and the stars, their apparent motions.

Minister. Certainly, sir ; and Sir Isaac Newton
understood that altogether as well as we ; and yet
he would speak of the sun rising, and the sun setting,
the moon rising, and the moon going down ; and all
philosophers talk thus when they wish to be under-
stood. The Bible uses the language common to man.
10*

114 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

It was designed to be understood. Allow me to say,
sir, that you do yourself injustice in bringing forward
an objtection like this. It is not worthy of a philoso-
pher. On the same ground, you would reject every
almanac published in Europe and America. For all
these almanacs not only speak of the rising and the set-
ting of the sun and the moon, but they are very careful
to point out the exact minute, when these unphilo-
sophical absurdities take place.

Senator. I did not intend to insist on this objec-
tion. I have another, of a character more serious.
Would not such a suspension of the rotary motion of
the earth have introduced confusion, derangement, and
ruin into the entire solar system ?

Minister. Your question is this : When the master
workman has completed every wheel, spring, lever, and
minuter part of the perfect watch or clock, and put
the machine together, and set it in motion, can he
now stop the minute hand and the hour hand, for one
half day, or one whole day, without introducing con-
fusion and ruin into the entire structure ? Joshua
" spake to the Lord in that day," and the mii-acle was
performed by that hand which built the stupendous
frame of nature. Surely the divine Ai'chitect can
control the work of his hands as easily as an earthly
mechanic.

Senator. Yet the narrative has something about it
that strikes my mind as strange and incredible.

Minister. That is owing to our limited and imper-
fect knowledge in the present life. In the early
history of what has been called the far west, there was
a steamboat built, by the order of the government, for
the purpose of exploring the Missouri River. The

STAGE-COACH DISCUSSION. 115

figure-head of that boat was fashioned like the head of
an enormous serpent. It projected some distance in
front of the boat, and then the body of the serpent
seemed to wind down under the boat till it was lost
from view in the water. The head and body of this
serpent were painted with bright colors, — red, green,
yellow, — in long streaks, so as to give it a very frightful
appearance. The machinery was so constructed, that
when the fires were kindled up and the vessel was in
motion, the steam, smoke, and sparks were thrown out
at the mouth of this serpent. In this style it moved
up the Missouri River — a monstrous serpent, carrying
the great boat on its back, breathing out steam, smoke,
and fire in its progress. Indians, of the various tribes
along the river, would come to the top of the bluffs
that overlook the stream. They would gaze a moment
or two in terror at the moving monster, then wheel
and yell, and run for their lives.

Now, how perfectly mysterious, to one of these un-
tutored Indians, was the fact, that a skilful engineer,
by simply turning a screw, can stop the action of that
mighty machinery that throws the boat with such
speed against the current of the rapid river, and by
giving that screw a turn the other Avay, can put it all
in motion again.

The present life is but our birthday. We but
"know in part," we but "see through a glass darkly."
In a future state, no doubt, we shall see clearly how a
mighty angel could stop the rotary motion of the earth ;
or take off the fury of the flame of Nebuchadnezzar's
furnace, so that Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego
could walk through the midst of it, without having a
hair of their head singed, or the smell of fire upon their

116 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

raiment ; or stop the mouths of the lions, so that Daniel
could stay all night unhurt in their den. Indeed, thero
are beings above and around us now to whom these
matters are just as plain as the mode of managing a
mighty engine is to a skilful engineer. You remem-
ber, doubtless, the beautiful lines of Pope —

" Superior beings, when of late they saw
A mortal man unfold all nature's law,
Admired such wisdom in an earthly shape,
And showed a Newton as we show an ape."

Senator. But my great difficulty is yet untouched.
I can't see that it was worthy of the great God to per-
form such a miracle as this, merely to give one nation
the advantage over another in battle. Can it be shown
that this miracle, at that time, and in that connection,
was worthy of the great God ?

Minister. That is indeed the most important ques-
tion that has yet been brought up. And I assure you
that it admits of a most satisfactory answer.

Senator. I shall be much gratified to hear a con-
clusive answer.

Minister. I think that three points can be estab-
lished to your entire satisfaction.

1. That there was then a critical juncture in the
aff"aii's of men, which rendered it worthy of God to
interpose and perform that miracle ; that the miracle
itself was timely, appropriate, and highly instructive.

2. That traditions have come down among heathen
nations which show that such an event certainly took
place.

3. That the whole matter is in perfect unison with
the elevated and sublime spirit of Bible religion.

STAGE-COACH DISCUSSION. 117

Senator. If these points can be established, the
objection must certainly vanish. I will hear you
patiently.

Minister. It must be borne in mind that idolatry,
the worship of false gods, was in that age the besetting
sin of the world. Infidelity is a somewhat modern
device of Satan. His great engine of destruction, in
that age, was idolatry.

Egypt, Nineveh, Babylon, all the wealthy and pow-
erful kingdoms of the earth, had been carried away by
this destructive and strong delusion. Idolatry had
swallowed up the nations. It was triumphant north,
south, east, and west. With the single exception of
Israel, no nation had escaped the insnaring power of
this master device of the prince of hell. The whole
land of Canaan was deluged with this hideous delusion.
The objects which they idolized were many, but the
most notable were the sun and the moon, which they
worshipped under the title of the king and queen of
heaven.

A memorable conflict between idolatry and the true
religion, dates its commencement from the first mission
of Moses to Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Many of the
wonders performed in Egypt were designed to show
that the idols of the heathen are nothing ; and that
Jehovah, the God of Israel, is the living and the true
God. It is essential that this be borne in mind, in
order to a correct understanding of much of the Old
Testament. The overthrow of Pharaoh and his mighty
Egyptian army at the Red Sea, sent terror and trem-
bling to the heart of the heathen world. They realized
that it was a fearful thing to fall into the hands of
Israel's God. The impression was so deep that it is

118 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

found among the Philistines many ages afterward, as
appears from 1 Sam. iv. ?, 8 : " And the Philistines
were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp.
And they said, Woe unto us ! for there hath not been
such a thing heretofore. Woe unto us ! Who shall de-
liver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods ? these
are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the
plagues in the wilderness."

As Israel journeyed from the Red Sea toward Canaan,
the news of God's wonders among them ran ahead,
and spread among the nations west of Jordan. At
length, from their mountain tops and temple towers
they began to catch a glimpse of that fiery pillar that
glided slowly along in front of the hosts of the Lord.
Next the immense moving multitude came in view,
and the banner of each of the tribes could be distinctly
seen. Presently the stream of Jordan is rolled back
by an invisible hand, and banner after banner is seen
going down on the eastern side into the channel, and
soon banner after banner rises on the western shore.
Jericho falls before them. City after city is overcome.
Presently Gibeon, one of the royal cities, convinced of
the folly of their idol worship, send and make a league
with Joshua and with Israel, and acknowledge Jehovah
as the only living and true God. "Thy servants are
come," said they to Joshua, " because of the name of
the Lord thy God ; for we have heard the fame of him,
and all that he did in Egypt." (Josh. ix. 9.) This was
a solemn profession of the true religion. They thus
publicly renounced heathenism, and acknowledged
Jehovah as the only true God. Now, "Gibeon was a
great city, one of the royal cities, and all the men
thereof were mighty." This was a tremendous blow

STAGE-COACH DISCUSSION. 119

to idolatry, and it roused to earnest action the advo-
cates of idol worship in all surrounding kingdoms.
'' Wherefore Adoni-zedec, king of Jerusalem, sent unto
Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jar-
muth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir
king of Eglon, saying, Come up unto me, and help me,
that we may smite Gibeon ; for it hath made peace
with Joshua and with the children of Israel. There-
fore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusa-
lem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king
of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves
together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and
encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it.
And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp
to Gilgal, saying. Slack not thy hand from thy servants :
come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us ; for
all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the moun-
tains are gathered together against us. So Joshua
ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the, people of war
with him, and all the mighty men of valor." Here is
the most notable and eventful struggle on the field of
battle which the annals of the world have witnessed
between idolatry and the true religion. What were
the leading idols to which these deluded Canaanites
paid divine honors ? They were the sun and moon.
To these they oflered their profane adorations under
the title of the king and queen of heaven. When man
is in trouble, he calls upon his God. The fears excited
among these idolaters by the wonders done by the
God of Israel, of which they had been told, would lead
them to call for help now on their supreme deities ;
that is, on the sun and the moon. Breathing prayers
to these, they mustered their armies ; and officers and

120 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

soldiers, as they marched to the dreaded conflict, sent
up their earnest petitions for help to the sun and to
the moon.

Now, what is that which a routed army, flying from
a victorious foe, so much desires ? It is night, that
under its dark covert the fugitive may elude his pur-
suer. At the sanguinary battle of Waterloo, the Prus-
sian army, commanded by Blucher, was strangely tardy
in coming into the action ; and when the experienced
eye of Wellington beheld the frightful waste produced
by the columns of the French army, as, led on by its
fiery marshals, they charged in terrible succession on
the exhausted troops of England, " If that deadly
charge continues ten minutes longer," he exclaimed,
" I must order a retreat ! O that Blucher or night
would come ! " Yes, night, the darkness of night, is
that which a flying army preeminently desires. Be-
hold now the scene on the field of Gibeon : the em-
battled armies of the confederate kings, with courage
inflamed by burning appeals from renowned warriors
who lead them on, rush with headlong fury against the
hosts of the Lord. Along the extended line, the strife
of contending champions is stern and terrible. " We
come, sustained by the gods we worship ! " cries Adoni-
zedec, at the head of his army. '' We meet you," answers
Joshua, " in the name of Him who dried up the Red
Sea ! " " The sun and moon are our helpers and oiu:
gods ! " shout the heathen multitudes, making a des-
perate onset. " My help cometh from the Lord, which
made heaven and earth ! " replies Israel, repelling their
legions, as the rock repels a thousand waves. Soon
the scales of destiny begin to turn. Victory perches
on the standard of Israel. And O, what confusion,

STAGE-COACH DISCUSSION. 121

terror, rout, and ruin have overtaken that idolatrous
multitude ! Hark ! that loud and lamentable cry ! that
earnest, imploring prayer that bursts from myriads of
agonized bosoms, ''Ye sources of light, whom we
have worshipped ! Sun and moon, to whom we have
poured out our offerings ! Withdraw your rays ! with-
draw ! withdraw ! let thick darkness cover us, that we
may hide from the sword of our pursuers ! "

Then spoke Joshua to the Lord ; and he said, in the
sight of all Israel, " Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon !
and thou, moon, in the valley of Ajalon ! Throw your
light around them ! Let there be no darkness nor
mantle of night, under which the champions of idola-
try may hide themselves ! Let the heathen nations
know that Israel's God made and manages the sun and
moon, and can make the very luminaries they have
profanely idolized contribute to their overthrow!"
" And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until
the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies.
Is not this written in the book of Jasher ? So the sun
stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go
down about a whole day. And there was no day like
that, before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto
the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel."

There are now three particulars, in relation to this
miracle, which I wish you carefully to consider.

1. This miracle was worthy of God, and demanded
by the circumstances of the occasion. It was peculiarly
appropriate, timely, and instructive. The darkness and
delusion that have come over the human soul constitute
one of the most mournful results of man's rebellion.
God has employed a "long cloud of witnesses" to
testify divine truth to men. Patriarchs, prophets, apos-
11

122 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

ties, many of the brightest luminaries that have ap-
peared in the intellectual firmament, have been thus
employed for ages. When the Son of God came to
earth, the first office in which he engaged was that of
a teacher of righteousness. Long did he labor, that
man might be delivered from spiritual darkness, and
led to a knowledge of the truth concerning God.
Now, I ask, was it worthy of Jehovah to employ such
intellects as Enoch, and Moses, and Isaiah, that men
might be delivered from fatal error, and brought to
know the truth ? Was it worthy of God to send his
only Son to earth, to preach at the sea-side, in the
synagogue, and on the mountain, that blinded, erring
man might come to the knowledge of the truth ? And
was it unworthy of God to use any portion of that
unconscious matter which his own hand had created,
for the same great purpose ? Was it unworthy of God
to make use of the flood, the fire, the earth, the sun,
the moon, to sweep from the soul of man a most fatal
delusion, and fasten there a conviction of that great
truth which lies at the very foundation of all true reli-
gion ? The more correctly we understand the actual
characteristics of that idolatry which had bewitched
and bewildered the nations of Canaan, the more clearly
we shall see that in this " notable miracle " the God
of Israel appears divinely wise, divinely good, and
divinely glorious.,

2. Traditions have come down among the heathen
nations, that can be accounted for only by admitting
the reality of this recorded miracle. Authentic history
among the Gentiles fails, by some thousand years, to
reach back to the time of Joshua. Yet notable events,
which were observed before the days of Hesiod and of

STAGE-COACH DISCUSSION. 123

Homer, have been handed down from age to age by
tradition. Often, indeed, there is a great deal of fabu-
lous drapery" thrown around such events. But when
you strip off the covering in which poets and sages
have dressed it, the substance of the historical fact is
there. Now, among their many traditions is found the
following : Apollo being the god of the sun, it was
his business to drive the chariot of the sun round the
world every day, in order to give light to the inhabit-
ants. The thing was done with great exactness and
propriety while Apollo attended to it in person. But
Apollo at length became the father of a headstrong,
adventurous boy, whose name was Phaeton. A play-
mate of Phaeton's insulted him, by alleging that his
mother had deceived him as to his parentage, and that
Apollo would not own him as his son. Phaeton, full
of anger and vexation, hurried to the palace of Apollo,
and demanded, " Do you, Apollo, acknowledge me as
your son ? "

" I do," answered Apollo.

" What proof will you give that you own me ? "
asked Phaeton.

" I will give you any proof you may desire."

" Swear to that by an inviolable oath," said Phaeton.

Apollo accordingly took the inviolable oath.

" Now, Phaeton, what do you ask ? " said Apollo.

" I ask," said Phaeton, "the privilege of driving the
chariot of the sun round the world for one day."

" Alas ! Phaeton," said Apollo, " you know not what
you ask. It requires all my strength and skill to man-
age the fiery horses. It is utterly beyond your strength. ' '

But Phaeton was inflexible, and the oath of Apollo
inviolable. So Phaeton is the driver for one day. Ovid

124 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

says that Phaeton succeeded tolerably well in driving
up the ascent of the morning, till the sun reached his
noonday station. But when it became necessary to
commence the descent by which the sun might go
down, the horses became restive, unmanageable, and
all Phaeton's efforts were wholly unavailing. The sun
strangely remained in the heavens, and refused to go
dov/n ; and the heathen poet, after enumerating many
disasters that ensued, uses almost the very language
of the book of Joshua, that " there was no day like
that day."

Now, strip off the drapery which the poet's imagina-
tion has thrown around this matter, and come to the
facts of the case. What ever put it into the head of a
heathen sage to get up a story like this ? Evidently
the fact, that there was one extraordinary day in which
the sun strangely refused to go down, as on other days.
And heathen sages, attempting to account for the sin-
gular phenomenon according to their philosophy and
their mythology, very naturally came to the conclusion,
that the right driver was not engaged on that day, and
that the reins, and the management of the chariot of
the sun, had been intrusted to inexperienced and in-
competent hands. This heathen tradition is a marked
and strong confirmation of the miracle, as recorded in
the book of Joshua. Had no such interruption of the
sun's course ever taken place, we should never have
heard this tradition.

3. This command of Joshua is in perfect unison
with the elevated and sublime spirit of Bible religion.
" Hallowed be thy name ! " is the first petition in our
Lord's prayer. The most important end that any created
object can answer, is to honor and glorify God.

STAGE-COACH DISCUSSION. 125

The song of the church in heaven is, " Thou art
worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and poAver ;
for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure
they are and were created." The song of the church
on earth is, " Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord
from the heavens ; praise him in the heights. Praise
ye him, all his angels ; praise ye him, all his hosts.
Praise ye him, sun and moon ; praise him, all ye stars
of light. Let them praise the name of the Lord ; for
he commanded, and they were created." Of this reli-
gion the soul of Joshua was full to overflowing. He
had beheld the wonders of God in Egypt ; he had
witnessed that great transaction at the Red Sea. The
river of Egypt had honored God, and blushed itself to
blood when smitten by his rod. The Red Sea had
honored God when it made a way for his people. The
clouds of heaven had honored God when they sent
down the manna. Mount Sinai had honored God with
her smoke and her flame when the Lord descended
upon it in fire. The earth had honored God when
she opened her mouth at his command, and swallowed
up Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Jordan had honored
God when it rolled back its tide, and stood in a heap
at the approach of the ark of his covenant. Joshua
had seen all this, and rejoiced that unconscious Nature
honored her God. And now, when the heathen army
approached, bearing on their banners profane devices
of the sun and moon which they have idolized, the
soul of Joshua was roused, and he calls again upon
unconscious nature to honor the great God. We are
reminded of the language of Christ, when the Phari-
sees called on him to rebuke the disciples who were
speaking his praise. '' He answered and said unto

126 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peacej
the stones would immediately cry out." The- same
spirit was in the prophet when he said, " The stone
shall cry out of the wall, and the beam from the timber
shall answer it."

The appeal of Joshua may be paraphrased thus :
" O Sun ! O Moon ! Can you bear to have your Maker
dishonored and blasphemed ? Can you bear to look on
and see stupid, rebellious man change the glory of the
incorruptible God into a lie, and worship and serve the
creature more than the Creator ? Remonstrate ! re-
monstrate against such awful profanation ! Stand still,
in the midst of heaven ! Shine to your Maker's praise !
Witness to all these deluded nations, that you are up-
held and controlled by a hand that is divine." The
sublime religion which animated the heart of Joshua
taught him that the glory of God is the highest good
of the universe, and that the best use that can be made
of earth or ocean, sun or moon, is to have them pro-
claim the wisdom, the power, the grandeur, the su-
premacy of the great, eternal God. And hence, when
Joshua gave this notable command, he was acting in
perfect harmony with this elevated and divine religion.
I close with two remarks.

1. We are not surprised that " Israel served the Lord
all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the eldeis
that overlived Joshua." The very companions of such
a man would shed a wholesome influence around them
as long as they lived.

2. Joshua witnessed more of God's wonderful works
than any mere man who ever lived. He saw most, or
all, of the miracles performed by Moses. He beheld
the works of Israel's God in Egypt, at the Red Sea,

STAGE-COACH DISCUSSION. 127

at Mount Sinai, and throughout the wilderness. And
then, when Moses was dead, he led the tribes into
Canaan, and saw God's wonders there. He nobly-
sustained his part in life, through a long series of years,
and well deserves an honorable rank among "the great
men of the Bible."

At this point the stage passengers separated, as earthly
travellers must. What effect was produced on the mind
of the senator, the writer has not had opportunity to
learn. The substance of the conversation is inserted
here, with the hope that it may aid others to under-
stand this notable passage in the Bible.

128 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

THE SKELETON PREACHER, AND THE
CONGREGATION OE DRY BONES.

EXTRACT FROM AN ANCIENT JEWISH RECORD.

The valley was wide, long, and very capacious, but
the reign of desolation was there. The green grass
had spread no carpet over the ground ; neither plant
nor flowering shrub was to be seen ; nor did the tall
forest tree, lifting up its majestic form toward heaven,
there wave its beautiful branches in the breeze, or cast
its refreshing shade around. The naked earth had long
been baked and scorched by the rays of a torrid sun.
No living form was seen in that deserted and desolate
field. Every beast of the forest kept aloof. Nor was
it approached by one of " the cattle upon a thousand
hills." Even the birds of the air shunned it, as they
are said to have shunned the lake of Sodom, and the
very winds of heaven appeared paralyzed and power-
less when they came to the confines of this kingdom
of the dead.

The valley was " full of bones ; and behold, there
were very many in the open valley ; and lo, they were
very dr}^." ( Ez. xxxvii. 1, 2. ) While I gazed on the sad
scene before me, my ear was caught by a strange, un-
earthly voice. " I am the pastor of this congregation,"
said the voice ; " this day is the seventieth anniversarv

THE SKELETON PREACHER. 129

of the commencement of my ministry among you,
and now I am about to preach again."

I turned to see the speaker, and behold there stood
up in the midst of the valley a ghastly skeleton of dry
bones. Its naked, fleshless condition gave it the ap-
pearance of unusual tallness, and the long bones on
which it stood, and of which it was composed, ap-
peared extremely dry. The ribs had a bleached and
wasted aspect, from long exposure in the open plain.
The skull was bare and weather-beaten, and the empty
sockets; where eyes should have been, had a frightful,
ghastly look ; the teeth were all exposed, and extreme-
ly white. Sometimes he stretched out his long, flesh-
less arm and hand, and then every bone was distinctly
seen. Sometimes he brought his hand to his side, and
then his dry fingers would rattle on his naked ribs ;
and then, again, he would clasp his hands, while the
bones would clatter and ' clank one against another.
How he could speak without the use of lungs, or lips,
or tongue, I could not tell ; but there was a strange,
sepulchral hollowness in his voice, and his articulation
had a supernatural and horrible distinctness.

As he turned his head to address the diiferent parts
of his congregation, the naked skull harshly grated
and creaked on the dry neck bones ; yet there was an
air of gloomy satisfaction in the manner of this skele-
ton preacher, while he surveyed the multitude before
him, as if their situation delighted him much. A hag-
gard expression of approval looked out through the
hollow sockets of his eyes, and there appeared on his
naked cheek-bone the dim counterfeit of a ghastly
smile.

'' O ye dry bones," he exclaimed ; " this is the anni-

130 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

versary of my profitable and acceptable ministry among
you. It is therefore highly proper that we should mu-
tually rejoice together ; yea, that we should mutually
rejoice in each other ; for few preachers have had such
a congregation, and few congregations have had such a
preacher.

" O ye dry bones, on this joyful occasion you must
allow me to speak freely. I must go into particulars,
and rehearse the many things in your present prosper-
ous and promising condition, that afford me rapturous
delight. •

" First, then, O ye dry bones, I am in raptures^
while I contemplate you, because you are so steady.
Steadiness and stillness are well known as the attri-
butes of profound attention, and thus you bestow the
highest encomium on your esteemed and beloved pas-
tor ; for what congregation have been so long composed
and orderly, under stated and regular ministrations, as
you have been under mine ? For the term of seventy
years, you have been entirely steady, and still, no one
of you has moved the breadth of a hair. It is true, O
ye dry bones, that a superficial observer might ascribe
your stillness to a want of life. Indeed, when I have
been boasting of my charge, and telling abroad how
calm and composed my congregation continue, not-
withstanding the surrounding agitations of a troubled
and tumultuous world, it has been broadly hinted to
me that my church is dead, utterly dead, and that the
stillness there is the stillness of death. But, O ye diy
bones, none of these things move me. I scorn calumny
and misrepresentation. I maintain that we are con-
servative ; not deaci, but highly conservative. A mere
itinerant preacher, or transient visitor, cannot judge of

THE SKELETON PREACHER. 131

your state as your judicious and experienced pastor
can ; and he puts a very diiferent construction on the
collected calmness and regular habits that have charac-
terized you through a long series of years; yea, the
stability and composure that reign among you are the
joy of his heart, and the theme of his daily exultation.
But I must proceed to the

" Second characteristic. O ye dry bones, I am ex-
ceedingly gratified with the uniformity that has long
prevailed among you. Who has not heard that con-
sistency is a jewel ? Now, O ye dry bones, you are
consistent ; you are uniform in your habits ; / ahoays
knoiv lohej'e to find you. An uncertain church I can-
not bear. But here you are just in the same spot where
you were seventy years ago, and just as dry. O, what
a privilege to be the pastor of such a church ! and what
a privilege for a church to have such a preacher ! The
' fits and starts,' that have agitated many other churches
— the 'spasmodic awakenings,' that have disturbed
them — have never affected you in the least, since the
happy day of my installation as your pastor. You
have slept on, O ye dry bones, and taken your rest,
from month to month, and from year to year. Indeed,
such has been your admirable uniformity, that if I were
called on to say which year of my popular ministry
among you has been most notable for sound sleeping,
and motionless, stagnant inactivity, it would be hard
to make the selection.

" In this respect, O ye dry bones, you have been a
constant source of comfort and consolation to me. It
must be confessed, that our lot has fallen to us in the
midst of a restless and agitated world. The kingdom
of nature, I am sorry to say, is sadly out of joint. I

132 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

have no doubt that it is in consequence of the fall ;
but I find that the wheels of nature and the wheels of
time have a mighty propensity to be in motion. In-
deed, I am continually disturbed by departures from
that standard of excellence, which we have long since
set up in our ^ model congregation.^ The changes of
morning and evening, noon and night, are to me ex-
ceedingly annoying. How much more desirable would
it be to have uniformity ! And as light is fleeting and
transient in its very nature, I should give my voice for
the establishment of the kingdom of perpetual, unmiti-
gated night. I long for uniformity. The clouds of
heaven, also, appear restless, and fond of flitting about :
one day they are driving over the face of the sky, and
another day wholly out of sight. We have fair weath-
er and foul, clear days and cloudy, wet days and dry
days. I am perplexed with mutability in the kingdom
of nature. I have heard of a happy period, in days of
old, when there was no rain for three years and six
months. What delightful uniformity the seasons must
have had at that time ! How happy the lot of those
who lived in that day ! But now the earth is distracted
with successive changes. The streams are, at one
time, so low as to show the pebbles at the bottom ;
and then they will rise, and overflow all their banks.
The restless ocean is ebbing and flowing every day,
and the earth itself is constantly varying. Scarcely
has winter subdued the vegetable kingdom, and estab-
lished its reign, when spring bursts forth, and sends
out its buds, and wakes its flowers, and throws its
green robes over 'hill, and dale, and mountain- peak.'
And then summer comes, with its harvests, and au-
tumn, with its fruits. Alas for the mutability that

THE SKELETON PREACHEJl. 133

prevails in the world ! Were it not, O ye dry bones,
that you have been in no condition to travel, 1 should
long since have proposed that I and my church would
emigrate to the north — to the region of perpetual ice
and snow. I learn that there is delightful uniformity
in that country. No bud, or leaf, or blossom vegetates
there, from age to age. Happy they who dwell in
that sweet clime. Ah, the sweetest, beyond all doubt,
on which the sun is permitted to shine ! But we have
not been in a condition to emigrate ; and therefore, O
ye dry bones, allow me to say, as your honored and
much-esteemed pastor, that when I have been vexed
and tortured with the changes and revolutions in the
natural world, I have found comfort and consolation
when I have turned to you. Ah, such delightful uni-
formity ! Here you are, perfectly motionless and cold
and dry ; yes, as dry as you were seventy years ago.
Admirable congregation ! Surely your pastor may
exclaim, ' To me the inheritance has fallen in marvel-
lously pleasant places.'

" Thirdly. O ye dry bones, another feature in your
condition I regard as peculiarly favorable : that is, you
are so entirely free from animal excitement. Long
experience and extensive observation have convinced
me that the living principle, the moving principle, is
the dangerous principle ; and I have found the perfec-
tion of prudence among dry bones. Never have I
known a dry bone take a hasty step, make a rash, in-
discreet movement, or put forth precipitate and incon-
siderate action. Ah, there is safety about dry bones !
And O that the world were warned of the danger of
rash, hasty action, produced by animal excitement ! "

Here I discovered, for the first time, a number of
12

134' THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

shadowy forms flitting and bestirring themselves around
the skeleton preacher. On closer observation, I found
that they were skeletons, also, but so perfectly fleshless
and bare, and the bones had such a slim, attenuated
appearance, that they might have been mistaken for
shadows. These, I learned, were volunteer helpers of
the pastor — skeletons who spent their time in eulo-
gizing and puffing him to the members of his congre-
gation. They echoed his sentiments, and sung his
praises. "Animal excitement!" they exclaimed alb
at once, as soon as the expression fell from the skele-
ton preacher — "animal excitement!" Then each
deputy or subaltern skeleton took ofl" in his own direc-
tion among the dry bones, repeating, " Animal excite-
ment ! What a marvellous skeleton our pastor is I
how profound I how talented ! how judicious ! Ani-
mal excitement ! O ye dry bones, beware of animal
excitement ! " Over the entire valley of dry bones
could be heard the harsh, husky voice of the deputy
skeletons — " Beware of animal excitement ! beware of
animal excitement ! " It seemed a strange and need-
less exhortation, for the bones were very dry. There
was not a particle of flesh on them. There was not a
fragment of sinew, nerve, or tendon. There was not
a drop of blood, or a throbbing pulse, in all then- thou-
sands. One would have thought that a more appropri-
ate exhortation would have been this : " Beware of
mildew and total decay ! beware of being further
bleached by the sleet, and snow, and hail-storms, to
which you are exposed ! beware of being further
parched and dried by the torrid rays, which pour down
Lipon you in this naked valley ! " The skeleton pastor
turned the hollow sockets in his dry skull, as if look-

THE SKELETON PREACHER. 135

ing after his deputy skeletons, who were so busy
among the dry bones ; a glare of hideous satisfaction
seemed to issue from those dark caverns, as he surveyed
his helpers, and the ghastly smile on his naked cheek-
bone assumed unwonted distinctness. After a moment,
he resumed his discourse.

" Talk as you will," he exclaimed, " the pastor who
encourages the breath of life among his people will
have trouble. No congregation is so manageable, so
perfectly under the control of its pastor, as a congre-
gation of dry bones. Show me a church whose mem-
bers have flesh on their bones, blood in their veins,
and a heart in their body. — a church whose members
have eyes and ears, brains in their skull, a tongue in
their head, and breath in their bosom, — and I will
show you a church subject to excitements, and varia-
tions, and ups and downs. Yes, such a church will
have day and night, summer and winter, cold and heat,
seed-time and harvest ; in short, there will be no end
to their fluctuations. O ye dry bones, I must exult in
your stability, your uniformity, your perfect exemption
from ' animal excitement,' through all the years of
my ministry among you. Some pastors can only com-
mend a part of their flock ; but I can commend you
all. Though you are very many, yet you are very
dry. You have all ' held your own,' and kept free
from 'animal excitement.' Yes, I can witness in your
behalf, that in all my seventy years' ministry among
you, never have I been annoyed with breathing lungs,
a beating heart, or a throbbing pulse ; no glow of heat,
above that possessed by the granite rock, has passed
over you ; never has there been a drop of blood in
your veins, or a particle of flesh or muscle, sinew or

136 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

nerve, upon you. O ye dry bones, you have chosen,
with commendable unanimity, your beloved pastor as
your pattern and your model ; and each bone of you is
naked, and cold, and dry as his own ; and each skull
of you as perfectly ejcempt from brains as the great
example (modesty will scarcely suifer me to be thus
particular) which you have chosen to copy.

" Foarthly. Once more, O ye dry bones, permit me
to say, that I admire your durability. Here you are,
much the same as you were seventy years ago. Flesh
will fall off, blood will run out, vital warmth will cool,
and life itself will expire ; but ' dry bones ' hold their
own admirably. Indeed, the only remains we have of
the early ages are in the form of bones — some of
them of most gigantic size. Had the antediluvian
churches, like mine, been composed of ' dry bones,'
only, they might have remained to this day. I should
like to know how those troublesome preachers, who
insist on having flesh on the bones, and blood in the
veins, breath in the lungs, and life in the heart, would
meet this argument. Ah, their churches cannot stand
the test of time ! The heart may sicken, and the life
that is therein may die, the breath may depart, the
flesh perish, and the blood, also ; but the bones ! Ah,
there is durability, especially when kept ' very dry ' !
It is susceptible of demonstration, that the drier they
are kept, the more durable they are. He that wishes
his church to last, let him keep his bones ' very dry.'

"It is certainly commendable in every preacher, O
ye dry bones, to know himself. Indeed, ancient phi-
losophers declare, that the maxim ' Know thyself has
been handed down from Jupiter. In this respect, O
ye dry bones, I have the satisfaction to inform you,

THE SKELETON PREACHER. 137

that your own illustrious preacher has succeeded to
admiration. He has mastered the mystery that so
long puzzled the contemporaries of Samson ; that is, he
has found out 'wherein his great strength lieth.' He
has ascertained, with the clearness of demonstration,
that his enormous talent consists not so much in ability
to do any good himself, as to find fault with what
others do. By careful experiments, I have discovered
that fault-finding is a business that can be set up on
very small capital. There is little demand for intellect,
learning, or piety, in order to set up the establishment
of a fault-finder. Having made this valuable discov-
ery, O ye dry bones, I at once invested all ray available
means in this business. I find that the delightful work
grows upon my hands. It is peculiarly adapted to my
genius. O, there is sublimity in fault-finding ! In-
deed, it is a vocation itself. It demands all the energies
of the mind. And hence it is not marvellous that those
who excel in that business can do nothing else. No
man, for example, can expatiate on the evils of revivals
like the man under whose preaching revivals never
take place. No man can dilate on the danger of spu-
rious conversions like the man under whose ministry
there are no conversions of any kind. Ah, give me a
fabric of ' dry bones ' to creak, and clank, and cry out
against ' protracted meetings, inquiry meetings, hasty
conversions,' and all such things. Immortal honor to
the memory of St. Jeroboam ! (1 Kings xii. 26 — 29.)
" You must be aware, O ye dry bones, that this is a
very delicate subject. Indeed, your worthy pastor has
had to endure some very broad hints in the course of
his labors. Some of these, in fact, have amounted to
a perfect insinuation. When I have been declaiming
12*

138 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

against the indiscretions of others, impertinent persons
have presumed to ask, what good I myself had done ?
what kind of conversions had taken place under my
preaching ? To such rude and unseasonable inquiries
I have given but this one reply, ' Ah, my friend, the
less we say on that subject, the better.'

" It will be acceptable to you, O ye dry bones, to
hear, on this joyful anniversary, something of your
esteemed pastor's experience and personal history.
The history of your pastor, O ye dry bones, should be
a source of comfort and consolation to a church in
your advanced and enviable condition, I was once
encumbered with flesh on my bones, and blood in my
veins. I was once troubled with breath in my nostrils,
and vital warmth in my heart. But a period came,
when I was vexed by the discovery that the labor of
other preachers was very successful. I felt the rising
of envy and jealousy. I resolved to oppose revivals,
especially such as took place under the ministry of
others. In a short time, I had gone much further than
I at first intended. I had invested all my stock in this
business. I had become a regular revival-fighter. All
that I could now do in relation to revivals was to find
fault, raise objections, and expatiate on their evils.
From that moment, my oiofi tninistry was smitten
with barrenness 1 Yes, my own ministry became
bleak and desolate as the mountains of Gilboa, on
which ' there is no rain, neither any dew ' ! From that
moment, my flesh withered away, my blood dried up,
my vitality departed, my skin cracked and fell off", my
bones became bare and '■ very dry ; ' and I have . since
walked among the churches a naked skeleton, my
bones ' very dry.' Yet think not, O ye dry bones,

THE SKELETON PREACHER. 139

that I complain. I am much pleased with my present
meagre and fleshless condition. It is a condition of
great poioer ; and who does not love power ? Did not
the seven 'lean kine,' in Pharaoh's dream, eat up the
seven that were fat-fleshed and well-favored ? These
lean cattle, meagre, famished, very ill-favored — ' Such,'
said Pharaoh, * as I never saw in all the land of Egypt
for badness ; ' that eat up all that were better than
themselves — were certainly very promising specimens.
They were verging toward the condition of ' dry bones,'
which I regard as absolute consummation. Ah, if you
wish every thing that is well-favored, and lovely, and
of good report, utterly eaten up, just set a skeleton of^
'dry bones ' at the work, and it will soon be done ! "

Here the hideous monster paused in his discourse ;
and in a paroxysm of greediness that was frightful, he
snapped repeatedly around to the right and left with
his dry, naked teeth, till the valley rang again. Pres-
ently he resumed his discourse.

" Another peculiarity, O ye dry bones, in the history
of your esteemed pastor, is this : he has been absolutely
stationary. For seventy years he has kept his place.
Dry bones are admirable in this respect. There is no
moving about in them. Many pernicious examples
have been set in former days. There was one Abra-
ham, that went out from his country, his kindred, and
his father's house, in order to lead a religious life.
What fanaticism ! Just as if there was any propriety
in ' going into all the world,' in order to promote reli-
gion. The fact is, that same Abraham seems to have
been a very restless man. He went from Mesopotamia
to Haran, thence to the land of Canaan, then down into
Egypt, then back to Canaan, and then into the coun-

140 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

try of the Philistines. It is reported, that he and his
family ' confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims
in the earth.' Some have maintained, that at these
various points Abraham was laboring as a missionary,
or as an evangelist. But one thing is certain : that is,
he departed essentially from that model of perfection
which is found in ' dry bones.' After Abraham, arose
one Moses, a very unsettled man. Now he was in
Egypt, now in Midian, and now in the wilderness.
And even when in the wilderness, he repeatedly
changed his place — a most injurious example. After
Moses, arose one Samuel, who positively ' went in a
circuit, from year to year, to Bethel and Gilgal, to
Mizpah and Ramah,' performing in those places the
duties of a public minister of religion. Nor was the
example of Elijah one whit better. In him we find
the adage verified, that the ruling passion is strong
near the close of life ; for, just before his translation,
he took Elisha with him, and went on religious errands
from Gilgal to Bethel, from Bethel to Jericho, and from
Jericho to Jordan. Such are some of the untoward
examples, O ye dry bones, which your model preacher
has had to counteract ; and although they have been
not a little troublesome, yet he has been able to remain
stationary, and keep his bones 'very dry.' I have
been grievously annoyed, of late, by the prophecy of
Daniel. He has been predicting, that in the latter day
' many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be
increased.' This Daniel must be an exceedingly in-
discreet man, or he would not utter siich predictions.
They are calculated to disturb dry bones, in my con-
dition. I am resolved to commence the business of
prophesying, too. I am driven to it in self-defence.

THE SKELETON PREACHER. 141

My prediction is this : • In the latter day, many shall
imitate the sublime example set by the clucking hen ! '
I have a right to use her as an illustration. Noah had
his dove, Elijah had his ravens, and why should not
the skeleton preacher be allowed his favorite bird ?
That bird is the clucking hen. Ah, when I see her
settle down on her own nest, and push every egg under
her own wings, and then raise the feathers on the back
of her head and neck, and peck at every one that comes
near her, I am ready to exclaim, ' There is true sub-
limity ! there is an example worthy of all imitation ! '

" Again, O ye dry bones, your judicious pastor has
rattled every dry bone in his skeleton frame, to keep
down special effort in the church, revivals of religion,
protracted meetings, and all such things. That blun-
dering man Moses, before mentioned, instituted a num-
ber of such meetings, which were attended with many
and sore ' evils.' At the feast of the Passover, at the
feast of Pentecost, and at the feast of Tabernacles, the
people, in great numbers, came up to Jerusalem to
worship, and continued their religious exercises for
seven or eight days in succession. In the time of
Hezekiah king of Judah, 'a very great congregation
assembled at Jerusalem, and kept the feast of the Pass-
over seven days.' And then ' the whole assembly took
counsel to keep other seven days ; and they kept other
seven days with gladness.' (2 Chron. xxx. 23.) What
extravagance was this ! If such measures are suffered
to pass without rebuke, who can tell where the mis-
chief will end ?

"St. Jeroboam, the son of Nebat — immortal honor
to his memory ! — yes, St. Jeroboam, the son of Nebat,
is the first man recorded in history who took a de-

142 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

cided stand against protracted meetings, as ordained
by Moses. ' And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now
shall the kingdom return to the house of David. If
this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the
Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people
turn again unto their Lord, even unto Rehoboam king
of Judah, and the}'- shall kill me, and go again to Re-
hoboam king of Judah. Whereupon the king took
counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto
them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem :
behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out
of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel,
and the other put he in Dan.' (1 Kings xii. 26 — 29.)
The objection of St. Jeroboam to protracted meet-
ings, was not that they would injure the great body of
the people, but he feared that they might diminish the
importance of a certain worshipful individual, whose
aggrandizement he had very much at heart ; and rather
than hazard any thing in that quarter, he ' took coun-
sel,' and employed his utmost ingenuity to induce them
to forsake the altar of God, and worship a calf. And I
have known other instances, O ye dry bones, in which
such meetings have been violently opposed, when the
secret spring of action was anxiety to maintain among
the people the worship of some object very little better
than Jeroboam's calf.

" Your judicious and venerable pastor, O ye dry
bones, has opposed, both by precept and example,
' sudden conversions,' ' hasty admissions,' and every
thing in that line. There has not been one conversion
under my preaching, during the last seventy years. In
all that time, there has not been a foot or a finger moved
in any religious duty. Ah, it is delightful to observe

THE SKELETON PREACHER. 143

how long and how carefully duties are considered,
before there is any movement toward obedience among
' dry bones.' I have had immense success in holding
back my congregation from precipitate action. St.
Pharaoh — honor to his memory — was fully aware of
the ' evils ' of rapid accessions to the visible church.
He commanded the old women in Israel, saying, ' When
a son is born in Israel, then ye shall kill him.' Israel
was then the visible church ; and finding that this edict
did not destroy them fast enough, he charged all his
people, saying, ' Every son that is born ye shall cast
into the river.' (Ex. i. 16, 22.) Thoughtful, judi-
cious, amiable St. Pharaoh ! He knew that the begin- .
nings of life in an infant are extremely tender and
delicate. He knew — sound and discreet man — that
a withered old granny had strength enough to choke a
young baby to death. Or, if that failed, he knew that
the monsters of the river of Egypt could crush them
between their hideous jaws. Even now, my mind
delights to contemplate him in the noble stand that he
took against the too rapid increase of the visible church.
I behold him standing on the banks of the Nile, his
venerable form drawn up to its full height, while he
pours forth this sublime soliloquy : ' Ha ! talk of
Abraham's seed becoming countless as the stars of
heaven ! talk of Israel being ' fruitful, and multiplying
exceedingly ' ! Behold the fate of their children ! yes,
the children of the church, over whose birth there was
such exultation. See the quivering limbs of that one
in the midst of the river, in the mouth of that vora-
cious crocodile ! Why, the jaws of the huge monster
and the waters all around are stained and gory with its
blood. And I have the best authority for saying, that

144 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

on land many infants who were born are dead. The
life that was in them was so feeble, that a few minutes'
choking, by a withered old granny, could stop their
breath forever. The back of my hand to such boasted
births in Israel as these ! ' Such was the soliloquy of
St. Pharaoh, while he well knew that the destruction
of the lives of these young Israelites was his studied
and favorite aim. And sweet experience has taught
me, O ye dry bones, that the most effective way to
dishonor and disgrace a revival in the church is to
choke the young converts to death, while the early
dawn of spiritual life in them is yet tender and deli-
cate. A naked skeleton preacher, who judiciously
employs his ' dry bones,' can do much of this ; and
then he can point to the destruction which he himself
has made, and triumphantly exclaim, ' There is your
revival ! there is the end of your converts ! ' Let the
memory of St. Pharaoh be affectionately embalmed in
the hearts of all revival-fighting ministers.

" I must further observe, O ye dry bones, that I am
delighted with your deliberation. You avoid agitating
scenes and agitating subjects. You are deliberate.
There is no sudden or rash movement with you. I
understand that Ezekiel has been preaching about
churches 'waking up,' -prodigals returning,' 'spiritual
resurrections,' and things in that line. But, O ye dry
bones, such things are agitating in their very nature.
You have guarded against them. Ezekiel has been
preaching that the angels in heaven rejoice when the
wicked turn from their wickedness ; that the morning
stars sing together when the dead awake to life. But,
O ye dry bones, you have stood aloof from Ezekiel
and all his enthusiasm ] you have let the angels and

THE SKELETON PREACHER. 145

the morning stars alone. No doubt they are doing
very well, up where they properly belong. It would
be very ' indiscreet ' to drag their attention down to
earth, and tamper with their sensibilities. You have
allowed the angels to sing their own songs without
interruption, while you have remained admirably cold,
and dead, and dry. And your beloved pastor has fully
sympathized with you in all things. He has been
cold among the cold, dead among the dead, and dry
among the dry.

" And beyond all this, O ye dry bones, it should be
mentioned to your praise, that you have been delight-
fully exempt from ' backslidings,' ' declensions,' and
' falling away.' You know, O ye dry bones, how
many churches, after seasons of revival, have been
dishonored by ' backsliding ' among their members,
' declensions,' (fcc. From these ' evils of revivals ' you
have been marvellously free. The church which takes
no forward step is proof against backsliditig. Who
ever saw blighted blossoms on trees that were dead
and dry? I challenge investigation. What living
church, for the last seventy years, has been so entirely
free from cases of backsliding as my model church of
' dry bones ' ?

" In the last place, O ye dry bones, another score on
which you are entitled to commendation is this : you
have been satisfied with my preaching, and have never
gone to hear any one else. Some, it is true, have
called me a dead preacher ; but I have not been too
dead for you. You have been satisfied with my ser-
mons. They have been uniform. None of them
have made any impression on the audience : therefore
they have had the charm and the graces of uniformity.
13

146 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

It is wearing on a minister to feel his subject, or to
care about the salvation of his hearers. I say it is
wearing. I have been most delightfully exempt from
' excitement ' on such subjects. I have kept perfectly
cool, and have kept my bones ' very dry.' And
beyond all this, let me declare, O ye dry bones, that
the admirable condition in which you now are, is
the result of my own ministry exclusively. / have
called in no foreign aid. Your skeleton preacher ab-
hors that practice. / have allowed of tio extra means.
I have jogged on just in my own way. Can ye believe
it, posterity ! By the dint of my own marvellous genius,
I have kept my bones, and the bones of all my church,
' very dry.' O ye dry bones, you have kept around
your own minister, and you have refused to run after
transient men, itinerant preachers, missionaries, or evan-
gelists. They talk about the duty of ' going into all
the world ; ' but they have no business here. This is
no part of the world. This is ' the valley of dry
bones.' But ha ! what form is that approaching my
congregation ? " Here the skeleton preacher raised
his hollow eye-sockets, as if looking intently, and then
exclaimed, "The prophet Ezekiel ! that fatal disturber
of dead churches ; and he is coming here, as sure as
my bones are dry ! " Here the skeleton preacher made
a sign with his long, bony fingers, to the deputy skele-
tons already mentioned ; for I learned that there was a
certain kind of work that he wished to have done in
his congregation, and he would set these subalterns at
it, though he was rather afraid to risk his reputation by
engaging in it himself. The deputies, having received
the signal, darted speedily among the congregation of
dry bones, clattering every where — " The prophet
Ezekiel is coming ! Don't go to hear him ! He is a

THE SKELETON PREACHER. 147

mere transient preacher — only an evangelist. He has
a few subjects on which he can preach tolerably well ;
but he can't stay long in one place. He don't last
like our admirable preacher of ' dry bones ' ! " In
this style these deputy skeletons were tattling and
gabbling in all directions, when the whole valley was
waked and electrified by the clear, strong, trumpet-like
voice of Ezekiel — " O ye dry bones, hear the word
of the Lord ! " And immediately there was a noise ;
and behold there was a shaking, and the bones came
together, bone to his bone. The skeleton preacher
beheld these movements with the utmost alarm and
perturbation. He stamped on the naked earth with
his skeleton foot, until the dry bones clanked again.
'' Order ! " he exclaimed ; " I call to order ! This is
my congregation. I will sanction no such measures
as these. Order ! order ! I call to order ! " But the
shaking went on, and the bones came together, bone
to his bone ; and the prophet Ezekiel continued his
address — ^ " O ye dry bones, hear the word of the
Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these dry bones,
' Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye
shall live ; and I will lay sinews upon you, and will
bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and
put breath into you, and ye shall live ; and ye shall
know that I am the Lord.' " And while the prophet
Ezekiel spoke thus, lo ! the sinews and the flesh came
up upon them, and the skin covered them above ; but
there was no breath in them. "Ha! " exclaimed the
skeleton preacher, " the}'" are not alive, after all — a
mere 'spasmodic movement' — nothing but 'animal
excitement.' I thought it would amount to this.
Here's all our ancient order of things broken up, con-

148 THE "WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

fusion and novelties introduced, and nothing gained at
last — a mere ' spasmodic awakening ' — nothing but
' animal excitement.' " And here he gave the sign to
his deputy skeletons — " Discredit it, discredit it, .all
you can." Away went the deputy skeletons through
the crowd, tattling, " No revival ! no revival ! only
spasmodic awakening ! nothing but animal excite-
ment ! " But just now they were startled and stunned
by the powerful voice of Ezekiel, with which the
whole valley rang again — " Thus saith the Lord God,
Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe
upon these slain, that they may live ; " and lo ! the
breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon
their feet — an exceeding great army. And there was
glory to God in the highest. And there was the joy
of life from the dead. The brother greeted the brother
redeemed from the grave. The father hailed, blessed,
and embraced the son. Glad angels spread their rain-
bow wings over the enrapturing scene, and sung, " The
dead is alive, and the lost is found."

As for the skeleton preacher, he escaped from the
living multitude ; then turned, and gazed over the
scene with more than fiendish indignation. He
gnashed and ground his naked teeth, struck his bony
hand on the dry ribs of his breast, then turned, and
set his face for the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, else-
where called Tophet, muttering, as he went along,
" Yes, this is the result of the revival. I am nnsettled.
The relationship between me and this church is dis-
solved. Perdition on such revivals ! This is the
result of allowing such evangelists as Ezekiel to roam
over the country, preaching. Perdition on such revi-
vals! Yes, V TO. unsettled ; and now I must look out

THE SKELETON PREACHER. 149

for another location," As the skeleton preacher went
muttering along toward the Valley of Tophet, he was
met by one of the sons of the prophets, who perfectly
understood the whole case. He was a plain, straight-
forward, out-spoken man, ardently devoted to the cause
of God and the salvation of men. He heard the mur-
murings of the skeleton for a few moments, and his
anger was kindled, and he thus addressed him : " Mea-
gre, miserable skeleton ! are you raving and wrathful-
because your great congregation has awaked to life,
and your control over them is at an end ? Do you
think that the great Majesty of heaven planned the
scheme of redemption in eternity, and established his
beloved church on earth, for no higher object than that
such a wretched rackheap of dry bones as you should
be bolstered up in some comfortable location ? Do
you think that all the wheels of creation, providence,
and redemption should be stopped, for fear that such a
foul, frightful scarecrow as you should be driven from
its roost ! Wretched skeleton ! What madness has
possessed thee !. What worse than demon has entered
into thee ! Yes, you're unsettled, and deservedly so.
You attempted to hurl back the Spirit of the Almighty.
You lifted up your dry bones to resist the growing
conquests of the glorious Immanuel. You're unset-
tled ; yes, because you hated light, and hated life.
You continued dead, and your bones very dry ; and
you wished to keep all as dead and dry as yourself.
Why did not you hear the word of God ? Why did
not you awake to life ? Why did not you have flesh
and sinews, and skin cover your dry bones ? Why
did not you receive the breath of heaven, and live ?
You might then have remained in the congregation
13*

150 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

of the living. You are cast out, because there is no
breath in you. Your bones are fleshless, frightful,
and very dry. Avaunt, wretched skeleton ! " The
chop-fallen skeleton preacher made no reply, but went
on his way toward the Yalley of Tophet. The en-
trance of the valley was dark and dismal. Heavy
clouds hung over it, and shut out the light of heaven.
The exhalations of the valley arose like columns of
ascending smoke, and from the depths within sounds
issued like weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth.
The skeleton approached. His '•' ruling passion was
strong " up to the very moment when he entered the
gloomy vale. " This," he exclaimed, " verifies the
doctrine I have maintained for years. The conversion
of souls costs too much, and the resurrection of the
dead costs too much. Here Tin unsettled. I must
look out for a new location ; and there is little likeli-
hood that I shall better my condition. Perdition on
revivals ! Tell me not that God is honored, the Re-
deemer glorified, sinners saved, the dead alive, the lost
found, the angels rejoicing. What are all these things
to me 1 Here is an evil that outweighs them all —
Tm unsettled ! Perdition on revivals ! " Muttering
and blaspheming thus, while he gnashed his naked
teeth, the skeleton plunged into the horrible valley,
and I saw him no more.

THE LITTLE AUGER. 151

THE LITTLE AUGER AND KING
SOLOMON.

AN EXTRACT FROM THE "BOOK OF THE ACTS OF SOLO-
MON," MENTIONED 1 KINGS XI. 41.

Now it came to pass, while King Solomon was build-
ing the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, that very
many tools and instruments were employed by the
king in this great work. " And King Solomon raised
a levy out of all Israel ; and the levy was thirty thou-
sand men. And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thou-
sand a month by courses ; a month they were in Leba-
non, and two months at home. And Adoniram was
over the levy. And Solomon had threescore and ten
thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand
hewers in the mountains; beside the chief of Solo-
mon's officers which were over the work, three thou-
sand and three hundred, which ruled over the people
that wrought in the work. And the king commanded,
and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed
stones, to lay the foundation of the house. And Solo-
mon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them,
and the st one-square rs : so they prepared timber and
stones to build the house." "And this is the reason
of the levy which King Solomon raised ; for to build
the house of the Lord, and his own house, and Millo,
and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo,

152 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

and Gezer. For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up,
and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the
Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a
present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife. And Solo-
mon built Gezer." "And he built Tadmor in the wil-
derness, and all the store-cities, which he built in
Hamath. Also he built Beth-horon the upper, and
Beth-horon the nether, fenced cities, with walls,
gates, and bars ; and Baalath, and all the store-cities
that Solomon had, and all the chariot-cities, and the
cities of the horsemen, and all that Solomon desired
to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and throughout
all the land of his dominion." (1 Kings v. 13; ix.
15—17.)

And it came to pass, that among the great variety
of instruments employed in building the house of the
Lord, there was a little auger, that had a spirit of high
ambition. It is not more strange that a little auger
should have a spirit of high ambition, than that the
trees, in Jotham's time, should go forth to anoint a
king over them, and that the olive, the fig-tree, the
vine, and the bramble, should converse together on
the subject. (Judges ix. 8 — 15.) So this little auger
was greatly troubled with an ambitious spirit — the
same spirit that has often proved a source of anguish
and trouble among the children of men.

Now, it came to pass, that on a certain day King
Solomon came up to look upon the workmen, and to
see the progress of the work. And behold, as the
king was passing near the little auger, it opened its
mouth and hailed him, saying, " Hear ! hear ! that I
may speak to thee, great king of Jerusalem."

King Solomon stopped, and looked upon it. " Ha ! "

THE LITTLE AUGER. 153

said the king ; " what have we got here ? A little
auger, straightening itself up for a speech ! But it is
not more strange," continued he, reconciling himself
to the singular phenomenon — " it is not more strange
than that old Pharaoh's bad corn should eat up all his
good corn." (Gen. xli. 7.) Then addressing the little
auger, which was still standing erect upon a work-
bench, drawn up to its utmost height — " What have
you to say to the king ? "

" Is not this house," said the little auger, " which
you are building to the name of the God of Israel,
designed to be very great ?"

" Yes," said Solomon ; " to quote the language of
my venerable father, David, ' The house that is to
be builded for the Lord must be exceeding magnifi-
cal, of fame and of glory throughout all countries,' "
(1 Chron. xxii. 5.)

" Great king," continued the little auger, " I beseech
you to make me the only instrument that shall be em-
ployed in building this famous temple. I should love to
have all the honor. I am grieved deeply with the present
state of things. I see the workmen every day handling
immense crowbars, great axes, long steel saws, ham-
mers, chisels, wedges, planes, and an almost countless
variety of implements, whose shape and fashion differ
widely from my own. Now, great king, I have studied
the subject thoroughly ; and I have felt deeply ; and I
must say, that these instruments are all wrong. They
are useless, and worse than useless. Great king, look
at me!" — here the little auger assumed the tallest
attitude, and appeared to entertain marvellous concep-
tions of its own consequence, as though it were pro-
digious— "great king, look at me! Am not I' a

154 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

model instrument ? Am not I the only instrument
that ought to be honored with bearing a part in the
erection of this famous temple ? Now, therefore, O
king, hear my request, and grant my petition. Estab-
lish thou a royal statute, and make a firm decree, that
every crowbar, poleaxe, steel saw, broadaxe, hammer,
chisel, plane, wedge, and each and all other instniments
whatever, shall be heated, hammered, and twisted, until
they are brought into exact conformity with that model
of 'perfection, the little auger ; and further, let the royal
decree go forth from the king's palace, sealed with the
king's ring, that should any tool or implement, great
or small, attempt to stand on its reserved rights, or
should it shrink from the process of assimilation, or on
any account fail to have itself transformed into the
likeness of the model instrument — a little auger —
each and every such refractory, obstinate, and contu-
macious instrument shall, without favor or affection,
be banished from the dominions of King Solomon
forever, and suffered to have no share in building the
temple to the honor of the great name of the God of
Israel."

" Little auger," said the kmg, " I have heard your
speech with mingled emotions of astonishment and
pity. It is true, that you have an important part to
act in the building of this illustrious temple ; other-
wise you would never have been forged and fashioned
out of the crude ore from which you were taken.
Yes, the part that you are called to sustain in the erec-
tion of this house is not only important, but, I may say,
it is commendable, bono rable ; but Avhat ever put the
idle conceit into your little head, that you are the only
instrument needed in the putting up of this mighty

THE LITTLE AUGER. 155

Structure, or that you are the model instrument ?
There is much, very much, to be done in forwarding
this building, for which you, little auger, have no capa-
city whatever — work that is essential to the great
enterprise, and that is wholly beyond your tiny powers.
Behold that immense wedge of iron, and that great
battering-engine, by which it is driven into the moun-
tain quarry, to move the huge masses of stone from
their ancient bed. Could you act the part of that
strong battering-engine, or that great wedge of iron ?
See that heavy sledge, which can break the rock in
pieces ; that great iron lever, that can lift a weight that
is beyond the strength of threescore men. Look upon
that keen-edged axe, that can hew down the tall cedar
of Lebanon ; and that bright saw of steel, that can
split the block of marble that is seven cubits thick and
forty cubits long. Would you have all these, and
many other necessary and valuable instruments, ban-
ished from the temple service forever, merely to gratify
the senseless whim and foolish ambition of a little
auger ? Tell it not in Gath ! Publish it not in the
streets of Askelon! And now," said the wise king,
" allow me, little auger, to show you a more excellent
way. Be content to pass for what you are^ and never
take the flattering unction to your soul, that you shall
be able to pass for what you are not.

" The great Architect of earth and heaven has not
made all men alike. There is a vast variety of talents
and of gifts among them. Yet he has use for them
all. And each man, who is willing to do his duty,
and honor his Creator, is important and honorable in
his place. So in the building of this great temple.
Many and various instruments are needed. No one

156 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

should aspire to be considered the only instrument, or
the model instrument. Each is important and respecta-
ble in its place. Bear this in mind, little auger. Do
your duty, and be contented in your station ; and fret
not your little soul because others can render service
of which you are altogether incapable."

THE GREAT MEN OF THE BIBLE. 157

THE GREAT MEN OF THE BIBLE.

ABRAHAM.

A VERY Strong argument in favor of the true religion
might be drawn from the fact, that in no place does the
human soul unfold its powers to such perfection as it
does in that land where the light of revelation shines.
Dr. Young remarks, concerning heathen Greece and
Rome, that "half our learning is their epitaph." The
fame of notable men who have risen in the heathen
world has been blazed abroad in Christian countries ;
and very often it would appear, that even the children
of the church are not aware that, in all the attributes
of truB greatness, no men, who have ever lived amidst
the darkness of idolatry, will compare with the men
who have worshipped the God of the Bible. '^ What
manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor ? "
said the victorious Gideon to Zebah and Zalmunna,
the two kings of Midian. And they answered, " As
thou art, so were they ; each one resembled the chil-
dren of a king." And he said, '^ They were my
brethren." (Judges viii. 18, 19.) Of Jehoshaphat,
the king of Judah, it is recorded, that "his heart was
lifted up in the ways of the Lord." Indeed, it is the
uniform doctrine of the Bible, that true religion exalts
the soul of man. I might go into specifications ; true
religion exalts,

158 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

1. The thoughts of man, from low and grovelling
objects, to God, and heaven, and eternity.

2. True religion exalts the affections of man.

3. It exalts the hopes of man.

4. It exalts the aims of man.

5. It exalts the destiny of man.

Should we wonder, then, that, under the light and
influences of this religion, men have arisen whose
greatness the church may contemplate with admiration
and with joy ? Take Abraham, for example.

How great was his faith in God ! Idolatry, in the
age in which he lived, was rampant throughout all
surrounding lands. Fashion, wealth, power, respecta-
bility, public sentiment, were all arrayed against the
cause of truth and righteousness ; yet in such circum-
stances Abraham would believe and obey God. He
would face a frowning world. He would stand as a
rock amidst the billows of the rolling ocean.

Abraham was a man of great decision of character.
When the Lord said, " Get thee out from thy country,
and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house,
unto a land that I will show thee," he immediately
obeyed the heavenly call, and " went out, not knowing
whither he went," but feeling only that God was his
leader and his guide. There was no parley, no hesita-
tion with him ; no " conferring with flesh and blood."
An objector would have said, " Cannot I serve God
here as well as in another place ? My country is dear
to me. I love my native land. I delight in these
green hills, these fruitful vales, and these limpid
streams, where first I became conscious of existence.
The graves of my ancestors are here. My country is
dear to me, my kindred dearer, my father's house dear-

THE GREAT MEN OF THE BIBLE. 159

est of all. Why should I go to another land, in order
to serve God ? " Not so reasoned Abraham. His
decision was immediate and final — "I will obey the
divine command, and commit consequences to God."

In like manner he acted when called to offer up his
only son Isaac on the altar. A wavering mind would
have said, " There must be some strange mistake in
this command. Offer up Isaac on the altar ! Why, it
is inconsistent with God's promise, that Isaac shall be
the head of a great nation. It is inconsistent with the
hope of the saints, that the Messiah shall arise from
among the descendants of Isaac. It is at variance
with that paternal affection which God hath implanted
in every father's heart. It will bring a reproach on the
true religion ; for the heathen around will confound
the act with the sacrifices offered to Moloch," &c.,&c.
Such would have been the cavillings of unbelief. But
to Abraham's mind one poini was divinely clear, to
wit : It is the command of God. " Yes, the command
of God, who sees the consistency of his own ways,
though they be too wonderful for me. It is the com-
mand of God, who gave me Isaac and all the blessings
which I have enjoyed. It is the command of God,
who redeemed my soul, and on whom all my hopes
depend for time and for eternity. It is the command
of God, and I hasten to obey." And Abraham rose
up early in the morning, and took two of his young
men vv^ith him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood
for the burnt-offering, and rose up, and went unto the
place of which God had told him. How prompt and
wonderful was his decision in obedience to the com-
mand of God !

How great was his benevolence ! He stood before

160 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

the Lord, and interceded for guilty Sodom with an
earnestness and an importunity that could take no
denial. Abraham knew that he and his house were in
no danger. The plague would not be suffered to come
nigh them. Yet he cared for the souls that were in
Sodom, on the very verge of destruction. And such
was his benevolence, that he wrestled in prayer for
them, while they neglected to pray for themselves.

Abraham was a man of great humility. " Behold,
now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord,
who am but dust and ashes.^^ There is nothing here
like the boasting Pharisee — " God, I thank thee that I
am not as other men. I have stood firm in thy service,
while others turned away after idols. I left my native
country at thy command. I have believed thy word,
and hoped against hope. I have not staggered at thy
promise, but have been strong in faith, giving glory to
God." Nothing of all Ijiis. Though he had set his
face steadfastly in the way of God's commandments,
and though his feet had moved swiftly in the paths of
holy obedience, yet now, like the seraphim, he would
veil his face, and even his feet, before the high and
holy One. He would speak of himself in the lowliest
terms — " I am but dust and ashes."

Great charity also appears in the character of Abra-
ham. " Peradventure there be fifty righteous within
the city." " Peradventure there shall lack five of the
fifty righteous." " Peradventure there be forty found
there." Noble, generous-hearted man ! Great in the
exercise of an exalted charity, even in Sodom he hopes
to find fifty righteous, or if not quite so many, then
forty-five, or, at any rate, forty. What a lovely exhibi-
tion of a great and good man ! " Charity thinketh no

THE GREAT MEN OF THE BIBLE. 161

evil." Charity " hopeth all things." How different
from that spirit of bitterness which sometimes stalks
abroad in the earth ! A bitter spirit would have said,
" Ha ! burn up Sodom and Gomorrah ! I'm glad to
hear it. It is just what I've been looking for. They
richly deserve it. There is not an honest man in all
the place, nor a virtuous woman. I'm glad to hear
that they are about to get their desert at last." It is
no proof that a man is uncommonly good himself, when
he shows a severe and censorious spirit, that rejoices to
put the worst construction on the condition of others.

Abraham exhibits greatness in his holy fortitude.
He •' stood before the Lord." And while his soul was
filled with sacred awe and reverence, he '^ drew near
and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the
wicked ? That be far from thee to do after this man-
ner ; to slay the righteous with the wicked, that be far
from thee : shall not the Judge of all the earth do
right ? " He came " boldly to a throne of grace."

Abraham was great in his daily intercourse with his
fellow-men. See the magnanimity of his deportment
in relation to Lot, when difficulties had arisen between
their herdmen. (Gen. xiii. 5 — 12.) See his inter-
course with the sons of Heth. (Gen. xxiii. 3 — 20.)

Abraham was great as a patriot soldier, who drew
the sword in defence of civil and religious liberty. He
was a wise and successful leader of patriotic armies.
(Gen. xiv. 13 — 16.) Also observe his noble bearing
in reference to the spoil. (Gen. xiv. 22, 23.)

Abraham was great in his relations — ''a mighty
prince " among men, and a " friend of God."

He was great in his destination. The abode of the
blessed is called by the Savior "Abraham's bosom."
14*

162 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

( Luke xvi. 22. ) And the promise to the redeemed is,
that •' they shall sit down with Abraham, and with
Isaac, and with Jacob, in the kingdom of God."

JUDAH.

Recorded facts clearly show that Judah, the fourth son
of Jacob, was a very distinguished and powerful man.
Jewish tradition, concerning the events which took place
in the earlier periods of Hebrew national history, abound
with statements of the famous part acted by Judah, and
of the preeminence which he maintained among cele-
brated men in that age of the world. There is also
much on this subject found in the Bible history.

We find in the story of Joseph that Judah had great
influence with his brethren. Led on, it appears, by
Simeon, they had conspired to kill Joseph. Reuben
had interposed, and prevailed on them to cast Joseph
into a pit, where, as they supposed, he would inevitably
starve to death. Reuben's design was to deliver Joseph
from death, and restore him again to his father. Reuben
had withdrawn, it seems, for the purpose of concerting
measures for the escape of Joseph, when a company
of Ishmaelites passed by. " And Judah said unto his
brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and
conceal his blood ? Come, and let us sell him to the
Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him ; for he
is our brother and our flesh ; and his brethren were
content." It is likely that Judah was unacquainted
with Reuben's aim, and thought this the best method
to prevent the death of Joseph in the pit. But should
it even appear that he was moved by some motive less
praiseworthy, the passage proves that he had great
weight in swaying the counsels of his brethren. ,

THE GREAT MEN OF THE BIBLE. 163

Judah had also great influence with his father.
When the sons of Jacob returned from their first visit
to Egypt, they told their father, " The man who is lord
of the land spake roughly to us, and took us for spies ;
and we said unto him, We are true men ; we are no
spies. And the lord of the country said unto us.
Hereby shall I know that ye are true men : leave one
of your brethren here with me, and take food for the
famine of your houses, and be gone. And bring your
youngest brother unto me. Then shall I know that ye
are no spies, but that ye are true men. And their father
said, Me have ye bereaved of my children ; Joseph is
not, and Simeon is not ; and ye will take Benjamin
away : all these things are against me. And Reuben
spake unto his father, saying. Slay my two sons, if I
bring him not to thee ; " just as if the death of two
grandsons could console Jacob for the loss of his
beloved Benjamin ! "And he said. My son shall not
go down with you." But when the corn brought up
from Egypt was all consumed, and " the famine was
sore," their father said unto them, " Go again, and buy
us a little food." And Judah spake unto him — " The
man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not
see my face, except your brother be with you. If
thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down
and buy thee food ; but if thou wilt not send our
brother, we will not go down." And Judah said unto
his father, " Send the lad with me, and we will arise
and go ; that we may live, and not die, both we, and
thou, and also our little ones. I will be surety for
him ; of my hand shalt thou require him : if I bring
him not imto thee, and set him before thee, then let
me bear the blame forever."

164 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

And their father Israel said, " Take your brother,
and arise and go ; and God Almighty give you mercy
before the man." (Gen. xliii. 1 — 16.)

The whole narrative shows that Jacob entertained a
very high regard for Judah, and placed a very exalted
estimate on his force of character and trustworthiness
— those very attributes on which he expatiates in his
last benediction : " Judah, thou art he whom thy
brethren shall praise ; thy hand shall be in the neck
of thine enemies ; thy father's children shall bow
down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp ; from the
prey, my son, thou art gone up ; he stooped down, he
couched as a lion, and an old lion ; who shall rouse
him up?" (Gen. xlix. 8, 9.) But it is when he
comes to stand before the injured and frowning gov-
ernor of Egypt, and pleads for the convicted and sen-
tenced Benjamin, that the grandeur of Judah's character
is seen. Great exigencies call forth great men. And
here was an eventful crisis, in which the greatest earthly
interests seemed trembling on the brink of destruction.

The sons of Jacob had gone down to Egypt the
second time with troubled apprehensions, such as beset
the pathway of the guilty. But on their arrival, they
were agreeably disappointed. They meet with a prompt
and welcome reception at the governor's house. Sim-
eon is released from prison, and joined to their com-
pany ; the governor himself comes home at noon, and
greets them pleasantly, inquires of the welfare of their
father, looks with interest and kindness on Benjamin,
and then gathers them all around his well-furnished
board, and refreshes them with a plentiful feast. In-
deed, it seemed as if, in the profusion of his hospitality,
he was anxious to eiface every remaining impression

THE GREAT MEN OF THE BIBLE. 165

of that rough speech and harsh treatment which he
gave them when they first came down. They were
delighted. They passed the afternoon and night joy-
fully in the house of the governor ; and " as soon as
the morning was light," they were sent away, — Sim-
eon, Benjamin, and all, — their sacks filled wijth corn,
as much as they could carry, to supply their families
with bread. What glad hearts were there ! How
joyful were their anticipations ! " Soon the high hills
of Canaan will rise to view ! Soon our homes will
be in sight, and the loved form of our venerable father,
eagerly fixing his dim eye on the approaching caravan ;
and how great will be his joy when he finds that his
sons have all returned in safety ! But hark ! What
cry is that of one in pursuit ? It is the governor's
steward." He hurries to overtake them, proclaimmg,
" The silver cup in which my lord drinketh is stolen.
Ye have done evil in so doing."

And they said unto him, " Wherefore saith my lord
these words ? God forbid that thy servants should do
this thing. With whomsoever of thy servants it shall
be found, let him die, and we also will be my lord's
bondmen. Then they speedily took down every man
his sack, and he searched, and began at the eldest and
left ofi" at the youngest, and the cup was found in
Benjamin's sack. Then they rent their clothes, and
returned to the city." • The language of the sacred
historian is here very instructive. " Then Judah and
his brethren came to Joseph's house." Judah alone
of the eleven is named. All eyes were now turned to
him ; and the looks and the lips of all confess that in
this awful extremity their only hope is in the wisdom,
the eloquence, and the extraordinary resources of Judah.

166 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

Indeed, the attempt of Judah, at this dreadful juncture,
just as the cup has been found in Benjamin's sack, to
head the returning column of his mortified and despair-
ing brethren, and lead them back to the house of the
outraged and indignant governor, is itself a proof of
astonishing stamina and greatness of soul.

What a moving scene have we here ! Pause for a
moment, and fix your eye upon it. That accusing
steward seizes the cup, and holds it up reproachingly
before them all, as incontestable proof of vile ingrati-
tude and enormous guilt. Hear his exclamations —
" O, what baseness ! What detestable falsehood ! What
abominable thievishness ! " Reuben wrings his hands,
crying out bitterly, " Undone ! undone ! " Simeon,
Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, cover their abashed faces,
and stepping backward, fall to the earth. Ten of
Jacob's sons are utterly unmanned and overwhelmed
in the depth of their disgrace. Not so Judah. His
powerful spirit rises with the importance of the occa-
sion. Disasters which prostrate others only rouse the
slumbering energies of his mind. The more dire the
extremity, it is to him but the louder call to prompt,
effective action. " Up, my brothers, up ! All danger
is not death ; all darkness is not destruction ; rise up,
and come with me. We will go back to the governor's
house, and try what can yet be done." Rare, exalted,
wonderful man ! At the distance of thirty-five hun-
dred years, we yet gaze with astonishment and admu'a-
tion upon thy marvellous fortitude and firmness of soul.
Yes, after this long lapse of ages, we yet continue to
feel that our nature is honored and ennobled by thy
manly and dignified bearing when those thick clouds of
blackness were clustering and condensing around thee.

THE GREAT MEN OF THE BIBLE. 167

The reception of the sons of Jacob at the governor's
house was altogether rough and repulsive. " What is
this that ye have done ? Wot ye not that such a man
as I can certainly divine ? Did ye think to practise
thievery about my house, and escape detection ? " We
must bear in mind, that Judah regarded Joseph as a
great Egyptian prince, who wielded the power of Pha-
raoh. " What shall we say unto my lord ? what shall
we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God
hath found out the iniquity of thy servants : behold,
we are my lord's servants, both we, and he also with
whom the cup is found." There is great ingenuity
and power in this opening of his plea. He dilutes or
neutralizes the guilt of the act of stealing the cup, by
diffusing it among all the eleven brethren, and repre-
senting their present distress as a righteous judgment
from God, for all the sins of their past lives. And
then he declares their readiness to submit to a heavier
doom than Joseph's sense of justice would allow him
to inflict. " God forbid," said the governor, " that I
should do so ; but the man in whose hand the cup is
found, he shall be my servant ; as for you, get you up
in peace to your father."

Here, now, is the climax of their troubles. They
could have consented, if it must be so, all to perish
together ; but the thought of some returning home
with tidings that will break their father's heart, is
unsupportable. The reader, who carefully examines
Judah's argument, will subscribe to the following sen-
timent of a celebrated English divine : " Without
exception, this may be considered as the most affecting
speech that was ever uttered by mere man."

*' Then Judah came near unto him, and said, O my

168 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK, •

lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my
lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy
servant ; for thou art even as Pharaoh. My lord asked
his servants, saying. Have ye a father, or a brother ?
And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old
man, and a child of his old age, a little one ; and his
brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and
his father loveth him. And thou saidst unto thy ser-
vants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine
eyes upon him. And we said unto my lord. The lad
cannot leave his father ; for if he should leave his
father, his father would die. And thou saidst unto thy
servants. Except your youngest brother come down
with you, ye shall see my face no more. And it came
to pass, when Ave came up unto thy servant my father,
we told him the words of my lord. And our father
said, Go again, and buy us a little food. And we said,
We cannot go down. If our youngest brother be with
us, then will we go down ; for we may not see the
man's face, except our youngest brother be with us.
And thy servant my father said unto us. Ye know that
my wife bare me two sons : and the one went out from
me, and I said. Surely he is torn in pieces ; and I saw
him not since ; and if ye take this also from me, and
mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs
with sorrow to the grave. Now, therefore, when I
come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with
us, seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life, it
shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not
with us, that he will die ; and thy servants shall bring
down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with
sorrow to the grave. For thy servant became surety
for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not

THE GREAT MEN OF THE BIBLE. 169

unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father
forever. Now, therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant
abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord ; and let
the lad go up with his brethren. For how shall I go
up to my father, and the lad be not with me ? lest per-
adventure I see the evil that shall come on my father."

1. What tender affection for his aged father breathed
through the whole speech! "Honor thy father and
mother, which is the first commandment with promise."

2. With what soundness of judgment does he avoid
any particular reference to the crime charged on his
younger brother. To have admitted it, would have
been to censure Benjamin. To have denied it, would
have reflected on the justice of Joseph. He presses
only the great argument, that the life of his aged father
is bound up in the life of the lad ; and if Benjamin
goes not back with his brothers, his father will die.

3. How delicately he refers to Joseph's supposed
loss ! quoting his father's words, " Ye know that my
wife bare me two sons ; and the one went out from
me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces, and I saw
him not since." How the heart of Joseph must have
vibrated at this part of the argument !

4. He offers himself as a substitute for Benjamin.
Jewish tradition says he was by far the most able
bodied of the two. Joseph would thus be gainer by
the exchange. His father could better bear the loss
of him, than of the only remaining son of his beloved
Rachel. So far is he from being envious at his father's
superior fondness for Benjamin, that he is willing to
become a bondman himself, in order that it may be
gratified. Generous, worthy, wonderful man !

5. The power of his eloquence rose beyond all that

170 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

Joseph had anticipated, though he had doubtless been
accustomed to hear the most powerful pleaders of ^
Egypt. Joseph had been making experiments with
his brethren, testing and trying their temper toward
Benjamin; and evidently, he intended to carry his
experiments further. For he had men present in the
house who he did not intend should witness the scene,
when he should make himself known to his brethren.
According to his plan, the time for that disclosure had
not yet come ; but the tide of Judah's eloquence came
upon him like the waters in Ezekiel's vision — now
flowing to the ankles, now to the knees, now to the
waist, and now a mighty river, whose resistless flood
swept all before it. Joseph himself was carried away
by the overspreading deluge, and " could not refrain
himself before all them that stood by him. And he
cried, Cause every man to go out from me ; and he
wept aloud ; and the Egyptians and the house of
Pharaoh heard." Who can read this aff'ecting history
without coming fully to the conclusion, that Judah
deserves a prominent place among " the great men of
the Bible " ?

6. What an impression this generous proposal of
Judah must have made on the heart of Benjamin ! It
appears that neither he nor his children could ever for-
get their obligation for this magnanimous devotion.
Long afterwards, when ten tribes went ofi" under Jero-
boam, Benjamin adhered with unwavering faithfulness
to Judah. The ten tribes were carried away captive,
and lost ; but Benjamin is still found with Judah. In
the first age of the Christian church, the children of
Benjamin were with Judah. Paul was " of the tribe
of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews." And till

THE GREAT MEN OF THE BIBLE. 171

this day, in their dispersion throughout the whole world,
Benjamin is found standing by the side of Judah.

7. Was Judah a type of Christ, when he became
surety for a younger brother, and made i7itercession for
the transgressor ? Troubles, the most gloomy and
appalling, were clustering and thickening around Ben-
jamin. The cup was found in his sack. He alone is
singled out, by the frowning governor, as the guilty
one. He alone is condemned to a perpetual doom.
Yet all this cannot turn away the tender affection of
Judah, nor check his burning zeal. I " became surety
for the lad unto my father, sayings If I bring him not
unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for-
ever." Great Surety of our souls, this reminds us of
thee ! " For I am persuaded, tliat neither death, nor
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor
any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the
love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

172 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

THE PUBLIC REBUKE.

ANECDOTE OF JUDGE WHITE.

The late lamented Judge Hugh L. White, of Tennes-
see, became conspicuous, at a very early period of life,
as a jurist and a statesman. He fixed his permanent
home near Knoxville, amidst the scenes of his youth-
ful sports, and the companions of his boyish days.
Rarely has a young man, continuing in his own coun-
try and among his own kindred, so soon attained such
literary and political preeminence. Prom his youth,
the judge was characterized by profound reverence for
the ordinances of the gospel. He was a regular attend-
ant at the house of worship. And while he was a
Presbyterian, that being the church of his fathers, and
the church of his choice, he was benevolent and gen-
erous towards other branches of the great Christian
family. He gave to the Methodist church at Knox-
ville the ground on which their house of worship was
built ; and occasionally he woiild appear in the con-
gregation, and join with them in their worship.

Now, in those days, there was a notable presiding
elder in that region, called Father Axley, a pious,
laborious, uncompromismg preacher of the gospel, who
considered it his duty to rebuke Sin wherever it should
presume to lift up its deformed head within the limits
of his district. And while Father Axley was a man

ANECDOTE OF JUDGE WHITE. 173

of respectable talents, undoubted piety, and great min-
isterial fidelity, he had, moreover, a spice of humor,
oddity, and drollery about him, that rarely failed to
impart a characteristic tinge to his performances. The
consequence was, that amusing anecdotes of the say-
ings and doings of Father Axley abounded throughout
the country.

On a certain day, a number of lawyers and literary
men were together in the town of Knoxville, and the
conversation turned on the subject of preaching and
preachers. One and another had expressed his opinion
of the performances of this and that pulpit orator. At
length, Judge White spoke up — ''Well, gentlemen,
on this subject each man is, of course, entitled to his
own opinion ; but I must confess, that Father Axley
brought me to a sense of my evil deeds •- — at least a
portion of them — more effectually than any preacher
I have ever heard." At this, every eye and ear was
turned ; for Judge White was known never to speak
lightly on religious subjects, and, moreover, he was
habitually cautious and respectful in his remarks con-
cerning religious men. The company now expressed
the most urgent desire that the judge would give the
particulars, and expectation stood on tiptoe.

" I went up," said the judge, " one evening, to the
Methodist church. A sermon was preached by a cler-
gyman with whom I was not acquainted ; but Father
Axley was in the pulpit. At the close of the sermon,
he arose, and said to the congregation, ' I am not going
to detain you by delivering an exhortation. I have
risen simply to administer a rebuke for improper con-
duct, which I have observed here to-night.' This, of
course, waked up the entire assembly ; and the still-
15*

174 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

ness was most profound, while Axley stood and looked,
for two or three seconds, over the congregation. Then,
stretching out his large, long arm, and pointing with
his finger steadily in one direction, 'Now,' said he, 'I
calculate that those two young men, who were talking
and laughing in that corner of the house, while the
brother was preaching, think that I'm going to talk
about them. Well, it is true that it looks very bad,
when well-dressed young men, who you would sup-
pose, from their appearance, belonged to some genteel,
respectable family, come to the house of God, and,
instead of reverencing the majesty of Him that dwell-
eth therein, or attending to th& message of his ever-
lasting love, get together in one corner of the house,'
(his finger all this time pointing straight and steady as
the aim of a rifleman,) ' and there, through the whole
solemn service, keep talking, tittering, laughing, gig-
gling — thus annoying the minister, disturbing the
congregation, and sinning against God. I'm sorry for
the young men. I'm sorry for their parents. I'm
sorry they have done so to-night. I hope they'll never
do so again. But, however^ that's not the thing that I
v/as going to talk about. It is another matter, and so
important, that I thought it would be wrong to suffer
the congregation to depart without administering a
suitable rebuke. Now,' said he, stretching his huge
arm, and pointing in another direction, ' perhaps that
man, who was asleep on the bench out there, while
the brother was preaching, thinks that I am going to
talk about him. Well, I must confess, it looks very
bad for a man to come into a worshipping assembly,
and, instead of taking his seat like others, and listening
to the blessed gospel, carelessly stretch himself out on

ANECDOTE OF JUDGE WHITE. 175

a bench, and go to sleep ! It is not only a proof of
great insensibility with regard to the obligations which
we owe to our Creator and Redeemer, but it shows a
want of genteel breeding. It shows that the poor
man has been so unfortunate in his bringing up, as not
to have been taught good manners. He doesn't know
what is polite and respectful in a worshipping assem-
bly, among whom he comes to mingle. I'm sorry for
the poor man. I'm sorry for the family to which he
belongs. I'm sorry he did not know better. I hope
he will never do so again. But, however, that is not
what I was going to talk about.' Thus Father Axley
went on, for some time, ' boxing the compass,' and hit-
ting a number of persons and things that he was ' not
going to talk about,' and hitting them hard, till the
attention and curiosity of the audience were raised to
the highest pitch, when, finally, he remarked, ' The
thing of which I was going to talk, is chewing tobacco.
Now, I do hope, when any gentleman comes here to
church, who can't keep from chewing tobacco during
the hours of public worship, that he will just take his
hat, and put it before him, and spit in his hat. You
know we are Methodists. You all know that our cus-
tom is to kneel when we pray. Now, any gentleman
may see, in a moment, how exceedingly inconvenient
it must be for a well-dressed Methodist lady to be com-
pelled to kneel down in a grea,t puddle of tobacco-spit ! '
" Now," said Judge White, " at this very time, I had
in my mouth an uncommonly large quid of tobacco.
Axley's singular manner and train of remark had
strongly arrested my attention. While he was strik-
ing to the right and left, hitting those ' things ' that he
was not going to talk about, my curiosity was roused, and

176 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

conjecture was busy to find out what he could be aim-
ing at. I was chewing my huge quid with uncommon
rapidity, and spitting, and looking up at the preacher,
to catch every word and every gesture ; and when, at
last, he pounced on the ' tobacco,' behold, there I had
a great puddle of tobacco-spit ! I quietly slipped the
quid out of my mouth, and dashed it as far as I could
under the seats, resolving never again to be found
chewing tobacco in a Methodist church.

THE LIVING AND DEAD PROPHETS. 177

THE LIVING AND THE DEAD
PROPHETS.

Scene I. A half-built Tomb in Judea, in the time of the public
mxnistraiions of Jesus Christ. Around the tomb, Annas, and Cai-
APHAs, and John, and Alexander, and others of the kindred of
the high priest, with Stone-masons and Attendants. (Acts iv. 6.)

Annas, This is truly a pious business ! Yes, this
is what I call religion. We are all here, with one
heart, to build the sepulchre of the prophet Elisha.
Ah, he was a treasure to Israel in his day ! What
miracles he performed on Naaman the Syrian, and
others ! What a life of exemplary piety he led ! And
after he was dead, there was virtue in his bones. Yes,
the sacred record declares, that, while certain men were
burying the body of a man who had died, they spied
a company of hostile Moabites, who had invaded the
land; and they "cast the man. into the sepulchre of
Elisha. And when the man was let down, and touched
the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood on his feet."
(2 Kings xiii. 21.) Ah, he was a prophet, whose like
we shall not see again ! But there is piety in building
his sepulchre. Let us put our own hands to this ad-
mirable religious enterprise. Caiaphas, take hold !
John, Alexander, — all of you who are of the kindred
of the high priest, — take hold ! Help me to set this
great block of marble in the right position for hewing.

178 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

I delight in such work as this. I absohitely believe
that I could hew this marble almost as well as a pro-
fessed mason. {He takes a stone-hammer, and begins
to hew.) Ah, this is what I call religion !

Caiaphas. How much it is to be regretted that we
have no such prophets as Elisha in the church at this
day! Mortar! hring mortar! (Aloud.) Have it well
tempered and prepared. My heart experiences the
excitement of the noble enterprise. Ah, there is sub-
limity in the thought of building the sepulchre of a
dead prophet ! — especially one who has been so long
d*?ad. Yes, I feel the inspiration of the occasion. I
am quickened, yea, revived, yea, ennobled, by the ani-
mating character of this exalted undertaking. None
of that odious modern fanaticism can mingle in such
an elevated and dignified design as this. Honor to the
memory of the prophet Elisha !

Annas. I hear that there are some very disorderly
proceedings over in Galilee.

Caiaphas. Ah ! say you so ? In what respect ?

Annas. One Jesus, a professed prophet, has arisen,
and is making quite a number of disciples.

Caiaphas. Disciples ! How absurd for such a mere
pretender to call men to be his disciples ! We are
Moses' disciples. We know that God spake unto
Moses ; but, as for this fellow, we know not from
whence he is. That is a most beautiful block of
white marble. How it will garnish the sepulchre of
the dead prophet ! The truth is, no embellishment or
decoration should be spared in a pious purpose like
this. Drive on the work, masons ! Prepare the stone
for the good prophet's tomb as fast as you can ! Mor-
tar ! Attendants, keep these masons well supplied

THE LIVING AND DEAD PROPHETS. 179

with mortar ! A pious work, truly ! I should take
pride in carrying the hod myself, in order to forward
such an important religious enterprise.

First Mason. I have heard that the prophet in
Galilee does many wonderful works ; that the com-
mon people hear him gladly ; and that many have
believed in him, as the promised Messiah.

Caiaphas. Peace, man ! hold your peace ! Have
any of the rulers or Pharisees believed on him ?

Second Mason. I saw some officers, that the chief
priests had sent to take him. They said that they
had listened to one of his sermons, and that they were
constrained to declare, " Never man spake like this
man."

Caiaphas. I command you, laymen, to hold your
peace ! Beware how you interfere with the rights of
those who have the oversight of the people ! If you
must speak of the transactions over in Galilee, speak
of the disorders, the extravagances, &c.

Annas. I learn that there are great excesses and
irregularities among the followers of this " prophet of
Nazareth of Galilee." Some four or five thousand
men, besides women and children, it is said, continued
with him " three days, when they had nothing to eat,"
This was shocking extravagance. It was a great
shame to expose those little children to such suffering.

First Mason. I was told that the prophet fed those
four or five thousand men, and all the women and chil-
dren, with a few loaves and fishes ; and that they did
all eat, and were filled ; and that twelve baskets-full
of fragments, or broken meat, were taken up after they
had all eaten.

Caiaphas. Mortar ! Bring on a good supply of

180 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

mortar, for the tomb of the prophet ! Roll up those
large blocks of marble, that the workmen may hew
and prepare them ! Here, fellow ! ( To the mason, in
a lower tone.) If you speak in commendation of that
prophet of Galilee, you shall be dismissed from our
employment, and put out of the synagogue. Ah,
those poor women and children ! From my inmost
heart, I pity them. Three days, and nothing to eat !
There were no such disorderly doings in the days of
the good old prophet Elisha.

Annas. I was credibly informed that the roof of
a poor man's house was very much injured, but a short
time since. They had brought one sick of the palsy ;
and an immense rabble being collected about the door,
they who had charge of the sick man could not enter
that way. Being very reckless persons, and having
little regard to the rights of others, they ascended to
the roof of the house, and broke it up, and let down
the sick of the palsy through the great opening which
they had made in the roof I saw a very respectable
man, who v/as at the house on the afternoon of the
same day ; and he reports that the injury done to the
roof was very great. The owner of the house is a
poor man, who can ill afford to meet the expense of
repairing — particularly at this time, when lumber and
shingles are uncommonly high. So, now, the family
are there, all exposed to the first squall of bad weather
that may chance to blow up.

Second Mason. I understand, however, that the
sick of the palsy was perfectly healed ; that he took
up his bed, and walked through the astonished multi-
tude, calling on all to witness what great things the
Lord had done for him j and that all the people glori-

THE LIVING AND DEAD PROPHETS. 181

fied God, and declared that a great prophet was risen
in Israel.

Caiaphas. Fellow ! fellow ! no more of that ! [hi
a subdued tone.) Take warning from the words I
spake to your neighbor there, a moment ago. I tell
you that you tamper with a lion, if you disobey the
high priest. Most sincerely do I sympathize with that
poor, unoffending man, whose roof was so greatly
damaged. These are new measures ! new measures !
Nothing of the kind was sanctioned by Elisha, in his
day. He was no house-breaker, or roof-destroyer. I
glory in the privilege of building his sepulchre. Con-
fusion to all modern innovations !

Annas. Innovations ? The half has not been told
you.

Caiaphas. Well, this sepulchre takes my eye. It
will be a most beautiful structure, when completed.
None will dare to call in question our religion, after
this, we have been so forward in this great and good
work. What a pity that we cannot have such prophets-
as Elisha in our day ! Admirable man ! he has been
gone from the earth now more than eight hundred
years. But it is to us a source of high satisfaction,
that we can build his sepulchre. Ah, a work like this
proves the depth of a man's religion ! I say again,
Confusion to all modern innovations ! I cannot keep
from thinking of that poor man's damaged roof, and
those hungry women and children.

First Mason. (Aside.) But it seems that the
miracle of the loaves and fishes, and the sick man
who was perfectly healed, must not be mentioned.

Annas. As to irregularities, and " mischievous dis-
orders," I repeat, that the half has not yet been told.
16

182 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

I was informed, the other day, that certain unoffending
persons have sustained a great loss by the lawless pro-
ceedings now prevalent in that region. The persons
of whom I speak had invested the principal part of
their substance in a large herd of swine. The swine
were in fine condition, just ready for the market. The
number of the swine was about two thousand, and
they were worth more than twenty thousand shekels
of silver. By some disorderly proceeding, which I do
not understand, — for that professed prophet is said to
be in league with Beelzebub, the prince of devils,—
the whole herd took fright, and ran down a steep place
into the sea, and perished in the waters — a great loss
to the owners ! certainly, a great loss. I am grieved
to hear of such proceedings. But we are Moses' dis-
ciples, and we build the sepulchre of Elisha. That is
the right kind of religion, beyond a doubt. Away
with modern fanaticism and extravagance !

Second Mason. [Aside.) But there is not a word
about the man that had been possessed by the legion.
The devils were cast out ; and the wretched man was
healed, and restored to his friends, clothed, and in his
right mind ; and " the people were all amazed, and
glorified God." Not a word of all that!

Caiaphas. Sad times ! Sad times indeed ! Two
thousaud hogs utterly lost ; a valuable roof broken up,
and well nigh destroyed ; and a large number of wo-
men and cliildren almost starved to death ! Venerable
prophet Elisha ! Our only remaining comfort is in
building thy tomb. O, had we lived eight luindred
years ago, we might have found good enterprises in
the church, in which we could have cooperated. The
revivals, at that day, were of the right stamp ; but,

THE LIVING AND DEAD PROPHETS. 183

now, all that we can do is to find fault, raise objections,
build the sepulchres of prophets who are dead, and
scowl at those who are living.

Scene II. A Church in Scotland in the days of John Knox. Enter
three venerable Churchmen.

First Churchman. I am greatly grieved with the
manner in which the reformation is conducted. John
Knox seems to be cheek by jowl with the Earl of
Murray, and with Morton also, and other ambitious
nobles. They evidently are anxious to pull down the
old establishment, in order to enrich themselves, and
their friends and favorites, with the spoils. The Earl
of Morton and the Earl of Murray have had a fierce
quarrel about the disposal of the lands and property
of the last abbey which they have broken up. And
John Knox has such men in the church, and he per-
mits them to be his counsellors ! Ah, " birds of a
feather " — the old proverb, how true ! The fact is, the
conduct of John Knox is highly exceptionable. The
exigencies of the times demand a better man at the
head of the reformation in Scotland.

Second Churchman. I don't believe that John
Calvin, at Geneva, is one whit better. True, he has
managed to get great influence in that city ; but there
are many hard things said against him. Alas for the
cause of religion, when prominent ministers are ob-
noxious to so many objections ! Indeed, the whole
reformation abounds in blemishes and defects.

Third Churchman. And there is Martin Luther, in
Germany. The fact is, they are all " tarred with the
same stick." Luther is one of those headlong, self-

184 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

willed, obstinate men, on whom good counsel is ab-
solutely wasted. Ah, I often think of the preachers
in the primitive church ! Could we only have such
ministers now, we should know how to value them.
There was Stephen —strange that the men of that
age should stone such a man to death !

First Churchman. Yes ; and there was Peter —
what a treasure to the church ! and Paul — wonderful
that the men of that day should cast such excellent
ministers into prison, and subject them to cruel stripes.

Second Churchman. And there was the amiable
apostle John. How wicked it was to banish him to
the Isle of Patmos ! O that we had such ministers
in our day ! Let us build their sepulchres, otherwise
we may be misunderstood. While we oppose John
Knox, and Luther, and Calvin, people may conclude
that we are opposed to revivals of religion ; but if we
build the sepulchres of those primitive ministers, then
we can cry out against those of our own day, without
forfeiting our religious characters. What say you ?
Shall we build the sepulchres of the primitive minis-
ters, and thus show that, beyond a doubt, we are reli-
gious men, and friends of revivals — that is, revivals
of the right stamp ?

First Churchman. I will subscribe liberally. Ah,
that is a pious work, in which my heart would rejoice !

Third Churchman. And I, too, will gladly cooper-
ate to build the sepulchres of the early ministers, who
are long since dead. That is a religious enterprise,
that commends itself to my judgment and my heart ;
but, as for these modern men, — Knox, Luther, and
Calvin, — I wholly disapprove of their measures.
John Knox comes down like a thunder-storm. I wish

THE LIVING AND DEAD PROPHETS. 185

for a revival that has not got so much of man in it. I
wish the Lord to do his own work.

Scene HI. An American Chwch in 1742. Enter three venerable
Ministers.

First Minister. What can this Freewill Edwards
be aiming at ? His mode of writing and preaching is
certainly endangering the doctrines of the reformation.
Ah, venerable John Calvin ! Unparalleled champion
of the doctrines of grace ! What wouldst thou have
thought of such an ally as this Jonathan Edwards ?
The fact is, the entire man is a curiosity, and all his
writings are of an abstruse, metaphysical character.
The church knows not what to make of him, or them ;
but fears of the worst are extensively entertained. O
for the plain, unequivocal, and downright manners of
the great reformers ! John Calvin, John Knox, and
the men of that day, were an invaluable treasure to
the church.

Second Miriister. This George Whitefield is not
one jot better than Edwards. He professes to believe
the doctrines of the reformation ; but he is turning
the world upside down. It is, moreover, reported that
Bellamy, at Bethlehem, sympathizes entirely with Ed-
wards and Whitefield, and the same thing is said of
Gilbert and William Tennant, of New Jersey. I am a
friend of revivals ; but not such revivals as these, that
take place under the preaching of Edwards, and White-
field, and the Tennants. No, no. I wish to see such
revivals as blessed the church in Geneva, under the
preaching of John Calvin ; and such revivals as blessed
the church in Scotland, when John Knox proclaimed
16*

186 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

■ — 7

the gospel. Those revivals were worthy of the name.
Ah, they were rich and lasting blessings to the church !
But these mere ephemeral, modern excitements awake
my indignation. The fact is, Edwards preaches ser-
mons that are perfectly frightful. He seems to wish
to take the conversion of sinners into his own hands ;
and Whitefield and Bellamy do the same thing. Now,
I like a revival that has not got so much of 77ia7i in it.
I like a revival that gives all the glory to God.

Thii'd Minister. And such were the revivals under
the great reformers, John Calvin, John Knox, and their
fellow-laborers. Those eminent men should not be
forgotten. Would it not be a pious work to build
their sepulchres ? I would gladly join with you in
such an important religious enterprise.

First Minister. I will cooperate with all my heart.

Second Minister. And I, also, for two reasons :
First, by building their sepulchres, we shall give honor
to men who deserve to be held in everlasting remem-
brance ; and, second, we shall throw around ourselves
the influence of the great names of these reformers ;
and thus we shall be strengthened in our opposition to
Edwards, Whitefield, Bellamy, and all such modern
fanatics.

First and Third Minister. Amen and amen !

Scene IV. Place, not legible. Time, 184-, (last Jigure indistinct.)
Enter an Aged Man and a brisk, self-important Youth.

Youth. What astonishing men labored in these
American churches, before the colonies were separated
from Great Britain ! Edwards, and his fellows of that
day, were noble examples for the faithful, discreet, and

THE LIVING AND DEAD PROPHETS. 187

judicious minister of the present age to copy ; and the
revivals, which blessed the church under their labors,
are models which we would do well to imitate. There
have been many very objectionable things mingled
with the revivals in the church of late years. Indeed,
I have little sympathy with modern revivals. I abso-
lutely believe that they have done more harm than
good. But I am free to express my warmest admiration
of such revivals as attended the preaching of Edwards
and others, one hundred years ago ; and, as for Ed-
wards himself, he was, in his day, " a burning and a
shining light." I am decidedly of opinion, that the
American church ought to erect a monument to his
memory. Yes, a richly-ornamented sepulchre should
grace the sacred spot where his ashes repose.

Aged Ma?i. And what do you think of George
Whitefield ?

^ Youth. O, I venerate the name of George White-
field ! I understand that a costly tomb has already
been erected over or near his remains ; otherwise I
should have proposed to have his memorial placed
beside that of Edwards. And, moreover, I believe
that a faithful history of the distinguishing features of
the revivals of their day ought to be compiled, as a
guide and a model for ministers of this age. It might
preserve them from many lamentable indiscretions and
extravagances.

Aged Man. My son, listen to the voice of experi-
ence. You have fallen into the common error of
mankind, who eulogize and build the sepulchre of the
prophet that is dead, while they stigmatize and reject
the prophet that is living. With this device Satan
has deceived the nations for ages. The dead prophet

188 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

rebukes no one. Neither the sinner, nor the cold,
worldly professor, is interrupted by him. They can,
therefore, build his sepulchre, while they continue to
live in sin. Thus the tempter deludes multitudes with
a persuasion that their spiritual condition is good, be-
cause they can eulogize the dead prophet ; but let the
living prophet appear, teaching and exemplifying the
same doctrine which his predecessor once taught, and
he is intolerable. The cry is raised, "Away with him
from the earth ; for it is not fit that he should live."
How were the old prophets treated by those among
whom they lived? " They had trial of cruel mock-
ihgs and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and im-
prisonments. They were stoned, they were sawn
asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword.
They wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins,
being destitute, afflicted, tormented. They wandered
in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of
the earth." (Heb. xi. 36 — 38.) But after they had
been dead for ages, then many were eager to sing their
praises and build their sepulchres. But when Christ
appeared, teaching the same doctrines with the old
prophets, " they said. He hath a devil, and is mad : why
hear ye him ? Crucify him ! Crucify him ! " And thus
Satan manages, from age to age. At the reformation,
there were many who would eulogize Christ and his
apostles, who were exceedingly bitter against such
living prophets as John Calvin and John Knox ; but
when Calvin and Knox were dead, and Whitefield and
Edwards were the living prophets, then the same scenes
were acted over. Half the puli)its in the country were
shut against Whitefield, while he was alive ; and Jona-
than Edwards was driven from his church, at the age

THE LIVING AND DEAD PROPHETS. 189

of forty-seven, and took refuge among the Indians.
But, now that Edwards and Whitefield have been dead
near one hundred years, the devil and revival-fighting
men would gladly turn over their great names into the
ranks of the enemy, and borrow influence from the
reputation of Edwards and Whitefield, to make war
against the work of the Spirit of God in this age. It
is just as absurd as the conduct of the Jews, when
they quoted Elijah and Isaiah, to keep them in counte-
nance while they were denouncing Christ and his apos-
tles. My son, allow me to speak plainly. You have
fallen into a great error ; nay, you are taken captive in
a dreadful snare of the devil, and your danger is immi-
nent. God is the same, from age to age. God's word
is the same, " The grass withereth, the flower fadeth ;
but the word of our God shall stand forever." God's
Spirit is the same now as in the days of the apostles
and prophets. The sinner that is converted now, is
converted by the same Spirit, and the same truth,
that turned souls to God on the day of Pentecost.
Before Christ ascended up on high, he gave this
promise to the church : " Lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the world." That promise he has
never violated, nor is it necessary to go back a hun-
dred years, to find tokens and proofs of his presence
with the church. There is as much guilt brought
upon the soul by blaspheming the Holy Ghost now, as
there was on the day of Pentecost. Blasphemy is
evil speaking. Beware how you speak against the
Holy Ghost, sent down from heaven !

Youth. But — but understand me. I only spoke
against spurious revivals.

Aged Man. Yes, and the Jews only spoke against

190 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

spurious works of Christ ; but, according to them, his
works were all spurious. " He cast out devils by
Beelzebub ; " and in his public preaching they alleged,
''He hath a devil, and is mad." So with you — all
modern revivals are spurious ; and, to find anj' that
you can approve, you must go back a hundred years,
among people and preachers who are all dead, and
gone to eternity, and who, while they were living,
" were men of like passions with ourselves," and were
" every where spoken against." You profess to be a
preacher of the gospel. Look at your own ministry.
Does God bless it ? Does God convert sinners by your
preaching ? or is your ministry bleak and barren as the
mountains of Gilboa ? Who authorized you to be a
barren fig-tree in the vineyard of God ? Who author-
ized you to be an unprofitable servant ? " Cast the
beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see
clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother's eye."
But beware of evil speaking. That sin, which shuts
the gate of heaven against the soul forever, is a sin of
the tongue. All evil speaking does not rise to the
aggravation of the unpardonable sin ; but very clearly
the doctrine is taught, that evil speaking tends to grieve
away the Holy Spirit; and this is found in the experi-
ence of ministers of the gospel. Mark that man who
speaks bitterly, or even lightly, of the revivals which
God grants to the church in this day. Does God ever
own his ministry again, after he has lifted his tongue
against revivals ? Does God make him an honored
instrument in converting sinners ? No. God smites
his ministry with barrenness, for the sin of his tongue ;
and he walks, a naked skeleton, among the churches,
till the day of his death. There is a peculiar dread-

THE LIVING AND DEAD PROPHETS. 191

fulness in the rebuke with which God visits that min-
ister who lifts his tongue against the work of the Holy
Spirit. See that tall tree, along whose trunk has
flashed the lightning of angry heaven ! Does it ever
bud or bloom again? No. There it stands, deso-
late, dreary, dead. The spring returns, with its warm
gales, its genial showers, and its quickening sunbeams.
Other plants feel the reviving influence. Nature all
around awakes and rejoices. Gushing streams of life
are pushing forth buds, blossoms, leaves, and young
formations of fruit, on every hand. But O, that dead
tree ! No bud, no leaf, no blossom, or young formation
of fruit, is there. The quickening power of spring,
the warm and strong energies of summer, affect it
not. It stands dreary, desolate, dead. Yes, it stands
leafless, limbless, barkless — scattering on all around
its mouldering and unsavory dust. Sad emblem of
the decayed and dead ministry of that deluded man
who has lifted a profane tongue against the visitations
of the Spirit of God, which accompany the gospel in
the present day !

Youth. 1 must remind you that I am altogether in
favor of such revivals as were granted in the days of
Edwards and the reformers. It was only of these
modern revivals that I said they do more harm than
good. I spoke lightly of these only.

Aged Man. Yes, so I understand you. And the
Scribes and Pharisees were altogether in favor of the
revivals under Samuel and Elijah, eight hundred or a
thousand years before they were born. It was only
of the then modern reformations, under the ministry
of Christ and his apostles, that they wished to speak
lightly or reproachfully. Let me warn you again, that

192 THE "WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

you have taken a most perilous stand. Know you not
that the Father of Lights is the same from age to age,
" without variableness, or shadow of turning " ? Know
you not that Jesus Christ is " the same yesterday, to-
day, and forever " ? Know you not that the Holy
Spirit is unchangeably the same ? Know you not that
heaven and earth shall pass away, but one jot or one
tittle of Christ's gospel shall not pass away ? The
same divine Redeemer, the same word of truth, the
same Holy Spirit, that were with the church, and in
the church, on the day of Pentecost, are with the
church, and in the church, at this day, and will be, to
the end of the world. The guilt, therefore, of blas-
pheming the Holy Ghost now, is the same as when
Christ was on earth, or when the cloven tongues sat
upon the apostles. I mentioned that all evil speaking
against the Holy Ghost may not rise to the aggravation
of the unpardonable sin. It is very clear that a Chris-
tian minister may be deluded by the devil to so speak
against the work of the Holy Spirit, that, while the
sin may not actually kill both his soul and body "in
hell, yet it may cripple his ministry for life. He may
be saved at last, " yet so as by fire." That is, his
soul may be saved, while his works are biuned up in
the flames of the great day. In conclusion, let me
admonish you to read the comments of God's provi-
dence on the lessons taught in his word. It is of these
lessons that the inspired psalmist says, " Whoso is wise,
and will observe these things, even they shall under-
stand." (Ps. cvii. 43.) Now, observe the comments
of Providence. Did the men who resisted the work
under Edwards and Whitefield ever prosper afterwards,
as preachers of the gospel ? Was not the rebuke of

THE LIVING AND DEAD PROPHETS. 193

God on them till the day of their death ? Look at the
comments of Providence, at a later day. Where are the
men who made themselves conspicuous in our country,
but a few years ago, in opposition to revivals ? Has God
blessed their ministry since ? Are they not crippled
for life 7 Has not their ministry, ever since, been like
the seven ears of corn, in Pharaoh's second vision,
" withered and thin, and blasted with the east wind " ?
Ah, my young friend, I have seen enough in the vol-
ume of God's word, and, during some years past, in
the volume of his providence, to make me tremble for
the man who employs his tongue and his breath in
stigmatizing, or even mocking, and making light of
the manifestations of God's Spirit, at this day, in con-
nection with the truths of his glorious gospel ! Pitia-
ble and forlorn is his condition who is driven to the
wretched expedient of building the sepulchre of some
dead prophet, in order to quiet a conscience that is
troubled in view of his having scoffed at the divine
mercy that accompanies the ministry of the prophet
that is living.

194 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

THE DIVINITY STUDENT.

When the red man, retreating before the face of his
white brother, forsook those romantic and beautiful
regions that are watered by the Holstein and the
Tennessee, divine Providence planted a people there
remarkable for their attachment to the Bible. Bible
history, Bible doctrines, and Bible religion were '' the
joy of their heart, and the boast of their tongue."
Divine truth, revealed in the word of God, was their
" meat and their drink." It was then* daily study. It
was their literature. It was the theme of their social
intercourse. It was the source of their consolations
on eajth, and the foundation of their hopes for immor-
tality. The learned theologian, who chanced to pass
that way, was delighted and surprised to find, in a new
and comparatively rough country, among a plain, unos-
tentatious people, views of divine truth clearer than
the crystal streams that flowed among their towering
hills, and sweeter than the salubrious breezes that
fanned their mountain country. The following anec-
dote will show with what accuracy and discrimination
the great doctrines of the gospel were studied in the
west, at that early day : —

Dr. Anderson, now of the theological seminary at
Maryville, had undertaken the supervision of an acade-
my in Knox county, Tennessee, as early as the year
1807. Among his students was Abel Pearson, a youth

THE DIVINITY STUDENT. 195

who had embraced religion, and who, while pursuing
his literary studies, exhibited great appetite and capacity
for investigating the sublime philosophy of the plan of
salvation. This greatly delighted his instructor, who,
though then quite a young minister, had already begun
to display those gigantic powers, as an expounder of
Bible truth, which have since been so astonishingly
unfolded to the edification and joy of the church.
Learned critics, in comparing the Iliad of Homer with
the Odyssey, have alleged that the latter poem, having
more narrative and less fire than the former, bears the
marks of old age. An elegant writer observes, that if
the Odyssey has the marks of old age, it is the old age
of Homer. In like manner, I observe, that if the
academical instructor above mentioned was then but a
youth, it was the youth of Isaac Anderson. And of
the student I may say, that he was a student worthy
of his instructor.

This young man, before completing his studies, was
providentially called into a neighboring county, where
strong prejudices were entertained against the Presby-
terian church, their doctrines were denounced as hor-
rible, and even their ministers were assailed as learned
Pharisees, who preached merely from their learning,
without any heart-religion, «fcc., &c., while their assail-
ants claimed a species of inspiration, and professed to
preach from the immediate teachings of the Spii-it.

Our student, after a long day's ride, stopped for the
night at a house where one of these semi-inspired
preachers had an appointment to deliver a sermon at
candle light. The congregation assembled, the minister
came, and our young man took his place in the audi-
ence unobserved. The preacher proved to be a red-hot

If© THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

Arminian, who boasted that his back had never been
rubbed against the walls of a college, and whose zeal
for the propagation of his peculiarities was sufficiently
ardent, though his knowledge of polemic theology was
somewhat scant. Endowed, however, with lungs of
great power, he commenced and "reported progress,"
dealing, as he moved along, many a merciless blow at
John Calvin, John Knox, John Wetherspoon, and others,
all and singular, who have maintained the doctrines
of the Presbyterian church, warning his audience, in
the mean time, to use his own expression, against " the
great, high-learned men," who were preaching in some
of the neighboring counties. While in the full tide
of his boisterous declamation, it appeared, doubtless,
to his own mind, quite problematical whether Calvin-
ism would be able to survive the terrors of that dreadful
night ; but as all preceding storms had been succeeded
by a calm, so it turned out in this case. The sermon
closed. The audience dispersed. The preacher, who
remained with the family for the night, found himself
in company with our student.

Preacher. Do you live in this neighborhood, young
man ?

Student. No, sir.

Preacher. Where is your home ?

Student. In Knox county.

Preacher. Are you a member of the church ?

Student. Yes, sir.

Preacher. To what church do you belong ?

Student. I am a Presbyterian.

Preacher. What ! a Presbyterian ?

Student. Yes, sir.

Preacher. Why, do you believe the confession of
faith ?

THE DIVINITY STUDENT. 197

Student. Certainly I do, or I should not be a Pres-
byterian.

Preacher. Why, sir, the confession of faith says,
" God has, for his own glory, foreordained whatsoever
comes to pass."

Student. It does.

Preacher. And do you believe that ?

Student. Certainly I do. Do not you believe the
Bible ?.

Preacher. Yes ; but that language is not in the
Bible.

Student. The Bible tells you that God " worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will," which is
precisely the same doctrine.

Preacher. But the doctrine of predestination is
unreasonable. My reason revolts, whenever it is pre-
sented.

Student. I will examine that point with you, if
you will answer each question I ask you, and then
stick to the answer you have given.

Preacher. I can easily do that ; but you could not
make me acknowledge that doctrine in a lifetime.

Student. I should not want a lifetime, unless it
were a very short one. Remember, now, this is our
agreement : you are to answer each question I ask, and
then stick to the answer you have given.

Preacher. Yes, that is the agreement. Now, come
on with your questions.

Student. You acknowledge that God foreknows all
things from eternity ?

Preacher. O, yes ; but then foreknowledge is a
v6ry different thing from predestination.

Student. Well, we will not dispute about that
17*

W8 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

now. You admit that God foreknew all events from
eternity ?

Preacher. Yes, certainly. I am not going to deny
God's foreknowledge.

Student. Well, stick to that.

Preacher. 1 maintain the doctrine of God's fore-
knowledge as firmly as you.

StudeJit. If God from eternity foreknew all future
events, it must have been in one of these three ways :
First, he saw that future events would spring into
existence by chance, without any cause ; or, second,
he depended on some other being to bring them about ;
or, third, he had determined to bring them about him-
self Can you think of any other method ? or was it
not in one of these three ways ?

Preacher. I suppose it was in one of these methods.
I can think of no other.

Student. Well, was it the first ? Did God from all
eternity behold all future events springing into exist-
ence by mere chance, without any cause ?

Preacher. No, I think not.

Student. To maintain that, would be atheism.

Preacher. Yes, to say that God from eternity saw
that all future events would spring into existence with-
out any cause, merely by accident, would be atheism.

Student. Well, there was a period when no being
existed but God, — I mean the period before he had
created either man or angels. Could he then have
depended on any other being to bring into existence
the future events which he foresaw, when there was
no other being in existence ?

Preacher. Certainly not. But what next ?

Student. What do you say ? But one other method

THE DIVINITY STUDENT. 1^

remains : that is, he himself had determined to bring
them to pass.

Preacher. Stop ! I was too fast. I should not
have admitted your statement. There was another
method, in which God foresaw the future existence of
some things.

Student. This is violating your agreement ; for
you were to stick to the answer you had given. But
let us hear what you were going to say.

Preacher. I say God knew, from " the reason and
nature of things," how some events would come to pass.

Student. Pray, sir, what sort of a reason and nature
had things, before God created all things, and gave
them a reason and a nature ? Thus you see your
whole foundation is swept away ; and you can find no
resting-place, until you come back to the good old
Bible doctrine, that " all things are of God."

Preacher. Well, rather than admit that doctrine, I
will deny that God foreknows all things. I would
rather deny the foreknowledge of God, than admit the
doctrine of predestination.

Student. If you deny the foreknowledge of God,
you may as well deny his present knowledge ; for the
Bible teaches the one as plainly as the other ,• and,
indeed, there is scarcely a step from the position you
have assumed, to the doctrine of him who " says in
his heart, There is no God." Now, sir, you see the
wretched result to which you come in this discussion
with me ; and all this family see it. I am no minis-
ter. I am but a youthful member of the Presbyterian
church. I have no pretensions to distinction among
them ; and yet you see how you have come out in
this discussion with me. In the course of your sermon

200 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

to-night, you said many things' against those " great,
high-learned men," who are preaching in the neigh-
boring counties. You arraigned their motives, and
denounced their principles, I must caution you to be
more modest and moderate, and not hazard too much
in this warfare ; for if you have come out thus wretch-
edly in a little discussion with me — a mere stripling
— a mere boy in the Presbyterian church — what on
earth do you think would become of you, should you
fall into the hands of one of those " great, high-learned
men," whom you have been so violently and publicly
denouncing.

Here the discussion closed. Whether any permanent
and profitable impression was left on the mmd of the
anti-Calvinistic preacher, is not certainly known. Of
the divinity student, however, it should be recorded,
that, in due time, he entered the gospel ministry. He
became distinguished as an able expounder of the holy
oracles. Many, very many, of our Lord's disciples in
the west have sat under his ministry with great delight,
while he has " fed them with knowledge and under-
standing." Laboring, like the great apostle of the
Gentiles, with his own hands, to supply his temporal
wants, he has, without cost to the church, preached
salvation to destitute thousands. And the author of
the " Western Sketch-Book," with emotions of grati-
tude to the Giver of all good, would record on this
page, that he has had the privilege of profiting much
by the clear, sublime, scriptural views of the mighty
work of redemption, presented in the familiar conver-
sations, the sermons, and the published writings of
Rev. Abel Pearson.

IHE VOICE OF CONSCIENCE. 201

JO; OR, THE VOICE OF CONSCIENCE.

About the year 1820, I became particularly acquainted
with a venerable elder of the Presbyterian church in
East Tennessee, whom I will introduce to the reader
as Mr. M'Clellan. He was a man in humble circum-
stances, advanced in life, and possessed of a very fine
and highly-cultivated intellect. He belonged to that
class of reading Christians, who were the glory of the
primitive Presbyterian church in the west. The Bible,
Henry's " Commentary," Doddridge's " Family Ex-
positor," Boston's "Fourfold State," the " Bible Diction-
ary " of John Brown of Haddington, Edwards " On the
Will," Edwards " On the Affections," Newton's " Let-
ters," Bellamy's " Wisdom of God in the Permission of
Sin," &c., &c. : such is a sample of the works studied
by the church at that period. Ah, " there were giants
in the earth in those days," alongside of whom could
some of our modern peacock-tail theologians be placed,
they would soon learn to sympathize most fraternally
with the spies sent out by Moses, when they said, " We
were in our own sight as grasshoppers " ! The venerable
Elder M'Clellan, mentioned above, was remarkable for
the fervor, comprehensiveness, and power of his prayers.
Although more than a quarter of a century has rolled
into eternity since I last heard his voice, yet the very
words employed in some of his earnest and thrilling

202 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

petitions are fresh in my memory at this moment.
The truth is, he had been baptized with the spirit of
that great western revival in the year 1800, one of
the distinguishing characteristics of which was the
liberty, compass, and power of prayer, granted to the
subjects of that divine visitation.

Near the close of the year 1838, I visited the state
of Mississippi, in order to labor, for a limited period, in
connection with Rev. Messrs. Newton, Holley, and
other esteemed brethren there. We were engaged, for
a number of days, in a very interesting and solemn
meeting at Grenada, and among those who came before
the session and the church, professing "repentance
towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ,"
was a young Mr. M'Clellan ; and lo, I was presently
informed that he was a son of the worthy East Ten-
nessee elder, with whom the reader is already acquaint-
ed ! Like a good soldier in the Redeemer's service,
having taken his stand in the church, he sees to it that
his house is a house of prayer, and that his family is
consecrated to God. From this son I learned that his
venerable father had long since gone to his rest in
heaven.

Our meeting at Grenada closed on Monday evening.
On that afternoon, or, perhaps, the next, an elder brother,
Col. John M'Clellan, who had been up the country,
near Holly Springs, and was now returning to his home,
near Carrollton, called to spend a night with his brother
in Grenada. Learning that his brother had made a
profession of religion ; that he had joined himself to
the church of God ; and finding, when the hour of
prayer came, that he prayed in his family, and would
do it even in presence of an ungodly brother, who

THE VOICE OF CONSCIENCE. 203

was some twelve or fifteen years older than him-
self, — the discovery of all this, O, it agitated the
great deep of his soul. He remembered his pious
father. He remembered his counsel, his example, and
his prayers. He remembered the warnings, the im-
pressions, and the vows of years, now forever gone.
He thought of the prodigal son, who left his father's
house, to chase the pleasures of the world. " Is not
my word as a fire ? saith the Lord : and like a hammer
that breaketh the rock in pieces?" Early the next
morning, Col. M'Clellan, silent and solemn, set out for
home. The character of his meditations and reflec-
tions on the road can be more easily conceived by the
reader, than described by me.

On the following Thursday, according to appoint-
ment, a sacramental meeting was commenced at Car-
rollton. To that meeting I went in company with
Rev. Mr. Newton and Rev. Mr. Holley. It was early
when we reached the meeting-house ; but Col. M'Clel-
lan and his entire family were already there, though
his residence was six miles distant. He was standing,
with a few others, who had come early, near the door
of the church. When we had arrived, Mr. Newton
introduced me to Col, M. I shook hands with him,
saying, "How do you do. Col. M. ? I am happy to
see you." This last remark was made in reference to
the fact, that I had been acquainted with his father,
and had also seen him in his younger years. I was
now introduced to one and another of the gentlemen
who were standing round, and engaged in some tran-
sient conversation, when brother Holley came, and
asked me to step oif a little way from the company.
" Why," said he, " Col. M. is very much troubled,
because you called him 'Jo.' "

204 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

'' Because I called him ' Jo ' ? Why, he is altogether
mistaken. I didn't call him ' Jo.' "

" Yes ; but he says that when you were introduced
to him, you said, ' How do you do, Joseph ? ' And he
says that his name is John. Jo was a brother in the
family ; but the colonel says his name is John. Jo
was the drinking one."

" Very good. I have no doubt that the colonel's
name is John. I did not know that there was a Jo in
the family, and therefore very certainly did not call
him ' Jo.' "

About this juncture, brother Newton, our other
preacher, came up, and, addressing me, said, '■'■ Col.
M. is quite vexed, because you called him ' Jo,' when
you were introduced to him."

"But I did not call him <Jo.' I did not say 'Jo,'
nor think ' Jo.' The fact is, I did not know that there
was a Jo in the family."

" But he is very positive that you did ; and he says
that his name is John. Jo was a brother. Jo was the
drinking one."

" Why, this is a very strange affair. What on earth
can have put it into the colonel's head, that I called
him ' Jo,' when I didn't know that there was a Jo in
the family ? I am entirely satisfied that his name should
be John.'''' Such was my reply to brother Newton ;
but I piust here tell the reader what, at that time, I
myself did not know — that is, it was the colonel's
conscience that had said "Jo," and pronounced it so
distinctly, that he thought the name was uttered by
me ; and he was so affected by it, that he hurried
round among his acquaintances, telling them that I
had called him " Jo," and resolutely maintaining that
his name was John.

THE VOICE OF CONSCIENCE. 205

The people of the congregation were yet in the act
of assembling, and, as it was a full half hour until
preaching-time, I concluded to step into a house, that
was near by, and sit down for a few minutes. As soon
as I had entered, Mrs. More, the lady of the house, in-
troduced me to a very respectable-looking, well-dressed
Mississippi lady — " This is Mrs. Col. M." I spoke to
her, and then took a seat. She immediately turned
her fine, broad eye and full countenance upon me, and,
with much earnestness, said, " This is not ' Jo.' My
husband's name is John. Jo was a brother of my
husband ; but it was JoliJi that was introduced to you."

" So I learn, madam — so I learn," said I, surprised
that the colonel should have found opportunity to com-
municate to so many persons the unlucky misnomer,
though imaginary, which had so greatly disturbed him.
Scarcely, however, had the good lady and I come to a
satisfactory understanding that her husband's name was
John, and that Jo was quite another person, when the
colonel himself approached. His step, his counte-
nance, his whole attitude and bearing, showed that
something of immense weight was pressing on his
mind. Wholly ignorant of the number of persons who
had already attempted to enlighten me on the subject,
he planted his tall, fine figure directly in front of my
chair, and, with great gravity, thus began : —

" My name is John. Jo was a brother of mine ;
but my name is John.''''

" Yes, yes, colonel. So I understand — so I under-
stand."

Now, here was a mighty ado to get the fact estab-
lished, that the colonel's name was not Jo, when no
one had said he was Jo, or thought he was Jo. The
18

206 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

exact explanation of this matter I never fully learned.
Whether, the colonel being an elder brother in the
family,' conscience now reproached him that he had
not, after his father was taken away, set such an
example to his younger brothers as was his duty,
and the name of Jo came up in this connection, or
whether, as "Jo was the drinking one," and conscience
was now arraying before the colonel's agitated mind
the long catalogue of his own misdeeds, he felt that
these were as heavy as he could bear, and therefore
resolved to stand manfully on the defensive, and repel
the insinuation that he was Jo, and, consequently,
liable to be held responsible for whatever Jo had done
amiss. However all this may have been, the hour of
preaching was now at hand, and the company left the
house of Mrs. More, and went towards the church.
When near the door, the colonel paused suddenly, and
asked brothers Newton, Holley, and myself, to step
aside with him, that he might speak a moment with
us, unheard by others. When together thus, said he,
" I wish to say to you, gentlemen, that you must not
expect me to take any public step in religion at this
meeting." Nobody had said that we expected him to
take any public step in religion at that meeting. It
reminded me of the schoolboy who denies before he
is accused, which is not considered the best sign of
innocence. "You must not," said the colonel, repeat-
ing the caution — " you must not look for me to take
any public step in religion at this meeting. At the
same time, I don't want you to think that I am indif-
ferent to Christ. I am not indifferent to Christ." His
eyes filled with tears. His voice trembled. His utter-
ance faltered. After a momentary pause, by a strong

THE VOICE OF CONSCIENCE. 207

effort, he rallied his conversational powers, and pro-
ceeded. " The fact is, gentlemen, I have been here
in Mississippi, chasing the world, and neglecting the
salvation of my soul. I now see that what I have
been after is vanity, folly, emptiness. But, gentlemen,
here is the point : I am not informed in religion. I
tell you I am not informed. And, now, this is my
plan : I will supply myself with good books, and take
a course of reading, — a thorough course, gentlemen,
— and will inform myself, before I take any public
step in religion. You understand me, gentlemen. At
present, I am not informed, and, therefore, you must
not expect me to act." All this was said with much
gracefulness and elegance of manner ; for the colonel
was now a man in the prime of life, of fine personal
appearance, easy and captivating address, and possess-
ing quite an unusual flow and command of language.
When the colonel had ceased his statement, I looked
at him steadily, for a moment or two, but remained
silent ; for having known much of his father, and of
the opportunities of his father's family, I was con-
strained to withhold my assent, absolutely, from the
position, that he was "not informed" as to his duty.
Mr. Newton, however, observed, " Well, colonel, I am
glad to find that you are thinking seriously on the sub-
ject of religion." With that, we all turned to enter
the meeting-house.

"One word more," said the colonel. "You will
not, while here at Carrollton, be all the time engaged
in preaching ; and now I wish any leisure moments
you may have from public duties, during this meeting,
to be employed in giving me the information which I
need. Instruction, gentlemen, instruction is what I
want."

208 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

We now went into the church. There was a large
audience, and the season of worship was deeply solemn.
We then had an interval of some two hours, until the
afternoon sermon. The colonel went to his lodgings,
and waited anxiously for some of the ministers to come
and '' inform " him in relation to his duty. But no one
came. He thought it strange that his case was not
more fully appreciated. To his own mind, his guilt
and danger appeared such, that he thought every min-
ister on the ground should be laboring and praying for
his salvation ; and yet, had any one come, and attempt-
ed to guide or direct him while in this state of mind,
he would, doubtless, have held back, and fended off in
fine style. Such is the contradiction often found in
the awakened sinner. He is unwilling to be let alone,
and yet he will refuse the best counsel that can be
given him. But now the hour of public worship had
come, and the colonel returned to the church.

The afternoon service was impressive, and stillness
and deep solemnity characterized the congregation.
Again there was a recess of some two or three hours,
until the time for the night sermon. " Now," thought
the colonel, " my request will be regarded, beyond a
doubt. Some of the ministers will presently come to
labor with me." And he was prepared to " stand upon
his reserved rights." But no one came. The first
hour passed away, and the second, and the third ; but
no one came. He now felt a strong temptation to be
offended — to look upon himself as a neglected, injured
man ; and he returned to the church at night, " heavy
and displeased."

This night's meeting rose in interest and solemnity
beyond either of the others. Judge Shattuck was

THE VOICE OF CONSCIENCE. 209

called on to offer up the concluding prayer. He was a
local Methodist preacher, who lived in the near neigh-
borhood, a man of worth and exemplary piety. His
prayer was appropriate and powerful. After the con-
gregation was dismissed, Col. M. tarried a little, to give
opportunity to any of the ministers, who were so dis-
posed, to address to him a word of counsel or exhorta-
tion ; but, strange to tell, they all put off to their
several homes, without making the attempt, or even
noticing the opportunity. This was wholly out of
the question. There is a point beyond which patience
itself ceases to be a virtue. So the colonel resolved,
that, as the Presbyterians were so inexcusably and
shamefully negligent, he would go right down to Judge
Shattuck, the Methodist preacher ; for surely the man
who had just offered up such a prayer would be glad
to converse with him about the state of his soul. So
off he started, through the darkness, blundering along,
and finally reached the house. He knocked at the
door. It was opened by Judge Shattuck, who received
him pleasantly, and helped him to a chair. The col-
onel sat down in silence, hoping that the judge would
introduce the desired conversation. The judge, how-
ever, started off into a lively discussion of the condi-
tion of the Brandon Bank ; the amount of specie in its
vaults, compared with its circulation ; and the proba^
bilities of its ever being able to meet its liabilities, (fcc,
&c. The colonel was amazed that a minister of the
gospel could expatiate so fluently on such themes,
when here a soul is before him in perishmg need of
religious instruction. " But surely he will be through
presently," was his comforting reflection, ''and then
the other subject will come up." And, sure enough,
18*

210 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

before long, the judge came to a pause, though it was
but a short one, when oif he dashed in another direc-
tion, discoursing earnestly about the whigs and the
democrats ; the relative strength of the two great
political parties in the state at large ; and which was
likely to have a controlling influence in the legislature,
at its approaching session. " This will never do,"
thought the colonel ; '' I must introduce the subject
of religion myself. — Judge Shattuck, that was a very
solemn meeting to-night." " Yes," said Shattuck,
rising to his feet ; " when you wish to lie down, there
is a bed. Good night." And out he went, shutting
the door after him. The colonel was astounded.
Presently he heard the voice of singing. The family
were at worship in another room, to which he was not
invited. " Well, well," thought the colonel, " enough
is enough. I see how the matter stands. If I wait
for preachers, Presbyterian or Methodist, to pull me out
of the horrible pit, Pm gone." So down he went on
his knees, right there in the room, and told the Lord
that if He would let him begin ?iow, just with what
" information " he had, he would flee from the wrath
to come, and strive to enter in at the strait gate, and
call for help from heaven, through the Lord Jesus
Christ, as long as life should endure.

I never had an opportunity of conversing with Judge
Shattuck on this subject ; but there is no doubt that
h6 understood the colonel's case fully, and treated it
wisely; for he was a very shrewd and judicious man.
Most likely he had often tried before to bring the col-
onel's mind to the subject of religion, when he had
utterly refused to hear, and now thought it best to let
him wrestle with his awakened conscience, without

THE VOICE OF CONSCIENCE. 211

the intermeddling of a third party. In the above sam-
ple of their conversation, I pretend not to give accu-
rately the very words used by Judge Shattuck. The
narrative is strictly accurate in this — that it gives a fair
specimen of the dexterous manner in which the judge
played off from the main question, which the anxious
sinner wished to have taken up, and abruptly left him
alone, with his conscience and his God. The next
morning, we all met at the church. The house was
crowded, and the great Master of assemblies was there.
In a little time, an opportunity was given to those who
were resolved to forsake the ways of sin and follow
the Savior, to manifest their determination, by coming
forward, in the presence of the church, that prayer
might be offered up in their behalf, and suitable in-
structions given. No sooner was the invitation published,
than from the far end of the house, over benches, and
blocks, and other obstructions, came the colonel, tears
streaming over both his cheeks ; and down he knelt,
among many others. After a solemn pause, he lifted
up his voice in prayer ; and the depth of his prostra-
tion of soul, the reverence expressed for the high and
holy One, the wide range of his desires, the propriety,
pathos, and power of his prayer, forcibly reminded me
of his venerable father, whom I had heard pray so
many years ago. The associations were affecting and
overwhelming. I bowed my head amongst them there,
to weep with those that wept, and rejoice with those
that did rejoice.

I will only add, further, that, during this interesting
meeting, some twelve or fourteen gentlemen — a part
of them were the heads of families ; all of them were
in the prime of life — commenced praying publicly in
the prayer meetings of the church.

212 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

As for the colonel, my esteem for him grew with
my acquaintance ; and when I returned to Missouri, I
wrote him a fraternal letter, as a memorial of friend-
ship. And when I had told him how the Lord had
graciously preserved my family during my absence,
and desired him to remember me to the many dear
friends I had left in Mississippi, and signed my name
to the letter, I wrote on the left-hand side of the page,
opposite my name, " Col. John M'Clellan," making a
heavy score under John. I then folded the letter, and
directed it thus : " Col. John M'Clellan, Carrollton,
Mississippi," again emphasizing the John with a heavy
score. I knew that when the colonel received it, he
would understand it all, and be satisfied that in my
letter, at least, I had not called him "Jo."

RED RIVER. 213

RED RIYER.

In the month of January, 1845, I made my first visit
to the people on Red River. Some of my acquaint-
ances had emigrated to that region, and had written to
me, stating that a number of members and friends of
the Presbyterian church were already in that country ;
and that if some of our ministers could go and labor
for a time among them, their hearts would be strength-
ened and encouraged, infant churches might be organ-
ized, and a foundation laid for extensive permanent
good.

On landing at Shreveport, about seven hundred miles
above New Orleans, I was astonished to learn that the
American settlements on Red River were already so
extensive. While I was there, a steamboat, loaded
with cotton, came down from a point some four hun-
dred miles higher up on the river ; and the oldest mer-
chants in Shreveport — that is, those who had been
there seven or eight years — were expressing their
amazement at the rapidity with which the American
settlements were extending west.

I was led to the reflection, that we should look with
much indulgence on the mistakes of English travellers,
and travellers from the eastern sections of our own
country, concerning the condition of the west, when
we find that its growth and advancement outstrip the

214 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

conceptions of those who have been born, and have
spent all their days, in its bosom.

Much of the population in this part of the country
was from the extreme south — Georgia, Alabama, and
South Carolina. Many of them were religious people,
of highly cultivated mindS; and ardent piety. Not a
few of them were the acquaintances and personal
friends of John C. Calhoun. Their admiration and
esteem for the great statesman were wonderful — not
as a politician merely, but as an eminently good man.
Repeatedly was I assured by them, that we, who
know the honorable senator only as a political man,
know but little of his sterling worth, compared with
those who have had access to his society, as a citizen
at home, a neighbor, and a member of the church of
Christ.

While laboring at Shreveport, I was called on by a
Baptist preacher, who told me that he lived in Texas,
and that he would be pleased to travel with me, if I
would consent to spend some time in that republic ;
and as he was well acquainted with the country, and
the roads were few and obscure, he could be service-
able to me as a guide. I accepted his kind offer, and
set him a time when I would meet him at Greenwood,
within four miles of the Texas frontier. At this
period, Texas was no part of the American Union.
When the appointed time had come, my Baptist
preacher met me at Greenwood ; and we started for
his home, which was at the distance of eighteen miles.
We passed the broad lane, cut through the tall timber,
which showed the boundary line between the United
States and the young republic ; and after swimming
some streams, and traversing divers canebrakes, we

RED RIVER. 215

reached the house of my friend in safety. Many of
the neighbors were assembled, according to an appoint-
ment previously made ; and on that night I had the
privilege, for the first time in my life, of preaching the
gospel beyond the limits of the United States.

Early the next morning, my friend and I set out for
Marshall, the county seat of Harrison county, Texas.
It was eighteen miles; yet he uttered no word of re-
luctance about going so far ; and the country was so
new and pathless, that I should scarcely have found
the way without a guide. When we had gained an
eminence that overlooked the town, the Baptist preacher
reined up his horse, and took a survey of the prospect
before us. It was not Yexy promising. The buildings
were mostly small log houses, covered with clapboards ;
and the bushes were growing all over the public square,
and along the streets. " Stop," said he ; " there is not
an ear of corn in this place." I did not, at first, com-
prehend his meaning, and asked what it was that he
had remarked. " There is not one ear of corn in this
place. We cannot find accommodation even for our
horses. Come, let us go back. I have an appointment
for the Sabbath in my neighborhood. Our people will
be glad to hear you preach. Come, let us go back."

" I think I am too old a soldier to adopt that course,"
was my reply. " I have been on many a hard cam-
paign ; and I think I must go down into the town, and
see who live here, before I can consent to leave the
neighborhood."

" Very well," said he ; " if that is your determina-
tion, I will go with you." So on we rode into the
public square of the town of Marshall.

After reconnoitring for a little time, we entered a

216 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

lawyer's office, that bordered on the public square.
He was from the state of Georgia. His name wa,s
William Pinkney Hill. I told him that I was a Pres-
byterian minister ; and that I had come to visit them,
and would be pleased to have the opportunity of
preaching to the people of Marshall and the vicinity.
He received me in a manner the most gentlemanly and
cordial, expressed a high degree of satisfaction that I
had come on such an errand, and said he would forth-
with take measures for having a congregation assem-
bled on the next day. Moreover, he kindly invited
me to make his house my home while I should remain
in the country, which invitation I very gladly accepted ;
and, truly, I found it a most delightful home. Yes, the
recollection of the interesting and worthy family into
which I was thus introduced, has often, in succeeding
years, awaked in my soul the most lively and pleasing
emotions.

In this neighborhood, at that time, resided also Mr.
Van Zandt, the former minister from Texas to the
United States. From him, and from his family, I
received many kind attentions. Other names, and
other families, occur to my mind, that might, with
much propriety, be mentioned here, were it not for
swelling the record beyond the intended bounds. I
must not, however, omit the mention of a young
lawyer, whose state of mind interested me greatly.
He was possessed of a fine intellect, good habits, and
a warm heart. He was a native of New Hampshire,
and, after completing his education, had gone to Texas,
hoping to earn a livelihood by the practice of the law.
He had been successful. His worldly prospects were
now very flattering ; and, like ^' the younger son, in a

RED RIVER. itVJ

far country," he began to call to mind the privileges
of his father's house. He attended our meetings, and
appeared to take a lively interest in the preaching of
the gospel. I first noticed the expression of deep and
strong emotion in his countenance when the follow-
ing appeal was made, near the close of a sermon : " It
is true, friends, that your country is yet new. As the
night draws on, you still hear the howl of the hungry
wolf, and that howl is answered by the shrill scream
of the fierce panther ; and brief is the space since your
hills and valleys echoed the wild yell and the ominous
warwhoop of the savage and hostile Indian. Yes, your
country is yet new. Its inhabitants are thinly scat-
tered here and there, mostly strangers to each other ;
and the church of the blessed Savior has scarcely
begun to put on a visible form among you. But this
land is Immanuel's land. It has been given to Christ
in the covenant of redemption, and it will yet be filled
with his glory. The beautiful house of God will rise
in your village, and its tall spire will point to that
heaven that is above. The Sabbath bell will swing
its loud summons over these plains, and glad multitudes
will assemble and worship God. Here the long table
will be spread, in commemoration of the Savior's dying
love ; and thousands will join their voices, and send up
hallelujahs to the Lamb that v/as slain." While these
and similar thoughts were expressed, the countenance
of the young lawyer evinced strong feeling, and his
eyes were dimmed with tears. Not long afterwards, I
was walking slowly in a small path near the outskirts
of the little town, when I saw the young lawyer ap-
proaching. It was evident that he wished to speak
with me. I at once afforded him the opportunity.
19

218 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

" When I was in New Hampshire," said he, " I thought
there was no particular urgency why I should attend
to the subject of religion. My parents were both
living. They were examples of piety. I had also
around me many other Christian friends, who were
ever ready to impart to me good counsel, and to
remember me in their prayers. I persuaded myself,
therefore, that there was no special call for me, indi-
vidually, to be much concerned on the subject. But
it is far otherwise now. I see the broad road is open
wide before me. My parents and pious friends are
distant three thousand miles. There is no one here to
watch, to counsel, or to rebuke me, in case I should
go astray, I feel that there is a solemn responsibility
resting on myself. I must think, I must watch, and I
must care for myself, or ruin is before me." The
statement of this interesting young man affected me
much at the time ; and it never recurs to my mind
without awaking the liveliest emotion. What a pre-
cious treasure is granted to that youth who has been
blessed with pious parental training !

In this country I spent more than three months,
preaching sometimes in the towns, and sometimes from
house to house. I organized a church of twenty mem-
bers in Shreveport, and another, of fourteen members,
in Marshall, Texas, and formed, moreover, many de-
lightful friendships among the citizens. No person,
unacquainted with the character of the population in
the new settlements of the west, would imagine the
amount of educated mind which I foimd in the Red
River country. I became acquainted with quite a
number of men, comparatively young, whose talents
and acquirements would have entitled them to a high

RED RIVER. 219

station in society in any part of the United States.
The hospitality for which new countries are proverbial
was here in its full perfection. The stranger was wel-
come at every house, and welcome to stay as long as
suited his convenience ; and, more than all this, there
was a strong desire for the gospel, that stood out as a
marked peculiarity of this population.

A physician and his lady, who had been members
of the Presbyterian church in Virginia, rode with me
twelve miles on the morning of the day on which I
preached my last sermon at Greenwood. As we drew
near the house of worship, the lady expressed her
gladiiess and her gratitude that she could hear the
gospel preached so near to her home, by a minister of
her own church. And the physician, her husband,
told me that he had been united with the church in
Virginia — indeed, had been a ruling elder — but that
he had sustained great spiritual loss by emigrating to
this destitute region. After the sermon at Greenwood,
a lady came to me, and said, " I have a certificate from
a church in New York. If a Presbyterian church can
be formed in this neighborhood, I wish you to take my
name, as one that desires to unite in its formation."
Five gentlemen then came to me, and said, " We do
not consider ourselves worthy to be church members ;
but we wish to give you our names, as those who
desire to be enrolled as members of a Presbyterian
congregation, and who are willing to combine, for the
purpose of sustaining divine worship in this com-
munity."

These facts are recorded as samples of the state of
the public mind in the Red River country, on the
subject of religion, in the year 1845. I remember

220 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

conversing with but one person who professed to en-
tertain any doubts of -the divine authenticity of the
Bible ; and he was not a scoffer, but professed to be in
search of more light on the subject. I preached at
this man's house, and was treated by him with much
attention and kindness. Indeed, the entire Red River
country, on both the Louisiana and Texas side of the
line, seemed a field " white to the gospel harvest."
In this interesting and promising field, I met with the
Right Reverend Bishop Polk, of the Episcopal church.
He was laboring, with truly apostolic zeal, for the ad-
vancement of the Christian body of which he is a
member. I was greatly gratified to meet the good
bishop in such circumstances ; and the interview made
an impression on my, mind too deep to be passed over
in silence, in this sketch of my excursion through
the Red River region. I understood that a bounti-
ful Providence had bestowed on the bishop the good
things of this world in great abundance ; that his
home abounded in all that can render home desirable ;
yet, instead of nursing himself up in the lap of lux-
ury, he was here in the open field, fulfilling the duties
of a hardy soldier. He seemed to shrink from no per-
sonal exposure ; was willing, if necessary, to subsist
on the coarsest fare ; and would lodge in the flat-boat
at the river-side, in the half-faced camp, or in the rudest
log cabin, if, by any means, he might find the lost
sheep that was wandering and bewildered amidst these
extensive wilds, exposed to ravenous beasts, and ready
to perish, and might have an agency in leading the
wanderer back to the fold of the great Shepherd, I
looked on this self-denying bishop of the Episcopal
church with much regard and veneration. I could not

RED RIVER. 221

but " esteem him very highly in love for his works'
sake." It was, indeed, a beautiful example of minis-
terial consecration, and the constraining power of the
love of Christ. And when I saw this zealous Episco-
palian traversing the rough face of the wide and path-
less wilderness, in order, like his divine Master, " to
seek and to save that which was lost," I felt rebuked
for my own church — yes, my own beloved Presby-
terian church. In that " long cloud " of emigrant
population, that now stretches from the great lakes of
the north to the Gulf of Mexico, and, like the pillar in
front of Israel, gradually moves westward, the Presby-
terian church has many valuable families, and very
many valuable members ; but who of our prominent
ministers have been willing to devote even a small
portion of their ministerial life to the feeding of these
hungry sheep ? Methodist bishops and Episcopal
bishops can see the importance of an early occupancy
of this immense field ; and they are found " lengthen-
ing the cords and strengthemng the stakes " of their
Zion through all the extent of this mighty territory.
Many thousands of our people are dispersed abroad
over this land. But, I ask again, what prominent
Presbyterian ministers have been willing to spend
even three months in twenty years, laboring to plant
branches of the blessed vine in this promising soil ?

In the summer of 1843, a venerable elder of our
church at Richmond, Ray county, Missouri, gave me
the following statement. I record it here because it is
worthy of being made known to all our ministers.
The excellent elder has now departed from the church
below ; but his words will long remain imprinted on
my memory.

19*

222 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK,

*' A large number of the early settlers in the upper
counties on the Missouri were either members of the
Presbyterian church, or persons who had a decided
preference for that branch of the great Christian fam-
ily. Indeed, this preference — or I should rather call it
attachment — was so strong, that, for a number of years,
they could not brook the thought of identifying them-
selves with any other Christian denomination. Our
hope was, that some of our experienced and able min-
isters would visit our people, preach to them, encourage
them, organize churches where members in sufficient
numbers could be found, and cause our population to
feel that they were noticed ; that the body of the
church cared for them ; and that there was something
for them in prospect. Young men, just from the col-
lege or the theological seminary, however important
and useful in their place, were not exactly what we
wanted here. We wanted men of some age and ex-
perience, who would know how to collect and com-
bine the material already on the ground, and lay the
foundations for coming ages. This is, in substance,
what we desired. We looked, we waited — yes, loe
waited long ; but our ministers did not come. Those
of other denominations came, — the Methodists, the
Campbellites, or Reformers, the Baptists, also, — and
began to occupy important locations ; but the Pres-
byterians — such men as we needed — were looked
for, and waited for, in vain. That part of the popula-
tion," continued the old man, with a flush of strong
emotion in his visage, and his eyes suffused with tears,
— " thdt part of the population who loved our church,
persevered in waiting. For twelve or fifteen years,
there was scarcely the shadow of wavering in their

RED RIVER. 223

ranks ; and, had there been any cheering prospect
ahead, they would willingly have waited longer. But
there was none. The men that we needed and desired
did not come. Finally, the children in our families
began to approach maturity. They had known but
little of our church, and, of course, had but little of
that strong attachment of which I have spoken. A
young daughter, approaching womanhood, would be
impressed at a Campbellite meeting, and join that
body. A sister would follow her example. Then,
perhaps, a brother. At length, the mother would con-
clude that she had better follow her children ; and, last
of all, the father would be overcome, and go with his
entire household into another communion. Such is,
substantially, the history of a vast number of valuable
families that have gone from our beloved church, to
return no more. Ah, had the Presbyterian church, for
the last twenty-five or thirty years, kept a proper num-
ber of her experienced and effective men employed
among the destitute in the new settlements, those who
pray for her prosperity might now have contemplated
the results with glad and grateful hearts. The neglect
of some such efficient system for the benefit of her
scattered population has occasioned an immense loss to
the Presbyterian church — yes, a loss that cannot be
retrieved in many generations."

Such was the substance of the worthy elder's state-
ment, in the year 1843, concerning the upper counties
on the north side of the Missouri River. I saw its
correctness; I felt its force; and deeply did I sympa-
thize with him in his regrets. Now, in 1845, I found
in the Red River country the same state of society, in
all essential particulars, which had existed at an early

224 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

day in Northern Missouri. I saw that there was a rich
harvest there, of very great extent, which might be
gathered, if laborers could be found to enter into that
harvest.

I stood on the bank of Red River, by the side of a
dear brother, whose " heart trembled for the ark of
God." Said he, " We are glad that you have come to
preach to us, and that you have staid so long. But
now that you must leave us, what can we do ? You
see the condition of our country. A little labor, sea-
sonably bestowed on this field, would secure great
results. What shall we do ? Cannot some of the
middle-aged ministers, up in your country, be per-
suaded to make us a visit, and continue with us a few
months ? There is scarcely a man, of any note, who
has been preaching fifteen or twenty years in Missouri,
Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, or the states farther east,
but would find, on visiting this country, many of his
former hearers and acquaintances. We have been so
very destitute, that a little preaching would do us great
good. We cannot expect to have ministers perma-
nently settled in each neighborhood, in a country so
new as ours. The day, we hope, is coming, when that
rich blessing will be enjoyed even here ; but the whole
country should be explored, as speedily as practicable,
by men of experience and judgment, that the religious
population already on the ground may be embodied
and organized. An organization, even though it be
small, will hold together and subsist for years, when
the same materials, left in an unorganized state, would
be dissipated and scattered to the four winds."

Said I to this friend, " What is the extent of the
country, west of Red River, which is already settled ? "

RED RIVER. 225

" I woLild say that it is six hundred miles in length,
by four hundred in breadth."

" Well, you know that when our divine Savior sent
out his disciples to preach, he sent them ' two and two.'
The promise to Israel by Moses was, that ' one should
chase a thousand, and two should put ten thousand to
flight ; ' that is, two of God's Israel, when acting
together, can do tenfold more than one would be able
to accomplish alone. When Paul and Barnabas, and
Paul and Silas, went together, according to Christ's
original plan, what mighty results followed that minis-
try ! Now, could the condition of this country, and
the importance of the present crisis, be laid before our
brethren in the better-supplied portions of our church,
peradventure ten or twelve ministers might be found,
who would be willing to come and explore this broad
land, two and two, travelling together according to the
Savior's plan. Could not much be accomplished in
one campaign of five or six months, by ten or twelve
enterprising and self-denying ministers ? "

The countenance of my friend kindled up at the
suggestion. His eye sparkled, his features glowed
with ardent anticipation, as he exclaimed, " It would
be as ' life from the dead,' to the cause of religion
throughout all this region. The fact, that the church
cared so much for her scattered and destitute children,
expressed in that unequivocal and affectionate form,
would be of great importance and value. The labors
of such self-denying ambassadors of Christ would'
doubtless be accompanied with the happiest results. A
good impression would thus be made on the whole
population, that would be remembered while the present
generation remains alive. An impetus would be given

226 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

to the cause of religion in this land, that might go
down to the end of time."

Such was the substance of my last conversation
with that pious friend, as we stood together on the bank
of Red River. I returned to the country up the Missis-
sippi. I brought the subject of this great missionary
enterprise before many of our ministers and people.
They saw at once its importance, and its feasibility.
But such an undertaking requires time ; and before
the suitable men could be found, and the necessary
arrangements completed, we were startled by the thun-
ders of the Mexican war. The smoke arose, and dark-
ened all the land, and multitudes of armed men were
called to muster on the very field of our contemplated
mission. Without interfering at all with the political
question concerning the war, it was evident that the
opportunity of doing a great work was, for the time,
cut off. But though at that time we were constrained
to a temporary abandonment of this important enter-
prise, I hope our church will yet resume it under hap-
pier auspices. Yes, I hope that our church will wake
up to that great enterprise — an early occupancy of
the frontier settlements by missionaries of talent and
experience. Much, very much, has been lost irrecov-
erably by the neglect of this momentous work during
the last thirty years. " 0 that my head were wa-
ters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might
weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of
Iny people ! "

Those, only, who have traversed the mighty west in
its length and in its breadth, can properly appreciate
the importance of its moral culture to the church, to
our country, and to the world. I stood on the bank

RED RIVER. 227

of the Mississippi, opposite the mouth of the Missouri
River, where, after its long career from the Rocky-
Mountains, the wild and turbid Missouri unites with
the clear and tranquil wave of the " father of waters."
I was meditating on the connection of this great coun-
try with the kingdom of Christ. I looked south, and
thought of the twelve hundred miles from the point
where I then stood to the Gulf of Mexico. I looked
north, and thought of the sixteen hundred miles to the
head of the Mississippi. I looked east, and thought of
the thirteen hundred miles to the head of the Ohio
valley. I looked west, and thought of the three thou-
sand miles to the head of the Missouri. I thought of
the immense capacity of this land to sustain human
life. I thought of the teeming millions who will pres-
ently be here. I seemed almost to hear the tread of
coming generations ; and I lifted my hand to heaven,
and said, " Lord Jesus, this land shall be thine ! We
will preach and pray. We will hold up the banner of
thy dying love, and call for help from on high, till
waves of redeeming mercy shall roll over these wide
plains, and along the shores of these mighty rivers.
And among the multitudes of people that shall dwell
here, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess,
to the Lamb that was slain."

AN INDIAN TRADITION.

That part of Louisiana which borders on Texas, in
the region where I labored, is called Caddo Parish.
The name is taken from a tribe of Indians that once
occupied this country. The remains of their villages
are yet to be seen in several neighborhoods. This

228 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

ancient tribe of Indians, when first visited by the
Americans, had among them a tradition of the flood
altogether remarkable, and as worthy of being pre-
served as any of the traditions on that subject, that
have been found amongst the East Indian Brahmins, or
the inhabitants of Peru, in the southern part of our
own continent.

Thomas Jefferson, while president of the United
States, about the year 1805, communicated to congress
the following report of certain American ofiicers, who
had explored the Red River country : —

" About forty miles above the mouth of Little River,
which empties into Red River two hundred and seventy-
seven miles above its mouth, there is a large prairie,
forty miles long. Near the middle of the prairie there
is a lake, of about five miles in circumference. It is
of an oval form, and neither tree nor shrub near it ;
nor is there any stream of water running either into
it or out of it. This lake is very deep, and the water
so perfectly limpid, that a fish may be seen at the
depth of fifteen feet from the surface. By the side
of this lake, the Caddo, or Caddoque, tribe of Indians
have lived from time immemorial. About one mile
from the lake is a hill, on which, they say, the Great
Spirit placed one Caddo family, who were saved when,
by a general deluge, all the world were drowned ; and
from that one family, they declare, all the Indians have
originated. To this little natural eminence, all the
Indian tribes, for a great distance, as well as the Cad-
doques, pay a devout and sacred homage."

The report of this exploring party further goes on
to say, that " the whole number of what they call
warriors of the ancient Caddo nation, is now (that is,

RED RIVER. 229

in 1805) reduced to one hundred, who are looked upon
somewhat like the knights of Malta, or some distin-
guished military order. They are brave, despise dan-
ger and death, and boast that they have never shed
white man's blood."
20

230 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

THE KED RIVER EUZZARD.

When the time drew nigh that I had set for leaving
the Red River country, I announced to the people of
Shreveport and the neighborhood, that if they would
collect their children at the court-house, I would at-
tempt to preach a sermon particularly adapted to them.
The people were pleased with the proposition ; and on
the last day of my stay among them, a beautiful com-
pany of children were brought together, and I gave
them the best instruction I could for the life that now
is, and also for that which is to come. I then bade
adieu to many highly-valued friends, and started down
the river. Our progress was slow ; for the boat was
taking in cotton, — forty bales at one plantation, sixty
at, another, — and thus we were some two or three days
moving slowly towards New Orleans. Many of the
passengers were from the region where I had been
laboring, and with some of them I had formed a pleas-
ant acquaintance. At their request, I had preached a
few sermons in the cabin of the steamboat as we jour-
neyed. When we had made considerable progress
down the river, a great, brawny, broad-shouldered, six-
feet-two or three inches high backwoodsman appeared
among the passengers. I was not aware at what point
he had come on board. He looked as if he might
have been brought up in the neighborhood of iron-

THE RED RIVER BUZZARD. 231

works. The lineaments of a strong mind were dis-
tinctly marked in his visage, and his whole bearing
was that of a shrewd, forward, self-confident man. It
is extremely rare, in the western country, that you
find a man who designedly treats a minister of the
gospel with disrespect. I have travelled long, and
travelled far, yet have scarcely failed, in twenty years,
when on a journey, to receive courtesy and gentle-
manly treatment in every company, and from every
individual with whom I had any particular intercourse.
But here was a notable exception. The rough, stout
man, above mentioned, had found out that I was a
minister of the gospel ; in fact, I had preached once,
perhaps oftener, on the boat after he had come on
board. He now concluded he would show his smart-
ness, by holding up to reproach and ridicule religion
and religious men. From his manner, I had little
doubt that he had often before attempted the same
thing, and, perhaps, with a considerable degree of
success and imaginary triumph.

He now, with an air of great complacency and self-
importance, commenced telling a story of a certain
minister of his acquaintance. It was an awful story ;
and he told it remarkably well. He had, in fact, a
quantity of that ready, rough wit, which enabled him
to set the laughable points of a ludicrous story in a
very clear and strong light. When he was through his
statement, the company looked somewhat blank. Most
of them felt that there was a high degree of impro-
priety in his telling such a story before the minister
who had preached to them only a few hours before ;
otherwise they might have been prompted to a hearty
laugh. As it was, however, some of them twisted
their mouths a little, and all remained silent.

232 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

But the fellow who had told the tale was no way-
abashed at its cold reception. Determined to have
some amusement, he turned round to me, and, in a
manner most impertinent and haughty, said, " Well,
sir, what do you think of that ? " I replied with much
indifference, '' I am a stranger in the country, and not
acquainted with the circumstances." I should have
taken particular notice of neither him nor his story,
had he told it and just let it pass. But the fellow ap-
peared by no means satisfied, and, after a momentary
pause, he set in and told, either of the same preacher
or some other, a second story, which was rather an
improvement on the first. A genuine story it was,
and astonishingly well told ; for in this department he
possessed a talent equalled by few. He now turned
to me a second time, and said, " Well, sir, what do you
think of that ? " Again I replied, " I am a stranger
in the country, and not acquainted with the circum-
stances." By this time, it was perfectly plain to me
and to the other passengers, that he was disposed to
show his smartness at my expense. So I resolved to
" give him rope ; " and, perhaps, by the time he had
run his full career, he might find that he had " waked
up the wrong passenger."

He noAv told a third story, rising still in interest,
like the steps in a flight of stairs. The story was
certainly an original one, and the style in which it
was told " hard to beat." There was a young Texas
ofiicer in the company. He was a native of Kentucky,
had been brought up in the neighborhood of Mount
Stirling, educated at the military institution at. West
Point, and had now been a number of years in Texas,
during her revolution. This young ofiicer now became

THE RED RIVER BUZZARD. 233

quite restless. He afterwards told me that he was so
indignant, that he was on the verge of breaking out
on the fellow in real Kentucky style, and telling him
that he was insolent, ill-mannered, and did not know
how to behave himself genteelly in company ; though,
he said, as the thing turned out, he was very glad that
he had restrained his temper, and held his peace.

Our orator now proceeded, and told a fourth story,
and then a fifth, which lost nothing in comparison
with those which had gone before, and fully sustained
his claims as a retailer of calumny, and an '' accuser
of the brethren." When he had finished his fifth
story, I saw, by the appearance of the whole company,
that they were fully prepared to see the impertinent
fellow severely chastised. I turned to Major Jenkins,
a very respectable farmer, who lived near Shreveport, •
and was well known to many of the company, and, in
a tone of voice sufficiently loud to be distinctly heard
by air in the cabin, called out, " Major Jenkins ! "
Every eye was now turned, and every ear was atten-
tive. " You were at Shreveport on the day that I made
the address to the congregation of children ? "

" I was there," replied the major.

" You remember, then, the account which I gave
the children of the patriarch Abraham — how that,
M^ien the Lord told Abraham that he was about to
destroy Sodom, ' because the cry of Sodom was great,
and because their sin was very grievous,' Abraham
stood up before the Lord, and interceded for Sodom,
and said that he calculated there were ' fifty ' good men
there ; and if there were not ahogether fifty, he thought
there surely must be ' forty-five,' or, at any rate, ' forty.'
I called upon the children to notice particularly what a
20*

234 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

delightful view is here given of the character of Abra-
ham ; what an exalted man he must have been ; how
noble and elevated in principle ; how high-minded
and lofty the frame of that spirit by which he was
animated. Abraham knew that the great mass of
these ' men of Sodom were wicked, and sinners before
the Lord exceedingly.' He must have known this ;
for he lived near them, and must necessarily have had
transactions with them, more or less, for a number of
years. He could not but have known that the multi-
tude there was very depraved, and far gone in wicked-
ness. But Abraham was one of those men of superior
mould, who 'rejoice not in iniquity.' He neither
sought nor wished to know all that was improper, and
all that was censurable, in the conduct of those around
him. He would throw the bro^-d, generous mantle of
his charity over the imperfections and faults of others,
and hope for the best. He would hope that there was
an under-current in society, better than what appeared
on the surface ; that there were many others, who, as
deeply as himself, regretted the degeneracy of the
times ; and he drew near before the Lord, in behalf of
Sodom, and said, ' Peradventure there be fifty right-
eous found there, within the city, wilt thou not spare
all the place for the sake of the fifty righteous that are
therein ? '

" Venerable patriarch ! through the long vista of four
thousand years, we love to look back and dwell upon
thy character. It is an instructive and beautiful exam-
ple in the annals of a dark and fallen world ; and a
benevolent God has spread the record on the pages of
his sacred book, and has determined that it shall stand
there till the end of time, for the edification, the wonder

THE RED RIVER BUZZARD. 235

and the imitation of the sons of men. It reminds
us of that sweet paragraph in the history of Israel,
where, after toiling over the burning sands, exposed to
the hot winds of the desert, and the scorching rays of
a torrid sun, parched with thirst, weary and exhausted,
they at length came to ' Elim, where there were twelve
wells of water, and threescore and ten palm-trees ; and
they encamped there by the waters.' (Ex. xv. 27.)

" It must be confessed, however, that in our world
there are characters widely different from that of Abra-
ham ; persons who rejoice in iniquity, ' every imagina-
tion of the thoughts of whose heart is only evil contin-
ally ; ' persons whose supreme delight is to rake and
root among the sewers and filth of a city like Sodom.
Had the doom of this city been announced to one of
these, he would have exclaimed eagerly, ' Ha ! burn up
Sodom with a tempest of fire and brimstone ! I'm glad
of it. They richly deserve it. That's just what I've
been looking for. I've been watching these people of
Sodom. I know them well. There isn't an honest
man, there isn't a virtuous woman, in all the city.
The merchants are all roguish, the mechanics are all
cheats, the professional men are all false and aban-
doned. I'm glad to hear that they are about to get
their deserts at last.' Such would have been the
sentiments and exclamations of a low, depraved, dirty
spirit. Not so Abraham. He was far from pretending
that all excellence in the whole country was summed
up in his individual person. He would hope that even
in Sodom there were fifty righteous ; and if not fifty,
why, certainly forty-five, or, at any rate, forty.

" I mentioned to the childi-en what an excellent
member of the community Abraham must have been

236 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK,

— what a pleasant and valuable neighbor: and told
them how I should love to live beside such a man,
exchange visits with him, and have his intimacy and
his friendship. And I illustrated the whole subject to
the children in this way : —

" ' You may send a dove over a beautiful landscape,
where there are rich waving meadows, and extended
fields of ripening grain ; lovely flowers unfolding on
the margin of the bright, lively stream, that is rippling,
bubbling, and murmuring along ; flocks and herds
feeding, thriving, and growing ; lambs frisking, skip-
ping, and playing ; and where there are all those things
that are charming in a beautiful landscape. Now, the
dove, its taste is so refined and delicate, will be delight-
ed with the beauties that are here in these cultivated
and fruitful fields. Every thing here is in perfect har-
mony with its prevailing desires, and its capacities for the
highest enjoyment ; and the genius of the dove revels
and luxuriates amidst the congenial scenes by which
it is surrounded. It will cast its eye over the broad
meadow, undulating in the breeze, and experience de-
lightful emotions. It will gaze on the rich grain field,
and be extremely happy in the prospect of such abun-
dance for the wants of man and beast. It will hover
over the newly-opened flower, and admire each lovely
tint that is there. It will rejoice with the flocks and
herds that are feeding and thriving on the plain, and
sympathize with the sportive and joyous lambs that
are leaping and gambolling in the gladness of their
heart.

'' ' And when the dove returns to its home, if it could
talk and tell of its travels, and of the interesting and
memorable things which had fallen under its eye, it

THE RED RIVER BUZZARD. 237

would speak of the broad meadows, the bright flowers,
the beautiful streams, and the fruitful fields it had found
in its delightful excursion. It would describe the frisk-
ing lambs, and the fine cattle, that almost equalled the
first company that old Pharaoh saw in his dream, coming
up from the river of Egypt, denoting the seven years
of plenty that should come on all the land. These
are the objects that are in perfect unison with the deli-
cate and refined taste of the dove, and these are the
favorite themes on which it will delight to expatiate.

" ' But now, children, suppose you send a buzzard
over that same lovely landscape ; none of the things
which I have named will interest him in the slightest
degree. The buzzard goes to search for carrion. He '
has no taste for the beauties of nature. Carrion alone
suits his appetite ; and as soon as he starts, he begins
to snuff and scent for tainted air. The beautiful
meadows, waving in the breeze, have no charms for
him. The rich grain field, where the golden harvest
is ripening, he regards not. The fine flowers, bending
over the bright, meandering stream, he sees not. The
flocks and herds, and playful lambs, rejoicing in their
green pastures, give him no delight. But if there be
a dead pig, or a dead 'possum, or the putrid carcass of
a rat, in all the wide range over which he has passed,
the buzzard has found that out. That corresponds
with his taste, and the developments of his genius
are all in that line. And he will light down where he
can find carrion, and spread his wings, and strut and
parade round, and rejoice more over the half-rotten
carcass of a dead calf, than over ninety and nine living
cattle, feeding and thriving in a meadow.' "

At this point, the company in the cabin of the steam-

238 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

boat broke out in unrestrained and boisterous expres-
sions of approbation. They clapped, they stamped,
they cheered, and gave the most decided demonstra-
tions of entertainment and delight. The young Texas
officer shouted aloud, *' It is the best thing I have heard
in all my life ! " And when through with one volley
of clapping and cheering, he and the company would
set off again on a fresh score, and seemed wholly un-
willing to cease their boisterous expressions of appro-
bation and mirth.

It has often been said, that he who excels at giving
a joke, or jest on another, is not apt to excel in bearing
one that is pointed against himself. The reason is
plain. That very shrewdness, which enables him to
say severe and biting things against another, enables
him to see the point or edge of any severe remark that
is aimed at him. A dull man can bear a jest like a
philosopher. He does not see the point of the wit,
and, of course, does not feel it. It is whipping a sheep
on its wool. But not so with the wit himself. He
sees all the point of a severe remark aimed at himself,
and feels it, too. This was clearly exemplified in the
rough, rude man who had brought on this discussion.
Not a man in all the company saw the whole applica-
tion of the above remarks more clearly than did he
himself. He had been altogether engrossed with the
story of Abraham, and of the dove. Eyes, ears, and
mouth were attentive. He seemed to suspect nothing.
He neither saw nor " smelt danger," till the buzzard
was on him, flapping its wings about his head and ears.
He sprang to his feet, stretched himself, and gaped, —
one of the most awkward gapes I have ever seen, —
and looked as if he was in an agony of effort to think

THE RED RIVER BUZZARD. 239

of something to say, that might relieve him. Gladly
would he have kindled up into fierce anger, in self-
defence ; but, then, not a word had been said to him.
My remarks were all directed to Major Jenkins, and
contained merely a rehearsal of what had been ad-
dressed to the children at Shreveport. The crest-fallen
calumniator walked out from the cabin to the boiler-
deck, " heavy and displeased," though totally at loss
in what direction, or on whom, to vent his bile. He
was followed by a number of young men, still laugh-
ing in full volley, and exclaiming, " O that buzzard !
O that buzzard ! " At the first wood-yard that pre-
sented itself, our hero left the company, and went
ashore ; and if he be capable of profiting by the les-
sons of that excellent teacher. Experience, he will most
likely, hereafter, when he enters the cabin of a steam-
boat, "count the cost," before he attempts to play off
his rude jests on any of the passengers.

240 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

SUDDEN CONYERSIONS.

In the autumn of 1840, I concluded to visit the min-
eral region in Wisconsin. I had understood that a tide
of population was pouring into that country ; and I
resolved to spend a few months in laboring there, Per-
adventure some Christian might be comforted, whose
lot had been cast in a destitute neighborhood ; perad-
venture some sinner might be converted to God, over
whom the angels of heaven would rejoice ; peradven-
ture some little church might be planted, on which the
early and the latter rain might descend, until it would
grow, and become strong, and eventually prove a bless-
ing to hundreds — perhaps, even, to thousands — of
immortal souls. There is something very delightful, to
my mind, in establishing a new church in the heart of
a great, rising country. When you plant the acorn m
the rich western soil, you cannot tell how deep that
plant may strike its roots into the earth. You cannot
tell how high its stem will shoot up towards heaven.
You cannot tell how wide its branches will spread,
how great will be the abundance of its fruit, or how
many living creatures, in ages to come, will feed upon
its fruit, and find shelter under its shadow. I had no
connection with the Home Missionary Society. I went
under the authority of that primitive commission, '' Go
ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every

SUDDEN CONVERSIONS. 2*1

creature. He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be
saved." (Mark xvi. 15, 16.) I had then no expecta-
tion of publishing an account of these labors. They
were known to God, and to the community where they
were bestowed. I desired for them no further noto-
riety. Nor should even a sketch of them be published
now, but that I see, that, by doing so, I can illustrate
great principles, and place important truths before the
church, and before the world.

I took passage in a steamboat, commanded by Cap-
tain Miller, and ascended the Mississippi, to a point
some ten or twelve miles above the town of Dubuque,
in Iowa. I there went ashore, on the Wisconsin side
of the river. There was no village, no farm, no im-
provement of any kind at the landing. A dim path
put off from the river, across the wide Mississippi bot-
tom. I took that path, and followed it through the tall
cotton-wood timber, some six or eight miles. There I
found a small village, stretched along a narrow ravine,
that came down through the bluffs of the highlands.
The name of the location was '* Snake Hollow ; " and
the village was called by that name far and near. I
learned that a miner, at an early day, while searching
for mineral, had dug into a den of rattlesnakes ; and
that circumstance had given a name to the place, and
afterwards to the village. I took up my residence,
pro tempore, with a Jew, who was there selling goods,
a very gentlemanly and hospitable man, who kindly
invited me to make his house my home. And I com-
menced preaching to these people. We were greatly
incommoded by the want of a suitable house. The
small room in which our meetings were held, would
not contain one half the people who were desirous
21

242 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

to attend ; and, after spending a few days in this
place, I went to Plattville, a village about twelve miles
distant, where the opportunity of a house for preach-
ing was better. But scarcely had I reached Plattville,
when Mr. Gay, a prominent man in the other neighbor-
hood, came after me in behalf of the people of Snake
Hollow. " You must return," said he, — " you must
return with me. I believe that God has begun a good
work among our people." I determined, at once, to
go with this man ; and soon after we had returned, a
Kentuckian, who resided there, came to me, and said,
" You need a larger house for your meetings."

"We do, sir, very much," was my reply.

" Well," said he, " I have a house, that was fitted
up for some play-actors, that were here not long ago.
If you will go with me, and look at it, it shall be at
your service, provided you think it suitable."

I went with him, and lo, a room, about forty-tw"0
feet in length, by some thirty feet in breadth, well
prepared to accommodate an audience ! Some part
of the fabric erected by the play-actors was still stand-
ing ; but we soon had that removed, and commenced
our meetings ; and the Spirit of the Lord was in the
midst of us, of a truth. In this place I preached three
times a day, for about five weeks. Persons came in
from all the country round, and many consecrated
themselves to the Lord. A church was organized, and
members added to it to the number of forty-four.
Soon after our series of efforts commenced, I appointed
an inquiry meeting, to be held early in the morning.
The first person who appeared at the place for that
meeting, was a young merchant. I must sketch a
little of his history, because it illustrates the subject
of •* sudden conversions.^^

SUDDEN CONVERSIONS. 243

He came into the inquiry room, and told me, very
frankly, that he had been living in sin, and that un-
merited grace alone had held him up from a deserved
hell. Said I, " Are you now willing to turn from sin,
and consecrate your heart and life to the service of
God ? Are you now willing to trust in Christ for
pardon and eternal life, and spend your days in keeping
his commandments ? "

" That is my determination," said he. " Relying
on the grace of God for assistance, I wish to confess
Christ before the world, and to unite myself with his
church, that I may honor and obey him in all his
ordinances."

" How long have you resided in Wisconsin ? "

" I have been here about eighteen months."

" From what place did you emigrate, when you came
here ? "

" I had been, for very nearly two years, with the
American Fur Company, among the Rocky Mountains."

" And where were you before you joined the Ameri-
can Fur Company ? "

" I had spent four years in Texas, during the period
of her revolution."

" But where were you brought up ? "

" I was brought up at Brownsville, in Pennsylvania,
on the National Road."

" Were your parents pious people ? "

" O, sir, I had at Brownsville a Christian mother,
who taught me the Savior's name when I was very
young. She prayed with me, and for me, and taught
me to fold my little hands, and say, ' Our Father, who
art in heaven ! ' And as long as I remained with her,
she endeavored, by her counsel, her example, and her

244 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

prayers, to win me over to the service of God. And
O, sir," exclaimed this yonng man, weeping profusely
— '• O, sir, the prayers, the example, the counsel, the
warm solicitude of that pious mother have followed
me all the while I was roving through Texas — have
followed me all the while I was wandering up and
down among the Rocky Mountains ■ — yes, and they
have followed me here to Wisconsin. I can resist no
longer. I must obey the call of the Holy Spirit, and
give my life to God."

This is a sample — a fair sample — of what the
world, and, alas I a portion of the church, denomi-
nate " sudden conversions." A cold-hearted professor,
dozing and dreaming over his privileges and liis oppor-
tunities, sees his neighbor living in sin, but has not got
religion enough to speak one warning word to the sin-
ner of his guilt and his danger. And he takes it for
granted, the Spirit of God, and the man's conscience,
are as silent, concerning the things of eternity, as his
own unfaithful tongue ; whereas the light of the gos-
pel, the presence of the Holy Spirit, and voice of con-
science are causing a mighty struggle in the bosom of
that man. This struggle continues for months — per-
haps for years. At last, the troubled sinner resolves,
" I'll resist no longer. I'll yield to the Spii'it of God.

' Here, Lord, I give myself away —
'Tis all that I can do.' "

And the torpid professor near him hears this vow,
and starts up, rubbing his eyes, and exclaiming, " How
sudden ! How very sudden ! " when the only sudden
thing in the whole affair, is the sudden impression in
his own sleepy soul.

SUDDEN CONVERSIONS. 245

I said the case of the young man detailed above is a
fair sample of what the world calls " sudden conver-
sions." I repeat the assertion, from a deep conviction
of its truth, and the importance of having the subject
properly understood.

I would here, also, record another instance of " sud-
den conversion," which took place during the same
series of meetings ; and I desire to mention it with
gratitude and praise to the name of the blessed God.
After the Divine Spirit was poured out on the popula-
tion of this village and the neighborhood, a general
reformation in morals was diffused in all directions
among the citizens ; and, finely, the " sign-board "
was taken down from above the door of the last grog-
shop in the place.

There lived in that community a man quite advanced
in life, who had been intemperate for many years. This
man came to hear the preaching of the gospel. He
appeared deeply affected with divine truth ; and pres-
ently he opened his house for the weekly prayer meet-
ing, which was now established. He was soon enabled
to trust in Christ for salvation. In a little time", accord-
ing to the example of the apostolic age, he offered
himself to the church ; and the evidences of his con-
version to God were such, that he was accepted.
From time to time, after I left the neighborhood, I had
opportunity to learn that the old man was walking
worthy of the high and holy gospel vocation, and that
his house was still opened for the weekly prayer meet-
ing. About six years afterwards, I was at Edwards-
ville, in Illinois. I . there became acquainted with a
respectable lawyer, who, at that time, was a senator in
the legislature of that state. " I am happy to meet
21*

246 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

with you," said he. "I have long wished for an
opportunity to make your acquaintance. 1 wish to
express my gratitude for the great benefit which my
father received during your ministerial labors at ' Snake
Hollow.' " And lo ! the senator before me was the son
of the old gentleman whose house was opened for the
weekly prayer meeting, and of whose conversion the
reader is already informed.

Many years ago, there lived at Knoxville, Tennessee,
a prominent and amiable man, who was by profession
a lawyer. His treatment of religious men was respect-
ful and kind. At the house of worship he was a regu-
lar attendant ; but he had taken for himself no decided
stand in relation to the service of God. His wife, at
length, came forv.^ard, and united herself to the church.
After the solemnities of the sacramental season at
which she was received, a brother in the ministry
walked home with the family to their house. When
they were near the door, the lawyer turned to the
minister, and said, " I know that religion is very im-
portant. It is every man's duty to serve God. But it
is a very solemn matter ; and surely we ought not to
be hasty."

" How old are you ? " asked the minister.

" I am forty-one," was the reply. And the tear
started in his eye as he spoke.

" Then you have not been hasty. Surely, if you
have persisted in sinning against God through forty-
one years, you have not been hasty in renouncing
your rebellion. If you have jeopardized your soul for
forty-one years, you have not been hasty in caring for
its welfare. If you have been rushing towards the
gate of death for forty-one years, you have not been
hasty in flying from the wrath to come."

SUDDEN CONVERSIONS. 247

I now close this article with two remarks : —

1. We are liable to much mistake, when we suppose
that the subject of religion is new to those to whom
we have said but little. God has many methods for
diffusing abroad the knowledge of his will, independ-
ent of our agency. The voice of his word, the voice
of his Spirit, and the voice of conscience have been
heard far and wide. " I say, Have they not heard ?
Yes, verily, their sound went into all the earth, and
their words to the end of the world." (Rom. x. 18.)
I have rarely, in a ministry of thirty-four years, at-
tempted to talk with an inquirer, but I found that the
Spirit of God, and a faithful conscience, had been
speaking to that soul long before it was addressed by
me. God is doing a great and solemn work, while he
is leading immortal souls to eternity. And O, how
small a portion of his ways do we comprehend ! Let
us, therefore, put a restraint upon our tongues, when
tempted to speak lightly of "sudden conversions."

2. Most, if not all, of the conversions recorded in
the Bible are of the description which the world would
now pronounce " sudden." See the case of Abraham.
" Now, the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out
of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy
father's house, unto a land that I will show thee : and
I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless
thee, and make thy name great ; and thou shalt be a
blessing : and I will bless them that bless thee, and
curse him that curseth thee : and in thee shall all fam-
ilies of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as
the Lord had spoken unto him." See the conversion
of Naaman the Syrian. (2 Kings v. 15 — 19.) See
the conversion of the men of Nineveh, under the

24S THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

preaching of Jonah. And yet Christ declares that
their rehgion will stand the scrutiny of the judg-
ment day. See the conversion of James and John,
Simon and Andrew. " And Jesus, walking by the
sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon caJled Peter,
and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea;
for they were fishers. And he saith unto them. Follow
me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they
straightway left their nets, and followed him. And
going on from thence, he saw other two brethren,
James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a
ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets :
and he called them. And they immediately left the
ship and their father, and followed him." (Matt,
iv. 18 — 22.) See also the thousands on the day of
Pentecost.

When I think of the rich and varied opportunities
which God has granted to the present generation, I
must believe that there are many important and perma-
nent religious impressions among that part of the com-
munity who have as yet given no public manifestation.
How many Bibles have been thrown before the eye of
the educated and intelligent neglecter of the great salva-
tion ! How many religious tracts ! How much whole-
some religious instruction has been imparted in Sabbath
schools ! In these respects, the last twenty years have
surpassed all the years that have ever gone before them.
And, moreover, how great has been the amount of
sound, instructive, and powerful preaching, which God
has granted to the souls of men within the same period !
I speak not now of any one section of our country,
exclusively. I speak of the whole, — east, west,
north, and south. With how much enlightened, dis-

SUDDEN CONVERSIONS. 249

criminating, and scriptural preaching has the present
generation been blessed ! I fully believe that, in this
respect, few among the ages that are passed have been
raised so high in point of privileges. We may fairly
infer, therefore, that much thoughtfulness and valuable
impression have been produced, that have not yet ap-
peared on the surface of society ; and that when, " after
so long a time," men come to the determination, that
they must and will confess Christ in the church, we
greatly err, if we suppose that religion is a new theme
of thought to them, or that, in their pious resolves, there
is any thing " sudden," in such a sense as implies a
want of serious consideration, or the absence of a thor-
ough acquaintance with the solemnity and sacredness
of the Christian profession.

Now, at the opening of the ^'"ear 1850, I cast my
eye over our highly-favored land. It is a mighty field,
where the fallow ground has been broken up, the clods
have been pulverized, and the good seed put in, and
covered with earth. Why should we not expect an
abundant harvest ? God has wonderfully taken hurtful
influences out of the way. The thunders of war are
hushed. The din of political strife has died away.
The ravages of cholera are, at least for a time, arrested.
We wait only for the showers of divine grace to rtiake
the plants in the garden of God spring up, and produce
fruit in rich abundance, beyond all that " kings and
prophets " ever saw. No such extensive preparations
preceded the revivals under John Knox and his fellow-
laborers, when, in a single generation, a nation was
born to God. No such extensive preparation preceded
the " great awakening " under Edwards and the Ten-
nants. Why, then, should not the church, at this day,

250 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

" expect great things," and " attempt great things " ?
Why not hope for the return of sinners to the ark of
safety in such multitudes, that the prophet, in vision
beholding it at the distance of many centuries, was
constrained to exclaim, " Who are these that fly as a
cloud, and as doves to their windows ? "

GROWTH IN KNOWLEDGE. 251

GROWTH IN KNOWLEDGE.

The Holy Spirit hath said, " The path of the just is
as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto
the perfect day." Absolute perfection is not possessed
by the newly-converted soul, and hence the command
to " grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ," There is a growth in knowledge, as
well as in grace, enjoined on the believer. Inattention
to this fact has often occasioned erroneous sentiments
among pious people. This life is but our birthday.
Saints will grow in acquaintance with God and things
divine through all eternity. And yet how prone are
we, in the very commencement of our religious course,
to fancy ourselves fully qualified to pronounce without
hesi^fttioi^vpn^heJ|aQsUiigh and solemn questions \lh at
relat^^ tflte^hin^s (tf GodJ^ Man«yja'«Cnristiah lias
been l(*pt qh^d^rkniess for years, by reason of some
hasty decision concerning the doctrine of the gospel,
rashly made in the very infancy of his Christianity.
O that all Christians, and especially the young, would
treasure up in their minds that precious counsel of the
Holy Spirit, " Trust in the Lord with all thine heart,
and lean not to thine own understanding " ! God has
given us a " sure word of prophecy " for our direction,
to which we do well to " take heed, as unto a light
that shineth in a dark place." But O, what mournful

S52 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

inroads has error made in the church, when the pro-
fessed friends of the Redeemer have not followed the
light of God's word, but have " leaned to their own
understanding " !

In a clear night, when the multitude of stars that
are scattered over the heavens, apparently without any
regularity or order, are visible to the naked eye, should
you tell the man who is utterly unacquainted with the
science of astronomy, that these luminous specks are
worlds, many of them larger than the globe on which
he stands, and that they are all moving with admirable
harmony, according to the plan of their Author, he
would think your statement altogether incredible ; for
he sees nothing like order or harmony in all that strikes
his eye. In like manner, the man Avho leans to his
own understanding, and is not sufficiently attentive to
the voice of God, when he looks around him on the
multitude of events which daily occur, and sees in
them much that to his eye is confusion and disorder,
he feels confident that those who maintain that God is
" working all things after the counsel of his own will,"
are grossly mistaken. He fancies that he sees coii-
elusive proof *that Satan and wiclied men are driving
the world before them, and that the Tiounsel of God
does not prevail. Your assertion of the regular move-
ments and harmonious revolutions of the heavenly
bodies, is confidently denied by the ignorant man.
■He tells you it cannot be true ; for it contradicts the
testimony of his senses. Why does he think so ?
Because he concludes he has a full view of the whole
creation ; whereas it is but a small portion that his eye
is capable of taking in at once. And the man splits
on the same rock, who, because the events which take

GROWTH IN KNOWLEDGE. 253

place around him are different from what he thinks are
wisest and best, therefore aififms absohitely that God
cannot haye appointed them so, and is not " working
all things after the counsel of his own will."

" One part, one little part, we dimly scan,

Through the dark medium of life's feverish dream,
Yet dare arraign the whole eternal plan.
If but that little part incongruous seem."

We have a record of excellent men, in ages long
past, who, for a time, were in darkness on this subject.
When Joseph was forced away from his aged and affec-
tionate father, and sold in Egypt for a slave, and there
for many years confined in a dungeon, how dark, how
full of perplexity, was the whole transaction ! Indeed,
there is no evidence from the history that as yet it had
ever entered Joseph's head, that this was God's plan
for advancing the glory of his great name, and the
interest of his Zion; and that one day he would see
the harmony, and beauty, and grandeur of that whole
dispensation, now so mysterious and dark. Joseph
appears to have looked only at the agency of man in
the transaction — the agency of his brethren who sold
him, the merchants who brought him to Egypt, the
Egyptians who imprisoned him. Hear his language
to the chief butler : " For I indeed was stolen away
out of the land of the Hebrews ; and here also have I
done nothing that they should put me into this dun-
geon. Think on me when it shall be well with thee,
and show kindness, I pray thee, mito me, and make
mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this
house." (Gen. xl. 14, 15.) But Joseph lived to see
the day when the plan of God was ripe for accom-
22

254 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

plishment. Then his eye discerned a higher hand
than that of his brethren, the Ishmaelites, and the
Egyptians, in this whole matter. The wonderful ways
of God thrilled his soul with admiration. He saw the
church preserved, the kingdoms around kept alive,
through a long and destructive famine, and the honor
of the God of Israel exalted in the view of the nations.
Then he saw that the whole transaction was planned
and moved forward by the counsel of the Almighty.
Hear his language to his brethren : " I am Joseph, your
brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now, therefore,
be not grieved nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold
me hither ; for God did send me before you to preserve
life. God sent me before you, to preserve you a pos-
terity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great de-
liverance. So, now, it was not you that sent me hither,
but God ; and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh,
and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the
land of Egypt. But as for you, ye thought evil against
me ; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it
is this day, to save much people alive." (Gen. xlv. 4,
5, 7, 8, and 1. 20.) Take another instance. When
"Jesus began to show unto his disciples how that he
must go into Jerusalem, and sutler many things of the
elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and be killed,"
Peter, " leaning to his own understanding," quite con-
fident that such a dreadful event as the killing of the
holy, harmless Jesus could form no part of the plan
of a wise and holy God, "began to rebuke " his Master
for holding and teaching such doctrine — " Be it far
from thee. Lord: this shall not be unto thee." Jesus,
with unusual severity, reproved him — " Get thee be-
hind me, Satan : thou art an offence unto me ; for

GROWTH IN KNOWLEDGE. 255

thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those
that be of men," plainly teaching that his ^^ suffering
many things, and being killed,'' of which Peter did not
approve, was the plan of God. (Matt. xvi. 21 — 23.)
Bat Peter lived to see the day when light from on high
shone on this wonderful transaction. He saw that the
death of his Master brought life to the world, and that
heaven should be peopled, and the praises of the Lord
celebrated through all eternity, by multitudes which
no man can number, washed from their sins in that
fountain opened on Calvary. And now he glories in
" Jesus Christ, and him crucified." Now he sees that
what astounded him at first, as altogether incredible,
is the plan of that God " who is wonderful in coun-
cil, and excellent in working." Hear him, on the
day of Pentecost, addressing the crucifiers of his Mas-
ter : " Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel
and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and with
wicked hands have crucified and slain." (Acts ii. 23.)
And a few days after, to the same people he says,
" And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye
did it, as did also your rulers. But those things which
God before had showed by the mouth of all his proph-
ets, that Christ should suff'er, he hath so fulfilled."
(Acts iii. 17, 18.) And, indeed, all the disciples, though
at first, perhaps, as reluctant as Peter to believe it, were
now so thoroughly imbued with this doctrine, that we
find it not only in their sermons, but in their prayers.
In Acts iv. 27, 28, we find them uniting, with one
heart, in this address to God : '< For of a truth against
thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both
Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and people
of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever

256 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be
done."

Now, it is not strange that, while the church is in a
low condition, and the power of Satan is great among
the nations, there should be many pious people, who,
like Joseph in the dungeon, and like Peter in the in-
fancy of his Christianity, are disposed to deny that
many events which they witness belong to the wise
and good plan of the great God. But as Joseph and
Peter advanced in divine knowledge until they ob-
tained more exalted views of the truth of God, so all
true Christians shall grow in the knowledge of God
until all their errors shall be cast away. The path of
the just, like the shining light, shineth more and more
until the perfect day. And thus, when the church
attains the full maturity of her glory in the millennial
day, all her children shall see eye to eye ; and in the
heavenly state God shall wipe all tears from the eyes
of his people ; for he will then show them that he has
done all things well.

SAINTS EXCEL ANGELS IN GLORY. 257

SAINTS TO EXCEL ANGELS IN GLORY.

The prospects which the gospel presents to Adam's
children are wonderful. God has created a great
variety of intellectual beings. We read of angels,
cherubim, seraphim, principalities, powers, thrones,
dominions, &/C., &c., all which terms, doubtless, denote
other orders of intelligent beings, who have been
formed by the hand of the Almighty. But among all
creatures in God's wide empire, Man, alone, finds his
nature united to tJie Divinity.

In the person of Jesus Christ, humanity is joined to
the uncreated Godhead. The second person of the
Holy Trinity put on our nature when he came to
earth. In our nature he lived. In our nature he
received the stroke of death. In our nature he arose
from the grave and ascended to heaven. In our
nature he now reigns above. And through the long
periods of immortality, he will be clothed in the
mantle of humanity. This single fact promises, to
the redeemed from among men, an elevation in the
kingdom of their Father, to which, while on earth,
our boldest conceptions cannot rise.

It is clearly held out in the word of God, that those

who are ransomed by the blood of the Lamb will, in

the progress of eternal ages, ascend beyond all the

angel hosts in holiness, in happiness, and in nearness to

22*

258 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

the throne of God. The angels are " all ministering
spirits sent forth " at his command. They are his
servants. They were created to serve his church ;
and, however holy, happy, and glorious, they can ap-
proach God in no other character than as servants.
But of the redeemed, it is declared, that the Lord of
glory "is not ashamed to call them brethren" They
have a peculiar relationship to Christ that angels have
not. They are his kindred; and he is their elder
Brother. None of all the heavenly family are thus
united to the Divine Being except the followers of the
Lamb ; and this single fact — I repeat it — promises to
the saints an exceedingly exalted station among the
children of their Father.

The same thing appears from the intercessory prayer
of our Lord Jesus Christ, where he speaks of the pecu-
liar and wonderfully intimate connection between him
and his children. His prayer is, " that they all may
be one, as thou. Father, art in me, and I in thee, that
they also may be one in us. And the glory which
thou hast given me have I given them; that they
may be one, even as we are one ; I in them, and thou
in me." Wonderful petition! Blessed Savior, how
high is the hope which thou hast set before thy peo-
ple ! The apostle James tells us that God designs the
saints as a "kind of first-fruits of his creatures." In
Rev. ii. 17, God promises to bestow on those who
overcome through the blood of the Lamb, a glory
beyond the knoioledge of all created beings save those
who receive it. And, in Rev, xiv. 3, we are told that,
among the anthems of eternity, the song of Redemp-
tion is peculiar and transcendent ; and that, among all
the bright spirits above, none can learn that song but
the thousands who are redeemed from the earth.

SAINTS EXCEL ANGELS IN GLORY. 259

This truth is also implied in what we are taught
respecting the manner in which the perfections of the
invisible God are revealed to his creatures. Christ
says, " No man hath seen God at any time ; the onlyr
begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father,
he hath declared him." "No man knoweth the
Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son will
reveal him." The apostle asserts that God created all
things by Jesus Christ, to the intent that " now unto
principalities and powers in heavenly places might be
made known by the church the manifold wisdom of
God." It is through the church, then, that the per-
fections of God are chiefly revealed to other orders of
beings. Accordingly, the redeemed family of Jesus
Christ is set forth in Scripture as the admiration of
all heaven. In the beautiful language of the poet, —

" Nearest the throne, and first in song',
Man shall his hallelujahs raise ;
While wondering angels round him throng,
And swell the triumph of his praise."

" And one of the elders answered, saying unto me.
What are these which are arrayed in white robes ? and
whence came they ? And I said unto him, Sir, thou
knowest. And he said to me. These are they which
came out of great tribulation, and have washed their
robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Therefore are they before the throne of God, and
serve him day and night in his temple ; and he that
sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They
shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; neither
shall the sun light on them, nor any heat." (Rev. vii.
13 — 17.) There is a charming imagery used by the

260 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK,

sacred writers to set forth the glory of the various
orders of holy beings in the dominions of the great
God. They are mentioned as brilliant luminaries,
reflecting the light that issues from the uncreated
throne. The Lord declares to Job that, when he
laid the foundations of the earth, " the morning stars
sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for
joy." The morning stars were doubtless holy and
happy spirits that his hand had formed. Paul says,
" There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of
the moon, and another glory of the stars ; and one
star difl"ereth from another in glory." Daniel, in
view of the events of the resurrection day, declares,
" They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of
the firmament, and they that turn many to righteous-
ness, as stars forever and ever." Of the same day the
Savior says, " Then shall the righteous shine forth as
the sun in the kingdom of their Father."

What a delightful idea does this imagery present to
the mind, of the glory of Jehovah's upper kingdom ! On
the great white throne is seated the everlasting I AM.
Before hira are the several orders of angelic beings,
as stars of various magnitudes in the firmament of
heaven, ever growing in capacity, increasing in bril-
liancy, from glory to glory, and rising to higher and
higher stations before the great Eternal. But the Son
of God has been sent on an errand of mercy to a
revolted world ; and behold, in virtue of his mediation,
" a great wonder is seen in heaven." On the verge of
the celestial horizon new lights are discovered ; stars
of uncommon brilliancy begin to appear ; constellation
after constellation rises into view. Who are these ?
These are the companies of patriarchs, and prophets,

SAINTS EXCEL ANGELS IN GLORY. 261

and martyrs. These are the redeemed from the earth.
They increase more rapidly in brightness and glory.
They move in swifter courses up the heavenly firma-
ment. They pass by the shining ranks of angels,
cherubim and seraphim, and draw nearer to the divine
throne. Hark ! what music rolls from the triumphant
multitude over all the heavenly plains ! " Unto him
that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his
own blood, be honor and glory forever and ever ! "
Blessed Jesus ! are these the travail of thy soul ? O,
give us a place among thy saints when thou shalt
make up thy jewels !

262 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK,

THE DOCTRINES PREFERRED IN
HEAVEN.

" And the seventh angel sounded ; and there were great voices in
heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become tlie king-
doms of our Lord and of his Christ ; and he shall reign forever
and ever. And the four and twenty elders, wliich sat before God
on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, saying,
We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast,
and art to come ; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and
liast reigned. (Rev. xi. 15 —17.)

This life is but the birthday of the children of God.
Their attainments, while on earth, in knowledge, in
grace, and in every excellency, are small in comparison
with what they shall be in that Avorld to which they
go. Our Savior, when on earth, said to one of his
disciples, " What I do thou knowest not now ; but
thou .shalt know hereafter." Paul observes, "Now, I
see through a glass darkly." " We know i?i part.''
And he refers to a period " when that which is perfect
shall come, and that which is in part shall be done
away." The variety of conflicting opinions on divine
subjects that now exist among the friends of the Re-
deemer, are chiefly owing to the small advances they
have made in acquaintance with the word and won-
derful ways of God. It is delightful to reflect that a
day is coming, when all who love the Lord shall " see
eye to eye," and "know even as they ai'e known."

DOCTRINES PREFERRED IN HEAVEN. 263

When we see different denominations, each contain-
ing many zealous and excellent Christians, divided in
sentiment, and each earnestly laboring to maintain
their peculiar doctrines, the following question fre-
quently presses on the mind : " When these disciples
leave this world of darkness, and the light of eternity
shines around them, which class will find that they
had been mistaken while on earth, and discover that
the doctrines they had thought so objectionable are
full of perfection, beauty, and glory ? With respect to
those points on which, while in this world, pious Cal-
vinists and pious Arminians differ so widely, without
attempting to say who will be found in the right at
last, it may not be improper to inquire which of the
systems, on being found the true one, appears best cal-
culated to fill the inhabitants of heaven with triumph
and joy. It is plain, from the texts recorded at the
head of this article, that when the Almighty has wound
up all the affairs of our world, the glorified saints and
holy angels, on reviewing all that has taken place
under his reign, from the beginning to the end of time,
will be exceedingly gratified. " We give thee thanks,
O Lord God Almighty, Avho art, and wast, and art to
come, because thou hast taken to thee thy great power,
and hast reigned." Now, which of the above-named
systems of doctrine, on being found true, appears to
furnish the broadest ground for such high transport —
such unbounded triumph ? And here let it be care-
fully remarked, that the very same number of souls
will then be found in heaven, whether Calvinism or
Arminianism proves to be true. There will be no
more of the human family 'in heaven, and no fewer
in hell, if the Arminian scheme is then pronounced

264 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

correct, than there will be if Calvinism should then be
declared the true system. Both parties now acknowl-
edge that as to those who have lived and died in ages
past, a number have been saved, and a number have
been lost. The exact number of both classes is now
known to God. Our Arminian brethren will not con-
tend that, if their doctrines are found true, any who
have already died impenitent wUl enter into heaven ;
and they will admit that, if our doctrines are then
found true, all who in past ages have not died impeni-
tent will be crowned with glory. And with respect to
those who shall live in ages to come, the omniscient
God knows now, with infinite certainty, who will
reach* heaven, and who will not. So that as to the
number of souls who will reach heaven, and the num-
ber that will perish, Arminianism, in the judgment of
saints and angels, will have no advantage over the
doctrines we maintain.

Let us now inquire which of the systems appears cal-
culated to impart the highest ecstasies to the heavenly
hosts. Suppose Arminianism should prove to be true.
What are the facts that will stand out to the view of
saints and angels, when they look back, from the judg-
ment day, over all the events that have taken place in
our world, from the creation to the end of time ? If
Arminianism be true, saints and angels will then see
that when the great Creator formed man, he had no
desire nor intention that the affairs of our world should
take the course they have taken. They will see that
it was his desii-e that the fall of man should not take
place, but that Satan prevented that desire from being
gratified. They will see that when the Supreme Being
found that his first design of having all the human

DOCTRINES PREFERRED IN HEAVEN. 265

race holy and happy was defeated by Satan, and things
had come to pass which he would gladly have avoided,
he then, in order to mend matters as much as possible,
set on foot the scheme of redemption. They will see
that the scheme of redemption was accomplished at
immense cost ; and although it answered a consider-
able purpose, yet it did not, by any means, accomplish
all that its Author desired. Satan made prodigious
headway against it for thousands of years ; and
although repulsed in many instances, and deprived of
a number of his subjects, yet, on the whole, his suc-
cess was great ; and the Almighty would have rejoiced
'if the gospel could have had much greater success, and
Satan had lost many more of his subjects. They will
see that the Most High had been baffled and frustrated
in many of his benevolent designs, and had desired
many things which were never accomplished. If Ar-
minianism be true, these facts must meet the eyes of
saints and angels at every period in eternity, when
they look back over the history of our world ; and it
is difficult to conceive that, with these mournful facts
continually in view, their rejoicings will be altogether
unmingled with regret. Must they not regret that the
good designs of their Creator had not been more suc-
cessful ? Must not clouds of sorrow bedim their eyes,
when they see that the malignant enemy of their God
succeeded in his malicious schemes to so great an ex-
tent, and that he was only defeated in some instances ?
O, how would their hearts leap for joy, could they only
find that all the schemes and designs of the old serpent
had been effectually frustrated and crushed, and had
been so overruled, as to advance the honor and glory
of the great God whom he opposed ! O, how would
23

266 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

the triumphant hallehijah roll from each heavenly
tongue, could they only find that the high and holy
One had never, in a single instance, been disappointed,
and had, from the creation to the judgment day,
^' worked all things after the counsel of his own will,"
had caused the " wrath of man " and the wrath of
devils to " praise him," and had " restrained the re-
mainder of the wrath," had completely gratified all his
benevolent desires, and accomplished "all his pleasure ! "
But alas ! these are raptures which, if the Arminian
doctrines be correct, the inhabitants of heaven will
never enjoy. According to that plan, it will be true,
till the remotest periods in eternity, that the great Jeho-
vah, after all the efforts he has made, has failed to
accomplish many of his benevolent desires ; and that
the inroads of Satan on his kingdom in the world
were vastly more extensive and successful than he ever
designed.

But should the doctrines for which we contend,
after all the high-handed and diversified opposition they
have had to encounter in this revolted world, be found
true at last, will they furnish any greater reason for
the glorified armies above, to celebrate, in anthems of
unmingled triumph, the victories of their King ? We
think that in this respect the diff"erence between the
two systems is immense, and that the advantages pos-
sessed by our doctrines over those of our Arminian
brethren are high as heaven and lasting as eternity.
If the Calvinistic doctrines are true, then the follow-
ing facts will stand as long as immortality endures,
conspicuous and bright in the view of saints and angels.
They will see that the glorious plan of man's redemp-
tion was no afterthought of the great I AM, when he

DOCTRINES PREFERRED IN HEAVEN. 267

found that his first plan was frustrated by his artful
and implacable enemy. They will see " that, from the
beginning," it was the determinate purpose of the un-
changeable God to manifest, by this great work, his
adorable perfections to an admiring universe. They
will see that Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of men, who
was manifest in these last times, " was verily fore-
ordained before the foundation of the world," (1 Pet.
i. 20;) that, in the purpose and plan of God, he was
" the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,"
(Rev. xiii. 8;) that his saints were "chosen in him
before the foundation of the world," (Eph. i. 4 ;)
and that, from that early date, their ''names were
written in the Lamb's book of life," (Rev. xiii. 8.)
They will see that this amazing development of his
wonderful perfections in the scheme of man's redemp-
tion, is the grand object Jehovah had in view, when
he undertook to build the universe. They will
see that he " created all things by Jesus Christ ;
to the intent that now unto principalities and powers,
in heavenly places, might be made known, by the
church, the manifold wisdom of God, according to
the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus
our Lord." (Eph. iii. 9 — IL) They will see that by
Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of men, " were all things
created that are in heaven, and that are in earth,
visible and invisible ; whether they be thrones, or
dominions, or principalities, or powers ; all thuigs were
created by him and for him." (Col. i. 16.) He
formed the angels in heaven ''all ministering spirits,
and sent them forth to minister for them who shall
be heirs of salvation." (Heb. i. 14.) They will see
that all the dark devices and malicious schemes of

268 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

Satan have never, for a moment, ruffled the tranquil-
lity, or disconcerted the plan, of the great God. In no
instance has he been overmatched — in no design has
he been disappointed — in no benevolent effort has he
failed. " With omniscient eye he has ever beheld his
unshaken counsels, and with almighty hand he has
rolled on his undisturbed decrees." They will see
that when the raging dragon cast out of his mouth
" waters as a flood," to overwhelm the church. He who
'•'dwelleth in the high and holy place" has looked
down, with placid serenity, on the foam and dashing
of the billows ; and, whenever the interest of his Zion
required it, he said, " Peace, be still," and " there was
a great calm." They will see that he has always had
Satan under his control, and that, as in the case of
Job, where Satan could not touch his property, nor
touch his person, but when God saw it wisest and
best to suffer it to be done, so, in every age, he has
had his " hook in Satan's nose, and his bridle in his
lips," and has restrained and controlled him at pleas-
ure. They will see that the Almighty could have
" bound Satan, and cast him into the bottomless pit,
and shut him up, and set a seal upon him," as easily
before he first came to the garden of Eden, as at the
commencement of the latter-day glory. (Rev. xx. 1 —
3.) But he did not. He saw it wisest and best, on the
whole, to suffer the fall of man to take place, having
determined, by this means, to make the universe of
created beings sensible of the instability and mutable
nature of all creatures, and fasten on their minds a
deep and everlasting conviction of their absolute de-
pendence on the one immutable God ; designing also
to send his beloved Son, and in his suffering and death

DOCTRINES PREFERRED IN HEAVEN. 269

to show forth the immeasurable wisdom and power,
truth and justice, love and mercy, of the uncreated
One. They will see that, from the first morning of
creation, the Lord has sat on his holy throne, and has
held, with almighty hand, the reins of universal domin-
ion ; has " done according to his pleasure in the armies
of heaven," and among the inhabitants of the earth ;
none have been able to baffle his designs, or defeat his
purposes. Those eyes that " neither slumber nor
sleep" have constantly been ''in every place." The
hand of the Lord has been stretched out in all the
earth ; and, while kingdoms and empires, and all the
weighty concerns of the universe, have been upon his
hands, he has carefully attended to the minutest
matters. He has clothed the lilies, fed the young
ravens, hearkened to the cry of the widow and the
fatherless, attended to the wants of the little sparrow,
and numbered the very hairs of the head of his chil-
dren. They will see that, from first to last, he has
moved every wheel, controlled every event, disposed
of every being, and directed every atom, so as to pro-
mote, in the highest degree, the glory of his great
name, and the joy of his holy kingdom. And al-
though it was .Satan's malevolent aim, when he
seduced the human family, to rob. God of his glory,
and fill his kingdom with ruin, yet He who is " won-
derful in council, and excellent in working," has so
managed all events, that in the end God is more glori-
fied, and his kingdom more exalted, in holiness and
happiness, than could have been if angels had never
revolted, and man had never fallen ! Thus the " head
of the old serpent is bruised," his aim totally defeated,
23*

270 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

his hopes all overthrown. " O the depth of the riches
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! "

All the inhabitants of heaven will gaze, with inef-
fable delight, on the wonderful counsels and perfect
works of God. They see that he has " done all things
well ; " that such is the infinite perfection of that plan
which he formed before the foundation of the world,
that if all were now to be done over again, not one
jot, not one tittle, could be altered for the better.
Their satisfaction is unbounded. They prostrate
themselves before his throne. " We give thee thanks,
O Lord God Almighty, who art, and wast, and art to
come, because thou hast taken to thee thy great power,
and hast reigned ! "

Millions of ages roll around. The saints and angels,
cherubim and seraphim, and all the happy family of
the great God, make astonishing advances in holiness,
in happiness, and in knowledge. Again they review
the history of our world ; and still, in all the manage-
ment of God, from first to last, they behold boundless
perfection, beauty, and glory. Still they gaze with
increasing rapture on the wonderful work of redemp-
tion, transcendently glorious amidst all the works of
God — a tall column of light, streaming from the sum-
mit of Calvary above creation, and throwing its radi-
ance to the utmost boundaries of Jehovah's dominions.
They look down ; and still they see the " roaring
lion," that so long fought against the cause of God,
utterly overthrown, bound in chains, and buried deep
among the ruins of his kingdom. They look up ; and
they behold immortal victory still perching on the
standard of Immanuel. Still they behold the banner
of the Son of God waving in everlasting triumph over

DOCTRINES PREFERRED IN HEAVEN. 271

all the empire of the Almighty. Amen ! Hallelujah !
"And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise
our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both
small and great ; and I heard, as it were, the voice of
a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters,
and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alle-
luia! for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth." (Rev.
xix. 5, 6.)

272 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

THE MILLENNIUM.

" They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain ; for
the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters
cover the sea." (Isaiah xi. 9.)

The church of God in our world has, for many ages,
passed through the deep waters, and through fiery trials.
Satan has, for a long season, led the nations at his will.
Barefaced impiety has stalked undaunted through the
earth, and flung defiance at Heaven. To support and
cheer the hearts of his children during this season of
spiritual desolation and darkness, God was pleased, at
an early day, to pledge his word to the chm-ch, that he
would grant her a brighter day ; that a period should
come when Satan should be bound, and the whole
earth be filled with the knowledge of the Lord.

This was clearly implied in that notable promise,
" The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's
head." The head is the seat of intelligence, and, as
such, the seat of counsel. By " bruising the serpent's
head," is evidently meant giving an entire defeat to
the counsels of the old serpent.

The promise to Abraham more fully announced
God's design to make his church triumphant. " In
thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed."
Abraham believed God. Wonderful instance of the
power of faith ! He stood in the midst of a revolted

THE MILLENNIUM. 273

world. He looked around ; he saw the nations, on
every hand, casting off the fear of God, and sinking
down into idolatry. He looked back on the past his-
tory of the world ; he saw that in all former ages the
impetuous current of depravity had swept the children
of men away from God, and from heaven. He saw
that the flame of piety, which was kindled, at first,
among the children of Seth, had dwindled to a spark
— the spark that glimmered in the house of Noah,
while the whole earth was covered with darkness.
The earth had now been peopled anew, from that one
pious family, Abraham had lived till he was a hun-
dred years old among them. The mournful fact was
now notorious, that all the terror of God's wrath, dis-
played in the destruction of the old world, was forgot-
ten. He saw the children of pious Noah, in crowds
and nations, turning away from the Creator of the
heavens and the earth, and worshipping serpents, and
four-footed beasts, and fowls, and fishes. He saw that
such was their predilection for idolatry, that they would
take their hammer and chisel, and make themselves
gods of gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, and then
fall down, and worship them. They would take their
axe, and their saw, and make gods of logs and stumps,
and then prostrate themselves, and pay divine honors.
Such were the circumstances, when the Lord comes to
Abraham, and tells him, that, aged and childless as he
now is, he shall be the father of many nations ; and
that among his descendants a deliverer shall arise, who
shall turn away ungodliness from the earth ; and all
nations shall forsake their idolatry, and worship the
living and true God. Such were the words of the
Almighty ; and, dark as prospects were, Abraham

274 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

" Staggered not at the promise of God, but was strong
in faith."

Is any one ready to say, " The Lord is slack con-
cerning his promise ; and the day that Abraham ex-
pected will never come " ? I reply, the Lord has
made good his word, when, to the view of man, it ap-
peared altogether as unlikely as in the present case.

On the last clear day that preceded the deluge, it
appeared as unlikely to scoffers of that age, that the
huge vessel which Noah had built should float fifteen
cubits above the top of the tallest mountains, as it can
appear to infidels now, that the knowledge of the Lord
shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea.
Such a thing had never been heard of since the day
that God created man upon the earth ; and the finger
of derision was pointed, and the lip of scorn was
curled, while Noah, " warned of God, and moved with
fear, prepared an ark, to the saving of himself and
house." But on the same day that Noah entered into
the ark, the fountains of the great deep were broken
up, and the windows of heaven were opened, and the
scream of a drowning world was unheeded by an in-
sulted God ; and, at this day, the infidel who would
deny the Bible is constrained, by the science of geolo-
gy, to acknowledge that, for some cause, this earth has
been overwhelmed with a universal deluge.

That the kingdom of Jesus Christ shall yet triumph
in every nation, is not more unlikely now, than the
deliverance of Israel from Egypt, and their settlement
in Canaan, were on that day when Moses turned aside
to gaze on the burning bush. Egypt was at this time,
perhaps, the most powerful monarchy on earth. Israel
was trodden into the very mire of the streets. So

THE MILLENNIUM. 275

completely dispirited and heart-broken were they, that
officers and men of note among them were beaten with-
out resistance, and tamely submitted to the unreason-
able demands of Pharaoh's taskmasters. The land of
their fathers, the graves of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
seem to have been forgotten. How unlikely that such
a people would burst the chain that bound them, and
march forth in all the majesty of freedom ! But grant-
ing they were freed from the grasp of Egypt, how
shall they obtain possession of Canaan ? That land is
possessed by seven nations, " greater and mightier "
than Israel, (Deut. vii. 1,) — nations that dwelt in
cities that were walled, and strongly fortified — nations
terrible in battle, and trained in all the arts of war, of
which the sojourners in Egypt were utterly ignorant.
Could any thing have been proposed, that, in the view
of short-sighted man, would have appeared more egre-
giously fanciful and extravagant, than an attempt by
this people to shake off the fetters of this gigantic
monarchy, and conquer and take possession of the land
of seven warlike and powerful nations ? Pharaoh and
his courtiers laughed at it, and pronounced the whole
scheme a mere whim of idleness and folly. But the
hand of God is made bare. Egypt is shaken with
judgment after judgment. Pharaoh and his lords rebel
and blaspheme. But the hand of God is heavier and
heavier upon them. It was midnight. The laborers
had sunk in deep repose. But "He that keepeth Israel
neither slumbers nor sleeps." At his bidding, the angel
of death goes abroad. Every family is visited. The
king, and all his servants, spring from their couches in
the night. " There is a great cry in Egypt." In every
house, the first-born is dead. Moses and Aaron are

276 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

called. " Rise up ; get you forth from among my
people." The Egyptians were urgent that they might
send them out in haste ; for they said, " We be all
dead men." Israel is thrust out of Egypt in the night.
But how shall they know, amidst the darkness, the way
they must go ? , A sudden gleam of new-created light
flashes around them ; and, behold ! flaming high in
mid air, is a pillar of fire, to direct their steps. They
gaze on the heavenly signal, and bless the God of
their fathers. It begins to move off" from Egypt, and
takes the direction of the promised land. Judah
unfurls his banner, and calls his thousands to follow.
The standards of Reuben, and Ephraim, and Dan rise
in front of their tribes. The whole assembly is in
motion. The sun rose upon the earth, and beheld the
march of the ransomed armies of God. On, and still on,
they move. The Red Sea rolls its dark waves before
them ; but Moses stretches forth his rod, and they march
through on dry ground. Their provisions are spent ; but
the heavens supply them with bread. The wilderness
is parched and dry ; but the smitten rock sends out a
stream. Jordan divides at their approach. The walls
of Jericho fall. Terror seizes the inhabitants of Canaan.
Host after host is routed. The war-horse is cut down.
The chariot of iron is broken. The sun pauses in the
heavens, and the moon is stayed ; but the cause of
God goes forward, till all the land promised to Abra-
ham is divided among his children. God had promised
it, and God made good his word.

That the whole earth shall be filled with the tri-
umphs of the gospel, is not, in the view of man, more
unlikely now, than the victories of the gospel, in the
first ages of the Christian church, were, when Jesus

THE MILLENNIUM. 277

hung by nails to the cross on Calvary. What were the
circumstances ? An obscure personage had arisen in
Judea, so plain in appearance that he wore a seamless
garment. A few tent-makers and fishermen constitute
his train. The wealthy and the powerful of the Jewish
nation hold him in unqualified abhorrence. At length
he is betrayed by one disciple, denied by another, and
forsaken by all. By the most influential men in the
country he is accused of high treason before the
Roman governor, and pronounced worthy of death.
He is led from the hall of judgment to the place of
execution, followed by the imprecations of that im-
mense crowd which the passover had brought to
Jerusalem. Thus he dies in circumstances of the
most aggravated infamy. What rejecter of the gospel,
that witnessed this scene, believed that in a few days
Jerusalem would be filled with worshippers of Jesus ?
Who, that disregarded the promise of God, believed
that in that age his religion would overrun the Roman
empire, and his disciples, then living, would salute the
saints in Caesar's household ? What infidel then im-
agined that in a few ages the emperor of Rome would
be baptized, and publicly avow himself a disciple of
that Jesus who was crucified without the gates of
Jerusalem ?

That the. church shall enjoy a day of millennial
glory, is scarcely more unlikely now, than her present
condition was fifty years ago. Many now living
remember well the haughty brow and lofty step of
infidelity at that time. And many a prediction was
then uttered, that in ten years there would not be a
Christian in America, nor a Bible acknowledged as the
word of God. Had it been alleged at that time, that,
24

278 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

in fifty years, thousands of Bible societies should be
in vigorous operation, to put the sacred bpok into the
hands of every human being ; that the Cherokee In-
dian, and the Greenlander, and the Chinese, should be
reading the word of God in their own language ; that
the song of salvation should be heard on the moun-
tains of Asia, and on the plains of Africa ; that the
islands of the sea should be seen stretching forth their
hands to God ; that thousands of hardy sailors should
quit their blasphem}'', and revere the God of the ocean
and the storm ; that millions of children, in Sabbath
schools, should begin to lisp hosannas to the Son of
David ; that millions of tracts, with the news of mercy,
should travel abroad through the nations ; — had these
things been alleged, fifty years ago, by an angel of
light, many would have thought them utterly incredi-
ble, and the answer would have been that given when
plenty was predicted in the gate of Samaria — '• If the
Lord should make windows in heaven, might such a
thing be? " But we have lived to see it. ''It is the
Lord's doing, and marvellous in our eyes." I have
mentioned these instances to show you that if the Lord
has said he will fill the earth with his glory, and sub-
due all nations to the obedience of the gospel, we
need not doubt that he will do it, because the event
appears to us improbable, and difficult of accomplish-
ment ; for we find that in all past ages he has made
good his word, and performed all that he had spoken,
when prospects, in the view of men, were just as dark,
and just as unpromising.

Let us now open the sacred book, and see what
Jehovah has said.

" And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the

THE MILLENNIUM. 279

mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in
the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above
the hills ; and all nations shall flow unto it. And
many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us
go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the
God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and
we will walk in his paths ; for out of Zion shall go
forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall
rebuke many people ; and they shall beat their swords
into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks :
nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither
shall they learn war any more." This remarkable
passage, written upwards of seven hundred years before
Christ appeared in Bethlehem, not only contains an
animated description of the latter-day glory, but also
distinctly notices the mea7is by which it shall be
introduced. Zion and Jerusalem denote the church
as it has existed and now exists in the world. From
Zion and Jerusalem the word of God is to be sent
abroad among the nations, and the consequence is
their conversion to God ^- an evident prediction of
the present exertions of the church, by her Bible
societies, to send the word of God into all the earth.
" And many people shall go and say. Come ye, and let
us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of
the God of Jacob ; and he will teach us his ways, and
we will walk in his paths ; for out of Zion shall go
forth the laio, and the loord of the Lord from Jerusa-
lem.'''' (Isaiah ii. 2 — 4.)

In Isaiah xi. 6 — 9, we find this prediction of the
church's prosperity : " The wolf also shall dwell with
the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid j

280 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

and the calf and the young lion and the fatling to-
gether ; and a little child shall lead them. And the
cow and the bear shall feed ; their young ones shall lie
down together : and the lion shall eat straw like the
ex.. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of
the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the
cockatrice's den ; they shall not hurt nor destroy in all
my holy mountain : for the earth shall be full of the
knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."

" Violence shall no more be heard in thy land,
wasting nor destruction within thy borders ; but thou
shalt call thy walls salvation, and thy gates praise.
The sun shall be no more thy light by day ; neither
for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee :
but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light,
and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go
down ; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself : for
the Lord shall be thy everlasting light, and the days
of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy people also
shall be all righteous : they shall inherit the land for-
ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hand,
that I may be glorified. A little one shall become a
thousand, and a small one a strong nation : I the Lord
will hasten it in his time." (Isaiah Ix. 18 — 22.)

" And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon
to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall
all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord."
(Isaiah Ixvi. 23.)

" And they shall teach no more every man his
neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know
ye the Lord : for they shall all know me, from the
least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the
Lord : for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will
remember their sin no more." (Jer. xxxi. 34.)

THE MILLENNIUM. 281

" And I saw an angel come down from heaven,
having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain
in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old
serpent, which is the devil, and satan, and bound him
a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit,
and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he
should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand
years should be fulfilled; and after that he must be
loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they
sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them :
and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for
the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and
which had not worshipped the beast, neither his
image, neither had received his mark upon their fore-
heads or in their hands ; and they lived and reigned
with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the
dead lived not again until the thousand years were
finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and
holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection : on
such the second death hath no power ; but they shall
be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with
him a thousand years." (Rev. xx. 1 — 6.)

On these passages, I would remark, first, that they
clearly teach, not only that the church shall enjoy a
season of unusual prosperity, but that every individual
shall be converted to God. For if any, even the
smallest number, remained in rebellion, all would not
know the Lord. There would still be need for one to
teach another, and there would be some to hurt and
destroy in God's holy mountain. It is plain, then,
that in the day of millennial glory, there will not be
found, in the wide world, a solitary child of Adam but
shall love and serve the Lord.
24*

282 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

Secondly. This prosperity of the church shall con-
tinue a very long season — a thousand years, says
the apostle. It is well known that, in prophecy, each
day stands for a year. Daniel's seventy weeks are to
be thus interpreted. The forty-two months, twelve
hundred and sixty days, of Antichrist's reign, are thus
understood. And surely the one thousand years of
Christ's reign on earth should be interpreted by the
same rule — three hundred and sixty thousand years,
m which righteousness shall be triumphant, and holi-
ness to the Lord shall cover the earth.

But how shall these things come to pass ? In what
way shall the whole earth be converted to God ?

In the first place, it is evident that the reason why
the whole earth will then embrace the gospel, is not
because unsanctified human nature will gradually grow
better, and the tone of depravity abate, until all men
will fall in with that gospel which the majority has
hitherto rejected. There is no evidence whatever, in
Scripture, that as the world grows older, the rancor of
man's hostility to God is diminished. The reverse is
rather intimated. The Amorites, in the days of
Joshua, were more wicked than the Amorites in the
days of Abraham. Their " iniquity was full." When
Jesus Christ was on the earth, in the cities of Bethsaida,
Chorazin, and Capernaum, vice had grown to gigantic
stature, such as it had never attained in Tyre or Sidon,
Sodom or Gomorrah. The carnal mind is as perfect
enmity against God now as it was on the first day
after the fall. It is plain, therefore, that the conver-
sion of the world will not take place in consequence
of any abatement in the tone of man's natural de-
pravity.

THE MILLENNIUM. 283

Secondly. We may remark, that the millennium will
not take place by reason of the gospel growing better,
and holding out stronger inducements for sinners to
embrace it. The gospel, in the days of Christ, was
the same that it now is. It will continue the same to
the end of the world. Like its Author, it is " without
variableness or shadow of turning." In all ages, it
unfolds the same divine character, offers the same
Savior to a lost world, brings to light the same immor-
tality, tells of the same heaven, the same hell, and
points to the same judgment bar. And in that day
when all flesh shall see the salvation of God, it will be
found that they have all closed in with that very
gospel which the nations for many ages past have
neglected and despised.

Thirdly. The reason why all hearts shall fall in
with the gospel in the latter day, is not because the
gospel will then be better preached than it had ever
been before. There is no doubt but that the heralds
of salvation will then possess much higher qualifica-
tion for their work than they now do. But this is not
the chief reason why every heart will then bow to
God. There was once a Preacher on earth who far
surpassed any who will appear during the millennium.
" Never man spake like Jesus Christ." Never man will
speak like him. Those who sat under his sermons
" were as^oms/iec? at his doctrine," and ^'•wondered at
the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth."
Yet, instead of giving him their hearts, they assailed
him with insult and violence ; they crowned him with
thorns, and stained the summit of Calvary with his
blood.

Thus we find that the heart of man has stood out

284 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

against the gospel when it was more powerfully
preached than it will be during the millennium.

How, then, shall all hearts be subdued ? This day
will be preceded by tremendous and desolating judg-
ments. Hear the language of Isaiah, ii. 10 — 21 :
" Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for
fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty. The
lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughti-
ness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone
shall be exalted in that day- For the day of the
Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud
and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up ; and
he shall be brought low ; and upon all the cedars of
Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the
oaks of Bashan, and upon all the high mountains, and
upon all the hills that are lifted up, and upon every
high tower, and upon every fenced wall, and upon all
the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.
And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and
the haughtiness of men shall be made low : and the
Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And the
idols he shall utterly abolish. And they shall go into
the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth,
for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty,
when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that
day, a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols
of gold, which they made each one for himself to
worship, to the moles and to the bats ; to go into the
clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged
rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his
majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth."
Isa, Ixvi. 15, 16 : " For behold, the Lord will come
with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to

THE MILLENNIUM. 285

render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames
of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the Lord
plead with all flesh : and the slain of the Lord shall
be many." But judgments alone never did, and never
will, turn sinners from the error of their ways. Judg-
ments destroy, but are insufficient to convert sinners
to God. The " balm of Gilead " alone can heal the
diseases of the soul. And all nations will be turned
to God, by the omnipotent energies of the Holy Spirit
applying to their hearts the truths of the gospel. With-
out this, all the Bibles, and Sabbaths, and sermons,
with which a sinner can be favored, produce no saving
eff"ect. The inhabitants of the earth, at the millenni-
um, will be converted just in the same manner as the
three thousand were on the day of pentecost — by the
powerful operation of the spirit of grace. When the
Holy Spirit was poured out, more souls were brought
to God, under one sermon of Peter, than had been
converted during three and a half years by the preach-
ing of Him who " spake as never man spake ; " and
doubtless God designed this remarkable fact to teach
the world that the most advantageous means, without
the special influences of the Holy Spirit, would avail
nothing.

Sinners, in the latter day, will all be turned to God,
just in the same manner that Paul was. His heart
was in high rebellion ; but the Spirit of God overtook
him, the enmity of his proud spirit was broken down,
and he cast himself at the feet of that Savior whom
before he had blasphemed. When the Savior was on
earth, he often said, " Many are called, but few chosen.''
That is, many hear the general invitation of the gospel,
but few, comparatively, have their hearts subdued. It

286 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

was SO in that day. But it will be far otherwise when
the " new Jerusalem shall come down from God out
of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her hus-
band ; " for then the converting influences of the Holy-
Spirit shall come down on every heart. " They shall
be all taught of God." " The Lord will make bare
his arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends
of the earth shall see his salvation." (Isaiah lii. 10.)

There is a notable fact, Avhich the prophets have
testified of this day, to which I would now call your
attention. All Christians shall then " see eye to eye."
They will all understand the Bible alike. There will
not then be such a variety of dialects in the " language
of Canaan " as there now is ; but all the disciples of
Jesus will most cordially agree respecting the grand
system of doctrines taught in his word. Isaiah says,
" The watchmen shall lift up their voice ; with the
voice together shall they sing ; for they shall see eye
to eye." Jehovah says, " They shall be my people,
and I will be their God ; and I will give them one
heart, and one way, that they may fear me forever."
And not only so, but the truths of the gospel shall
then be seen with uncommon clearness. " The light
of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the
light of the sun shall be sevenfold." All the doc-
trines of the gospel shall then stand out, in bold relief,
with amazing brightness, in the view of all nations.

Let us now pause, for a moment, and notice some
of the great gospel doctrines which the people in the
millennial day, from the very cii'cumstances in which
they are placed, must see with peculiar clearness.

1. The doctrine of God's absolute sovereignty : that
he gives his favors when and where he pleases ; that

THE MILLENNIUM. 287

none of Adam's race have the least claim to a single
crumb of his mercy ; and that he has a right to do
just what he pleases with his own ; and that no man
on earth has a right to dispute his awful will, or say
unto him, What doest thou ? In the present and past
dark ages of the church, many have opposed this doc-
trine, and contended that, if it be true, the conduct of
God towards men is partial and unjust, as he does
more for some than he does for others ; but in the days
of the millennium, this doctrine will be clearly seen,
and universally acknowledged ; for they shall all see
eye to eye. They will see that God has done for them
what he never did for any other people, since the day
he created man upon the earth. He has come down
among them with power and great glory, and has
turned every heart from sin to holiness, and brought
every human being from Satan to God. And while
the Bible tells them that God conferred favors on Abra-
ham and his family above the antediluvians, and dis-
tinguished Israel above the nations around them, and
performed works in Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Caper-
naum, beyond any thing that was ever Icnown in
Sodom and Gomorrah, the people of the millennium
will see and feel that God has distinguished them,
above all people that ever lived upon the earth. They
will admire the sovereign, distinguishing grace of
God ; and every heart will joyfully adopt the language
of the Savior, " Even so, Father ; for so it seemed
good in thy sight."

2. The doctrine of effectual calling, or that sinners
are converted to God by the special influences of the
Holy Spirit, will be seen, and universally acknowl-
edged, by the people of the millennium. They will

288 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

see how the dispensations of the Holy Spirit in then-
day differ from what they were during the mmistry
of Jesus Christ, when " many were called, but few
chosen." For now, behold ! kings have become nurs-
ing-fathers, and queens nursing-mothers, to the church.
They will know that the " king's heart is in the hand
of the Lord : as the rivers of water, he turneth it
whithersoever he pleaseth ; " and that "it is the Lord "
that hath turned the hearts of kings and queens to
righteousness. And when they see piety prevailing
among all classes of men, from the least to the great-
est, they will not conclude that the glorious change has
taken place just because all men, at the same time,
happened to take a notion to make a good use of their
self-determining power. No ; they will ascribe it to
God ; they will confess it is the " Lord's doing, and
marvellous in our eyes ; " and they will unite with the
holy Psalmist in saying, " Not unto us, O Lord, not
unto us, but unto thy name," be all the glory.

3, • There is a doctrine plainly taught in the Bible,
which, in the past dark ages of the Christian church,
and even in the present age, has received much unkind
treatment ; but in the days of the millennium it will
be " established in the top of the mountains, and ex-
alted above the hills ; and all nations shall flow unto
it." I mean the doctrine of God's determinate counsel
— his eternal purposes. Many professors of religion
have an idea that there is something very dreadful in
the doctrine of God's immutable decrees. They be-
lieve in foreknowledge ; but speak not of God acting
now — " according to the eternal purpose which he
purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord ; " say not that " his
counsel shall stand ; " that he " worketh all things
after the counsel of his own will."

THE MILLENNIUM. 289

But when the knowledge of the Lord shall cover
the whole earth, this subject will stand in a clearer
light. The people of that day will have before their
eyes the happy results of God's operations for thou-
sands of years. They will look around them, and see
that what he promised many ages before, he has now
fulfilled. They will look into the holy book ; and
they will see that God had not only foretold that there
should be a day of millennial glory, but had promised
that he himself would bring it about. " I the Lord
will hasten it in his time." They will believe in God's
foreknowledge ; but their belief will go further. They
will see that the Lord not only foresaw there would be
a millennium, but that from the beginning it had been
his determinate purpose to grant his church this blessed
day ; that, thousands of years ago, he had revealed his
design to " build up Zion, and appear in his glory,"
when "the set time to favor her is come." (Ps. oil.
15.) They will hear a voice proceeding from the holy
.oracles, " The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying. Surely
as I have thought, so shall it come to pass ; and as I
have purposed, so shall it stand. This is the purpose
that is purposed upon the whole earth ; and this is the
hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For
the Lord of Hosts hath purposed, and who shall dis-
annul it ? And his hand is stretched out, and who
shall turn it back ? I am God, and there is none else.
1 am God, and there is none like me ; declaring the
end from the beginning, and from ancient times the
things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall
stand, and I will do all my pleasure." (Isa. xiv. 24,
26, 27, and Isa. xlvi. 9, 10.) The people of the mil-
lennial day will hear this from the sacred book. They
25

290 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

will see the glory of the church around them ; and
with the venerable old apostle they will exclaim, " O
the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowl-
edge of God ! " And earth will roll back the anthem
that comes down from heaven, " We give thee thanks,
O Lord God Almighty, who art, and wast, and art to
come ; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power,
and hast reigned." (Rev, xi. 17.)

4. The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints in
holiness will then be understood and acknowledged by
all " nations, and kindreds, and people " under heaven."
In the present state of the church, the wheat and the
tares grow together. Many assume the badge of
Christianity from base motives, mingle a while among
the children of God, and then turn back to the world.
This has led some well-meaning people to conclude
that real saints sometimes fall from grace, and perish.
But in the days of the millennium this mistake will
be corrected. There will then be no hypocrites in the
church, " All shall know the Lord, from the least to
the greatest." And there will be no apostasies ; for
every soul will be the subject of genuine conversion.
It is plain that the doctrine of " falling from grace,"
however numerous its advocates may now be, will be
utterly exploded by all nations during the long periods
of the millennium ; for if any should fall from grace,
then all would not " know the Lord." There would
still be need for " one to teach another," and there
would be some to " hurt and destroy in God's holy
mountain." These apostates would be very trouble-
some— the very kind of people to create disturbance.-
But there shall be none. Perfect peace, and undis-
turbed tranquillity, shall prevail through all God's holy

THE MILLENNIUM. 291

mountain. Thus we see that, when Jesus shall come
to reign in our world, the doctrine of falling from grace
shall " flee away, and no place be found for it."

5. The harmony between the agency of God and
the agency of man will be much better understood by
the people during the millennium, than it has been in
ages past. Many excellent men have been greatly in
the dark on this subject. They have supposed that
God cannot convert all sinners, without destroying
their free agency, and turning them into machines ;
and this they think is the great reason why God has
not converted all sinners long ago. They have also
maintained that God caimot keep all saints from fall-
ing from grace, without destroying their free agency,
and turning them into machines. This is one of the
main pillars on which they build their doctrine of
falling from grace. But when the " light of the moon
shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the
sun shall be sevenfold," all the people of that day
will see that, however devout and useful in other
respects the advocates of the above opinions may have
been, yet on those points they were sadly mistaken.
They will see that God has, in fact, come down among
them, in the powerful influences of his Spirit, and
subdued the heart of every sinner. The loftiness of
man is bowed down, and the haughtiness of man is
made low, and the Lord alone is exalted. All flesh
see his glory, and rejoice in his love ; and yet not
a man on earth has lost his free agency — not one has
been turned into a machine. And as age after age
rolls by, they will see that all saints persevere in holi-
ness — none fall from grace — " all are kept by the
power of God through faith unto salvation ; " yet no

292 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

saint is turned into a machine, but all retain their free
agency. Thus they will see that their brethren, who,
in former ages, contended so stoutly for the foregoing
opinions, were altogether mistaken ; and that the light
which they thought they had on these points was
darkness.

Now, it is just as evident that the system of doc-
trines at which I have glanced is the system that will
be received, and rejoiced in, during the millennium, as
it is that that glorious day will come. Indeed, the
fact itself, that a day is coming when the church shall
be blessed with a period of millennial glory, furnishes
incontestable proof of the doctrines I have mentioned ;
for on no other plan can such a day be reasonably
expected. Destroy these doctrines, and you destroy
the only foundation on which the church can build
her hope that Jesus shall yet fill the whole earth with
his glory. Deny the doctrine of God's immutable
purposes ; say that he has no " set time to favor Zion ; "
say that he as much designed to convert and save all
men, in ages that are past, when but few were con-
verted, as he does in any ages that are yet to come,
— and how is the whole earth to be converted ? Deny
the doctrine of effectual calling ; say that God has
already done all that he can do, consistently with man's
free agency, to convert and save all men ; and that his
Spirit will take no mightier method to subdue the
hearts of all sinners hereafter, than he has taken al-
ready, — and I ask, how are all hearts to be turned to
God ? We have seen that the tone of enmity in the
carnal heart will not abate. We have seen that the
gospel will undergo no change — will hold out no
stronger inducements to sinners. We have seen that

* THE MILLENNIUM. 293

the gospel will not be preached better in time to come,
than it was when multitudes despised it. Where, then,
is the hope of the church, that all nations shall learn
righteousness, and the saving knowledge of God shall
cover the earth ? It is lost. Yes, it is lost ; and it
never can be found, till you come back to those grand
doctrines of revelation we have mentioned, and ac-
knowledge that the bright period of Zion's triumph is
certain ; because God, in his counsels, has determined
it. It will come ; because " the Lord will hasten it in
his time," " according to the eternal purpose which he
purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord."

In like manner, reject the doctrine of the persever-
ance of the saints ; deny that the great Shepherd of
Israel " keeps " every converted soul, " by his power,
through faith, unto salvation ; " and where can there
be any certainty that, through the long periods of
Christ's reign on earth, " there shall be none to hurt
or destroy in all his holy mountain " ?

Thus you clearly see that the fact that God will, at
his " set time," make his church triumphant in all the
earth, furnishes incontestable proof of those precious
doctrines which have " been every where spoken
against."

REFLECTIONS.

1. This subject shows us that God's ways are higher
than our ways, as the heavens are higher than the
earth. We would have thought it best that the mil-
lennium should have been introduced immediately
after the fall of man ; and that the career of human
wickedness, and the reign of Satan, should have been
as short as possible. God could have bound Satan
25*

294 THE WESTERN SKETC H-BO Olt.

then, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and con-
verted the world, as easily as at the day he has
appointed ; but he did not. He is acting for the uni-
verse, and acting for eternity. He is doing that which
he sees best on the whole, taking into view the whole
extent of his dominions, and the whole duration of
his reign. He has seen it best that mankind should
be taught by experience what is in their revolted
hearts, that they may know how much they are in-
debted to God for his redeeming mercy. It is a divine
maxim, that to whom much is forgiven, the same will
love much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same
Avill love little ; and just in the same degree that men
are acquainted with their depravity, will be their grati-
tude to God for redemption. Had God led the Israel-
ites directly from Egypt to Canaan, which was but a
few days' journey, they would never have known that
such wickedness was in their hearts as they acted out
when God " proved them, and tried them, forty years
in the wilderness." God knew all this before ; but he
took this course, that they might know it too, and be-
come acquainted with themselves. And had he intro-
duced the millennium immediately after the fall of
man, it never would have been known to saints on
earth — it never would have been known to glorified
spirits in heaven — how deep and how dreadful the
depravity into which man has fallen. It would have
been known to God and to him only ; but from
created beings he never would have received all the
honor to which he is entitled for man's redemption.
He chose a different plan. Soon after the fall, he gave
a single intimation that he would be merciful to peni-
tent and returning sinners. But how did men treat

THE MILLENNIUM. 295

it ? Did they hail with joy the prospect of reconcilia-
tion to God ? Did they, with one heart, follow this
beam of light, that had come to our dark world, to the
mercy seat from which it issued ? No. Proud in his
rebellion, and pleased with his distance from God, man
turned away in scorn from the proffers of pardon.
" All flesh corrupted his way." " The wickedness of
man was great in the earth," and " every imagination
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continu-
ally." Thus matters went on for more than two
thousand years.

In the days of Abraham, God gave a further devel-
opment of his gracious designs. The nations paid no
attention to it, but with madness pursued every folly
and every abomination. And thus four hundred and
thirty years rolled by. Then God came down on Mount
Sinai, proclaimed his law, and gave numerous institu-
tions, most significant and impressive, all pointing to
the great Messiah as the only hope of a lost world.
But it made no impression on the nations. Not one
of them forsook idolatry, and turned to God for the
hope of redemption. And even Israel, who heard
God's thunder, and saw his lightning, at Sinai, were
with difficulty restrained from casting away the oracles
of God, and plunging into all the abominations of the
heathen. Thus matters stood for fifteen hundred
years. He then sent his Son into the world. " Sure-
ly they will reverence my Son." But they cried,
" Away with him from the earth ! Crucify him, crucify
him ! " And now he has caused the light of the
gospel to shine upon our world for near two thousand
years ; and how have mankind acted ? How have they
chosen the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eye, and

296 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

the pride of life, in preference to commnnion and
fellowship with God, and the joys of his holy king-
dom ! Thus mankind have been proved and tried
in a great variety of circumstances, and have shown
their deep-rooted hostility to God, and their determi-
nation that he shall not rule over them. An impres-
sion is made far and wide through the universe, how
deeply they deserve eternal banishment from God, and
from glory. It is a history that will never be forgot-
ten while immortality endures. And now, when
God's "set time to favor Zion " is come, and he
shall cause every heart to bow, and wave the banner
of salvation over every tribe, and kingdom, and people
on our globe, the pride of man will be stained ; heaven
and earth will acknowledge that it is the work of the
Lord. No flesh shall dare to glory in his presence.
But, as it is written, " He that glorieth, let him glory
in the Lord."

Blessed Jesus ! thou shall see the travail of thy soul,
and shalt be satisfied. But O, what a day of salva-
tion ! what a renovated world ! — Holiness to the Lord
inscribed on every object ; all classes of men, from
the least to the greatest, clothed with righteousness ;
fervent piety in every heart ; anthems of praise ascend-
ing from every habitation. The young man con-
secrates to God the morning of life ; the aged man
worships, leaning on the top of his stafl"; and children
stretch their little hands to heaven, and cry, " Hosanna
to the Son of David."

2. And now, my Christian friends, what encourage-
ment does this subject impart to you, to be active and.
energetic in your efforts to advance the cause of your
Redeemer ! God carries forward his cause in the

THE MILLENNIUM. 297

world by human instrumentality. Thus he grants to
us the high privilege of being " workers together with
God," in advancing the interest of his kingdom, and
the glory of his great name. And what a privilege is
this ! Look at the old soldier who fought by the side
of Washington, when our country was struggling for
liberty ; see him now surrounded by his children and
his children's children, casting an eye of admiration
over this great, this highly-favored nation ; and how
does his heart swell with rapture inexpressible, when
he reflects, " Under the direction of the God of battles,
my exertions contributed to procure these blessings ;
these hands had an agency in raising my country to
happiness and glory " !

Now, King Eternal is building up a kingdom,
which, in importance, surpasses all earthly kingdoms,
as far as eternity surpasses time. And in advancing
this great cause, he employs the agency of rulers and
subjects, ministers and people, husbands and wives,
parents and children. He employs the agency of all
who love him. And what a privilege is it to be em-
ployed in such a cause ! And when the Leader of the
armies of Israel has put down all opposition, and
filled the whole earth with his glory, what holy rapture
will possess the hearts of all who have fought under
his banner ! And O, how the plains of immortality
will resound with Alleluia ! Alleluia ! when Moses,
and Isaiah, and Daniel, and all the old soldiers that
fought, and bled, and died in the service of King Im-
manuel, look down from heaven, and see that the cause
of their Master is triumphant, and " the kingdoms of
this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord
and of his Christ." Christian, do you desire to have a

298 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

part in the rejoicings of that day? Then consecrate
all your powers to the service of Jesus, and he will
give you " a crown of life that fadeth not away."

3. When the Redeemer has finished his reign on
earth, a scene of the deepest interest will ensne. He
will cause the graves to open, and all that sleep in
the dust of the earth to come forth ; he will separate
the righteous from the wicked ; he will call the angels
of God to draw near ; he will summon the inhabitants
of every world he has formed to approach and witness
his proceedings. All his conduct towards the human
family, from the day that Adam was created till the
judgment trump was blown, he will cause to pass in
review before the assembled universe. The wisdom
and holiness, the mercy and truth, the perfection and
beauty of all his dealings with the children of men,
will stand out in the light of eternity ; and from the
countless throng of holy beings will burst the accla-
mation, " Amen ! Alleluia ! "

Then, before he pronounces on the impenitent the
irrevocable sentence, he will cause all the treatment
he has received from them to pass in review before the
vast assembly — the conduct of those who set at
nought and sold him, pierced and nailed him to the
tree ; the quibbles of infidels who denied his truth,
and labored to falsify his word ; the "hard speeches"
which bold blasphemers had spoken against him ; the
deep-laid schemes to injure his cause and destroy his
kingdom ; each guilty soul, on the left hand of the
Judge, will see his most secret crimes, and his long-
forgotten acts of impiety, rising in dark array before
the eyes of the immense assembly. O Daniel ! is this
the " shame and everlasting contempt " foretold by

THE MILLENNIUM. 299

thee ? Lord Jesus, is this the " resurrection of dam-
nation " ? Unthinking traveller to eternity, is it in
view of this, that Jesus warns you to " prepare to meet
your God " ? Is it in view of this, that he entreats
you to " flee from the wrath to come " ? Careless
sinner, you came from God, and to God you are going ;
from his presence there is no escape. " If you ascend
into heaven, he is there ; if you make your bed in hell,
behold, he is there." You are going to meet him ; O,
how unprepared ! Yet meet him you must ; the grave
cannot hide you ; rocks and mountains cannot cover
you ; death and hell can furnish no hiding-place from
God. And yet you may meet him in mercy. O, look
to Calvary ! Who is that, with the nail-prints in his
hands, and the spear-wound in his side ? It is Jesus,
who died for sinners. Escape for your life to him, in
whom alone there is redemption.

Impenitent man, what you do must be done quickly :
you stand on critical ground ; you live in a most
eventful age. Look abroad through the earth, and
behold the footsteps of the Almighty. The arm of
the Lord is awake. He is sweeping the nations and
shaking the earth. Your father never saw a day like
this. God's purposes are ripening fast ; his church is
fast filling up. Soon the door will be shut. God lifts
his hand to heaven, and declares he "will make a short
work in the earth." The sinner that will not bow he
will " kill with death." The soul that will not surren-
der he will consume with the "breath of his mouth, and
the brightness of his coming." Already you have trifled
with his mercy long ; already the cry of your sins
has gone up before God ; already the tempest is gath-
ering ; the dark cloud is seen, and the distant thunder

300 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK

is heard. But you are not yet lost. There is yet
within your view, on the mediatorial throne, " one
like unto the Son of man." See, round about his head
is the rainbow of mercy, in token that as yet the storm
is stayed. Delay not a moment. Fly to Jesus, and
your soul shall live.

BEL AND NEBO. 301

BEL AND NEBO.

A WESTERN gentleman, of wealth and respectability,
said to a clergyman of his acquaintance, " There are
portions of the Bible that seem to me to have little or
no meaning. Can I believe that such passages are a
part of the inspired word of God?"

" Please mention the passages to which you refer,"
said the clergyman.

" One of them," answered the gentleman, " is found
in the commencement of the forty-sixth chapter of
Isaiah. It runs thus : ' Bel boweth down, Nebo stoop-
eth ; their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the
cattle : your carriages were heavy loaden ; they are a
burden to the weary beast. They stoop ; they bow
down together ; they could not deliver the burden, but
themselves are gone into captivity.' I can see no
meaning in this passage."

" Shall I give you a brief exposition, which I think
will render the text plain and interesting ? "

" I shall be gratified to hear you," added the gen-
tleman.

" Observe, then," said the minister, "that Bel and
Nebo were the two principal idols of Babylon. Their
kings and heroes often bear names and titles in which
there is a reference to these notable idols, as Belshazzar,
Neb uchadnezzaT, Nebiizavadan, &c. They had, it is
26

302 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

true, other inferior deities, which they worshipped ;
but Bel and Nebo were the great chiefs among their
imaginary gods. The kings of Babylon had been a
dreadful scourge to the surrounding nations. They
had slaughtered their population ; they had plundered
their temples and their treasuries, and had carried all
the wealth which they could thus collect to Babylon.
And the glory of these, conquests they ascribed to Bel
and Nebo. When they were about engaging in some
important military expedition, they invoked the aid
and benediction of Bel and Nebo ] and when their
incursion into a neighboring nation had been successful, .
they crowded the temples of Bel and Nebo, and oflered
sacrifices of thanksgiving, and paid to these idols the
most costly honors. At length, the king of Babylon
invaded Judea. .As he made war under the patronage
of Bel and Nebo, the conclusion was, that, whenever
he conquered, these idols of Babylon had proved too
mighty for the god of the conquered people. When
Jerusalem fell into the hands of the king of Babylon,
these idolaters did not wish to believe the truth. They
did not wish to believe that Israel were smitten for
their sins against God. They loved darkness. They
loved to believe a lie. They exulted in the oppor-
tunity of blazing abroad, that now the idols of Baby-
lon had proved too strong for the God of Israel. The
city called by his name was destroyed. The beautiful
house built for his praise was burned with fire ; and
his people were carried into captivity. And now they
devised honors for their favorite idol beyond all parallel.
The king, the princes, and the people, all combine.
' Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold,
whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth

BEL AND NEBO. 303

thereof six cubits : he set it up in the plain of Dura,
in the province of Babylon, Then Nebuchadnezzar
the king sent to gather together the princes, the gov-
ernors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the
counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the prov-
inces, to come to the dedication of the image which
Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the
princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the
treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the
rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto
the dedication of the image that Nebuchadezzar the
king had set up ; and they stood before the image that
Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then a herald cried
aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and
languages, that at what time ye hear the sound of the
cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all
kinds of music, ye fall down, and worship the golden
image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up. And
whoso falleth not down, and worshippeth, shall the
same hour be cast into the midst of a burning, fiery
furnace.' (Daniel iii. 1 — 6.) Such were the honors
publicly given to Bel, after Jerusalem had fallen before
the armies of Babylon. And the honors given to Nebo
were scarcely inferior. Long ago, these idolaters had
heard the fame of the God of Israel — the wonders
wrought in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilder-
ness. They had trembled in dread of the power of
Jehovah. But now his worshippers are vanquished,
and carried into captivity. His temple is destroyed;
and the land called by his name is made a desolation.
Their exultation is unbounded : and invention is tor-
tured for methods to give demonstrations of their joy.
And now the prophecy of Isaiah comes before them,

304 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

that Jehovah, the God of Israel, will accomplish the
downfall of Babylon. ' Behold, I will stir up the
Medes against them, which shall not regard silver ; and
as for gold, they shall not delight in it.' ' And Baby-
lon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees'
excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom
and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither
shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation :
neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there ; neither
shall the shepherds make their fold there ; but wild
beasts of the desert shall lie there ; and their houses
shall be full of doleful creatures ; and owls shall dwell
there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild
beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses,
and dragons in their pleasant palaces ; and her time is
near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.'
(Isaiah xiii. 17, 19 — 22.) In the forty-fifth chapter,
the prophet goes into particulars, and gives specifica-
tions concerning the destruction of Babylon.

" 1. Cyrus, the Persian, shall command the conquer-
ing enemy, (v. 1.)

" 2. Cyrus, though a heathen, unacquainted with
the true religion, is called to this great work by the
God of Israel, (v. 4, 5.)

" 3. God will ' open before him the two-leaved
gates, and the gates shall not be shut,' (v. 1.)

" 4. The ' treasures and hidden riches of Babylon
shall be given to him,' (v. 3.)

" 5. He shall ' let go the captive Jews.'

" 6. ' Not for price nor reward ; ' that is, he shall
not demand a ransom, (v. 13.)

" 7. He shall rebuild Jerusalem.

" 8. ' And rebuild the temple,' (chap. xliv. 28.)

BEL AND NEBO. 305

" But the Babylonian unbeliever demands, ' Where
is Bel — where is Nebo — while this destruction is
coming on their favorite city ? Where are those power-
ful gods of Babylon, that have dashed the nations in
pieces before her conquering armies? Such an over-
throw of Babylon is incredible, while she is upheld by
Bel and Nebo.' The prophet replies, * The Medes
and Persians will pull down these senseless images,
and break them to pieces, and put the metal of which
they are composed on mules and pack-horses, and into
carriages, and bear it away to Persia.' ' Bel boweth
down, Nebo stoopeth ; their idols were upon the beasts
and upon the cattle : your carriages were heavy loaden ;
they are a burden to the weary beast. They stoop,
they bow down together ; they could not deliver the
burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.' (Isaiah
xlvi. 1, 2.)"

The effect of this exposition on the mind of the
gentleman who introduced the discussion I have not
the means of knowing. The elucidation of the text
is inserted here, with the hope that it may prove ac-
ceptable to the readers of the " Western Sketch-Book."
26*

306 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

EXPOSITION OF SCRIPTURE.

" And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the
which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the
world itself could not contain the books that should be written."
(John xxi. 25.)

The plain Christian reads this assertion of the apos-
tle in much astonishment. No declaration in the New
Testament appears to him more mysterious and strange ;
and, after reviewing it again and again, he finds him-
self utterly unable to form even a plausible conjecture
of what the inspired writer intended. He could not
mean to assert that if every one of the things which
Jesus did in the presence of his disciples, before his
death and after his resurrection, were committed to
writing, the number and size of the books would be so
great that there would not be in the world itself, or in
the whole world, room enough to contain them ; and
yet this seems to be the direct import of the language
employed. After many fruitless efforts to extract the
apostle's meaning, he leaves the passage in despair,
deeply regretting that, to his mind, " shadows, clouds,
and darkness rest upon it.'^

Eisner, one of the most famous of European critics,
explains this text as if the apostle had said, "If all the
works that Jesus did were recorded, the unbelieving
world would not admit them, so as to be moved by

EXPOSITION OF SCRIPTURE. 807

them to faith and obedience." But the sacred writer
well knew that unbelievers would scoff and reject
. what he had written. This, therefore, could not be
assigned as a reason for his not writing more.

"God is his own interpreter." Many parts of his
holy book, which at first are difficult of comprehension,
become perfectly plain when compared with the events
of his providence. After the apostles had witnessed
the life and death of Jesus Christ, they had a much
clearer understanding of the Old Testament predic-
tions concerning him than the prophets had, by whom
those predictions were uttered. (1 Pet. i. 10 — 12.)
And many things which Christ did and said were at
first unintelligible to the disciples ; but after his resur-
rection, they were clear as the light of heaven. Ac-
cordingly, we read, (John xii. 16,) "These things
understood not his disciples at the first : but when
Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these
things were written of him, and that they had done
these things unto him."

In like manner, the Christian who now attentively
surveys what the Lord is doing for the advancement
of his church, will be enabled to understand declara-
tions contained in his word, which, a few ages back,
were shrouded in impenetrable obscurity. The Lamb
is opening seal after seal, and as he moves forward,
" conquering and to conquer," the light of revealed
truth will shine upon our dark world more and more,
until the perfect millennial day. The passage under
consideration is one of this description ; it can be more
fully comprehended now than in any former age.
But it must be remarked, that the Greek word which
in the text is translated contain, more properly signifies

308 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

to receive; the best Greek lexicons render it thus,
■/w^ridai, recipei'e, to receive. " The world itself," or
" the whole world, could not receive the books that,
should be written." God designed that the inspired
record of the doctrines, and miracles, and death of
Jesus Christ should be put into the hands of the
whole world, as an infallible rule of faith and prac-
tice. He mentioned this, by the mouth of Isaiah,
as taking place in order to the conversion of all
nations. " Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." His Omnipo-
tent Spirit is now arousing the Christian church to
the mighty enterprise ; already the holy book is
spreading among the nations with unexampled rapidi-
ty ; already the benighted tribes of Europe, Africa,
Asia, and America, begin to feel its amazing influ-
ence ; already, in large and populous districts, every
family has been visited and supplied with the sacred
oracles. Nor shall the glorious work stop until every
kindred and people under heaven read, in their own
tongue, wherein they were born, " the wonderful works
of God."

But says the apostle, if all the things which
Jesus said and did in the presence of his disciples had
been written in the inspired book, '' I suppose that the
whole world could not receive the books that should
be written." No. It would have swelled the sacred
writings to an extent too great ; it would have been
impracticable to have put the whole human family in
possession of them, and thus fill the earth with the
knowledge of the Lord. The spirit of inspiration,
therefore, chose only to record so much as is necessary
for the salvation of souls. " These are written, that

EXPOSITION OF SCRIPTURE. 309

ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God ; and that believing, ye might have life through
his name." And when the redeemed soul enters eter-
nity, a part of the delightful employment of that
heavenly world will be to hear from our blessed Lord
himself, and from those who conversed with him while
on earth, many other particulars of his life, which will
be worthy of everlasting admiration.

310 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

A VISION.

I PURSUED my way over a desolate and uninhabited
land. The sun, " rejoicing as a strong man to run a
race," rushed through a clear sky up to his midday
throne, and flooded " hill, and dale, and mountain-
peak " with the profusion of his radiance. Silence,
profound and wide, reigned over the mighty landscape,
save when the doe bleated to her fawn, or the proud
eagle, wheeling in airy circles on high, screamed to his
distant mate. In every land, Nature has her grandeur,
and her loveliness ; and yet God has made nothing in
vain. The language of inspiration is as applicable to
those objects which constitute the furniture of the
wilderness, as to those that "■ garnish the heavens."
" For his glory they are and were created." It is only
in relation to man that the beautiful sentiment of ]Mr.
Gray is correct —

" Full many a gem, of purest ray serene,

The dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear ;
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air."

Who can think of the full-blown rose on the lonely
hill ; the wild apple-tree in the solitary glen, sustaining
its pyramid of flowers, and enriching the air with its
perfumes ; the unvisited solitude of the mountain cas-

A VISION. 311

cade, with its ceaseless music, which man sees not,
hears not ; — who, in short, can think of the wonders
of earth, and the wonders of ocean, which, to Adam's
children, seem to exist in vain, without being forced
to the conchision, that our woiid rolls in the view of
other intellectual beings than those of the human
family ?

•' Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth
UnsBen, both when we wake and when we sleep."

God's work of creation, as well as his work of re-
demption, contains countless " things which the angels
desire to look into."

As the evening approached, I perceived before me a
remarkable eminence. Its elevation was great, and
the summit was crowned with a lofty grove of ma-
jestic cedars. The cedar is much celebrated in the
sacred writings. It is an evergreen. The winter
comes ; but " its leaf does not wither." Fit emblem
of the child of God ! " He shall grow like a cedar in
Lebanon." (Ps. xcii. 12.) The student of the Bible
cannot look on the noble cedar without interesting
associations. As I fixed my eyes on the stately grove,
I thought of the beautiful imagery employed by the
church, when describing her beloved — " His coun-
tenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars." I
remembered the prayer of Moses — "I beseech thee
let me go over and see the good land that is beyond
Jordan, and that goodly mountain, Lebanon."

The ascent was arduous and long. At length, how-
ever, I found myself in the bosom of the venerable
grove. The spot was lovely beyond description. At
the foot of a rock, gray with years, bubbled a little

312 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

fountain, whose stream, skirted with green, rippled
along in search of the valley below. The evening
breeze had just strength enough to whisper among the
branches, which acknowledged its presence by their
gentle and graceful undulations. On every hand, the
prospect was wide as the eye could reach. Meanwhile
the sun sank behind the distant blue horizon ; but
scarcely had Night begun to spread her dark mantle
over the earth, when, ascending in the east, a broad,
bright moon appeared, to cheer the world her Creator
made. I felt the inspiration of the scene and the hour.
" Surely," I exclaimed, in a transport of enthusiasm
— " surely, when ministering spirits take their flight
from the throne of God on errands of love to our
guilty world, it is here they first alight ; and from this
eminence they take a joyful survey of the magnificent
works of the Almighty, before their sight is offended
with a view of the vileness and impiety of man."

It was an hour for devotion. After praising the
name of Him whose " kingdom ruleth over all," and
commending myself to his mercy through the merits
of the divine Redeemer, I fell into a train of reflec-
tions concerning the church of God. The strength of
early impressions is wonderful. Through every period
of our life, when we begin to meditate on divine things,
how will the scenes of early youth, the period of our
first strong religious excitement, present themselves
before us in all their freshness and force, untfl some-
times we can scarcely realize that they belong to " the
days of other years " ! How often in the book of
Psalms do we find David celebrating the loving-kind-
ness of the Lord which visited him when young ! and
how sweet are the lines in which Addison commem-

A VISION. 318

orates the goodness and mercy which crowned the
morning of his life !

The scenes which now recurred to my mind were
those of the first great western revival, which trans-
pired when I was but a child. Those ministers whom
we now see entering the pulpit old and gray-headed,
were then vigorous and young ; and many others were
then active who now " rest from their labors, and their
works follow them." I remembered the preaching of
Ramsay, and Lapsley, and Witherspoon. Departed
brethren, we have not forgotten you. While your
souls rejoice in glory, your names and your memory
are affectionately cherished among your brethren on
earth. Yes, I remembered the day when Joseph B.
Lapsley stood, in the name of his Redeemer, before
the immense congregation, while with one hand he
pointed to Mount Sinai, wrapped in smoke, and flashing
out the terrors of a violated law, and with the other to
Calvary, bathed in tears, drenched with blood, and
echoing the groans of the dying Savior. How deep
and awful was the religious solemnity of , that period
throughout the western country ! Individuals, and
even whole families, would travel thirty, forty, and
fifty miles, to attend a sacramental occasion. No house
could contain the multitudes that convened ; but the
people took their seats on the ground, or on logs of
wood, in the open air ; and the minister stood before
them, having the earth for his pulpit, and the heaven
for his sounding-board, praying sirmers, in " Christ's
stead, to be reconciled to God."

This extraordinary religious awakening gave rise to
the camp-meetings of the west. The vast crowds that
assembled found it impracticable to obtain accommoda-
27

314 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

tions in the neighborhood of the places of worship ;
and as sacramental meetings were continued for four,
five, and six days, it was found best for families at a
distance, who wished to attend, to come in their wag-
ons, bringing with them provisions and bedding, and
camp on the ground. Thus the worship was con-
tinued day and night, except during the hours necessary
for repose. The strong religious impression of the
time imparted its influence to all the exercises of
public and private devotion. Ministers preached for
eternity ! Christians prayed as if indeed they were
entreating the Lord io redeem their souls from hell,
and to fill the whole earth with his glory ; and when
the congregation took up one of the songs of Zion,
they sung as if in truth they were praising the ever-
lasting God for sending his Son to redeem them from
the second death, — as if in truth they were attuning
their voices for the employments of heaven. While
musing on this pleasing and affecting subject, the long-
departed scene came up distinctly in the view of my
mind, — the extended encampment, the mighty con-
gregation assembled for evening worship. Night was
around them ; but the darkness was dissipated by
quantities of rich pine, piled on elevated hearths,
Avhich, from all sides of the encampment, sent its
broad, bright flame on high. And I seemed once
more to hear a thousand glad voices, animated by the
hope of glory, chanting that delightful hymn which
my childhood so ardently admired : —

" Now, ' Glory to God in the highest' is given ;
Now, ' Glory to God ' is reechoed through heaven ;
Around the whole earth let us tell the glad story,
And sing of his love, his salvation, and glory.

A VISION. 315

Hallelujah to the Lamb, who has purchased our pardon !
We'll praise him again when we pass over Jordan.

" O Jesus, ride on ! thy kingdom is glorious ;
O'er sin, death, and hell tliou wilt make us victorious ;
Thy name shall be praised in the great congregation,
And the saints shall delight in ascribing salvation.

Hallelujah to the Lamb, who has purchased our pardon!

We'll praise him again when we pass over Jordan.

" Enraptured I burn with delight and desire ;
Such love, so divine, sets my soul all on fire ;
Around the bright throne loud hosannas are ringing :
O, when shall I join them, and be ever singing,

Hallelujah to the Lamb, who has purchased our pardon !

We'll praise him again Avhen we pass over Jordan ?

" When on Zion we stand, having gained the blest shore,
With our harps in our hand, we will praise evermore ;
We'll range the blest fields on the banks of the river,
And sing hallelujah forever and ever.

Hallelujah to the Lamb, who has purchased our pardon!

We'll praise him again when we pass over Jordan."

Scarcely could I refrain from attempting to join my
voice with that of the congregation of other years, as
these charming verses passed through my mind ; so
strong, and so enchanting, is that power of the soul
by v/hich it calls up from the grave departed days of
delight.

At length, sleep, which refreshes our weary bodies
and our care-worn minds, came down with its balmy
influence ; but its dominion was soon overcome by
notes of the most surprising and heavenly melody.
" Shepherds of Bethlehem," thought I, " surel)?- these
are the delicious and ravishing strains that fell upon
your ears when angels came down and sang the advent
of the blessed Redeemer ! " The music ceased ; but

316 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

instantly I perceived, at a little distance, a splendid
circle of light, so brilliant and dazzling as almost to
overcome the powers of vision. For a moment, the
eye could discern nothing distinctly within the lumi-
nous space ; but presently it was easy to perceive

" Forms, clad in peerless majesty,
Move with unutterable grace."

It would be vain to attempt description ; for there is
no language understood among mortals capable of
describing them. The heavenly lustre in which they
are arrayed can only be told in the dialect of that
world where they dwell. As I gazed on these celestial
beings, I thought of the epithets applied to them
by prophets and apostles — " Angels that excel in
strength," " strong angels," "angels of God," "mighty
angels," " angels of glory," " an angel having power
over fire," " an angel standing in the sun." I remem-
bered, also, that the beloved disciple was so affected
with the resplendent glory of that heavenly visitant
that came to him in the Isle of Patmos, that he was
once and again in danger of paying him divine adora-
tion. " When I had heard and seen, I fell down to
worship before the feet of the angel which showed me
these things. Then said he unto me. See thou do it
not ; for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren
the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of
this book. "^Vorship God."

In a little time they were seated, and the accents
of familiar conversation were distinctly audible. On
drawing near to hear the subject of discourse, it was
easy to distinguish the well-known names of Raphael,
Uriel, Abdiel, &c., &c.

A VISION. 317

" Raphael," said a voice of the most seraphic sweet-
ness and harmony, " though we are all ' ministering
spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be the
heirs of salvation,' yet as ' there is one glory of the
sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory
of the stars, and one star differeth from another in
glory,' so among angelic minds there is a like variety
of capacity and powers. God has said that when he
' created all things by Jesus Christ,' it was his intention
to make his ' manifold wisdom known to principalities
and powers in heavenly places by the church.' Now,
though we have all been employed in the service of
the church, where God is unfolding his uncreated attri-
butes, yet as our capacities are various, as our errands
and fields of labor have often been different, it will be
profitable and delightful should we spend a portion
of this fine evening in familiar converse, each detail-
ing what he has seen of the dealings of God with
man."

" With all my heart," said Raphael, while his deep,
melodious tones caused me to think of

" David's harp, of solemn sound " —

" with all my heart ; for not only have our employ-
ments and fields of action been various, but created
minds being limited in their observation, no one, at
first, sees a fact in all its bearings and relations. Even
the holy apostles, when recording the sufferings and
death of the Son of God, do not dwell invariably on
the same circumstances. One instructive view of the
great transaction is taken by Matthew, another by John,
another by Luke, and another by Mark. It is by taking
the united testimony of these inspired witnesses, that
27*

318 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

the broad, full view of that stupendous miracle of
redeeming mercy is placed before the world."

Seraph. Thy ministry, Raphael, has usually been
about those saints, and in those sections, of the church
where the light of revelation shone most clearly.
Rehearse, then, in our hearing, what thou hast seen
of the wonderful works of God, as displayed in the
history of man.

Raphael. I was often commissioned to visit the
earthly paradise while man was innocent and holy.
He was the admiration of angels ; for he was created
in the image of God. Divinely constituted lord of
this lower world, his condition was truly blessed. He
walked abroad in immortal vigor, his beautiful partner
by his side, arrayed in the perfection of terrestrial love-
liness, beholding the impress of their Maker in every
object, and holding uninterrupted fellowship and com-
munion with the Fountain of love and joy. Smoothly
and sweetly these hours rolled on, while their evening
and morning anthems of praise went up as pure incense
to heaven. I had been abroad on an appointed service,
and returned immediately after the first transgression.
O, it was enough to make angels weep, to behold how
the scene was changed ! Deep gloom hung over the
bowers of Eden. The tokens of Jehovah's presence
were there ; but they were tokens of wrath and
offended majesty. I looked for the parents of the
human race ; but they were not to be found. At
length, stained with guilt, pale, and trembling with
terror, I discovered them hid among the trees of the
garden. At that moment, they were startled with the
awful question, " Adam, where art thou ? " The
beasts shrunk to the ground, the birds of paradise

A VISION. 319

screamed and fled, the trees shook, and the earth trem-
bled at the voice of the Almighty. But — praise the
Lord, ye heavens of heavens, and thou, eternity, be
filled with his praise — mercy was mingled with right-
eousness in the sentence pronounced on man. The
great Redeemer was promised, who, in the fulness of
time, should bring life and immortality to the ruined
raoe. The sentence, however, included the death and
dissolution of the body, and their expulsion from the
garden the Lord had given them. Never shall I forget
the speechless anguish that appeared in the counte-
nance of the mother of the human family, when first
told she must leave forever her happy home. She cast
one troubled, despairing look over the beautiful walks,
bright flowers, and fruits of the garden, while fast,
fast, the bitter tears streamed over her cheeks ; then
convulsively clinging to the arm of her husband, they
were driven out from Eden. The cherubim took
possession of the gate, and a flaming sword, which
turned every way, prohibited all return.

As redemption was promised to man, through the
mediation of the Son of God, I took a lively interest
in the destiny of Adam after his banishment from
paradise. Little was then known by man or angels
concerning the plan of redeeming love. God designed
that light on the moral world should arise in a manner
somewhat analogous to that of the natural day — first
the solitary beam, struggling through the darkness ;
then the distinctly visible dawn ; then the rising sun ;
then his upward march, " shining more and more unto
the perfect day." But the little of revealed truth then
made known was embraced by the parents of man-
kind. Their faith in the promised Messiah was strong,

320 THE WESTEEN SKETCH-BOOK.

though they did not fully understand the manner in
which he would atone for sin. Though they had
obtained pardon of God, yet they could never forgive
themselves for having introduced sin and death into
the world. Like Peter, in after ages, who never could
hear a cock crow without bursting into tears at the
remembrance of having denied his Master, so they,
throughout their long life, when they saw among their
descendants any case of aggravated crime, — and they
lived to see many, — or any affecting instance of
death, perpetually recurred to their first apostasy, and
reproached and humbled themselves before God, for
having brought rebellion and ruin among their chil-
dren. Earth was to them a "vale of tears;" but
their sufferings were sanctified, and as they advanced
in age, they ripened for heaven.

There was a circumstance in the history of Adam
that I will mention. The infirmities and frailties of
old age are the fruits of sin. Jehovah chose that these
should be exhibited to his children, in their fullest
extent, in the experience of the first man. None have
ever travelled so far down into the valley of old age
as he ; in no other individual have the feebleness and
frailties of exhausted strength, and worn-out powers,
been so mournfully and so strikingly portrayed.

Seraph. But did not Jared, Methuselah, and Noah
live to a greater age than Adam ?

Raphael. Counting from their birth till their death,
they saw more years than Adam ; but, observe, in that
day the seasons of infancy, childhood, and youth were
long. Human beings did not arrive at full maturity
until they were from sixty to a hundred years of age.
Take from the life of Jared, Methuselah, or Noah, the

A VISION. 321

years that passed by before they came to maturity, and
you will find that, after the age of manhood, none of
them remained so long on earth as did their great pro-
genitor. Adam had no infancy. His life began with
manhood ; and, measuring from that point, his stay on
earth was protracted many years beyond that of any
of his sons. His death was deeply deplored by all
his pious offspring. Long had he been their instructor
in heavenly wisdom. Much had he told them of his
converse with God, and with angels, before his fall ;
but chiefly he had encouraged and urged them to hope
for redeeming mercy, through the mediation of that
mighty Savior Jehovah had promised to send into the
world. When their great father expired, his pious
descendants felt themselves a family of orphans. None
now remained who had seen humanity in its first estate
of holiness and bliss. All now alive upon the earth
had commenced their existence after the world was
involved in sin and ruin.

Seraph. You observed, Raphael, that, in that early
day, knowledge was very limited among the saints on
earth, and the light they had on divine subjects was
feeble and dim. When and how was this light in-
creased for the greater edification and comfort of the
people of God?

Raphael. About fifty years after the death of
Adam, by the translation of Enoch, " By faith Enoch
was translated, that he should not see death," This
took place in a public manner, in the view of many
of his brethren, as that of Elijah, afterwards, in the
view of Elisha, and the ascension of Christ, in the
view of his disciples. Thus the righteous of that age
were assured of existence after their removal from the

322 THE WESTEPtlSr SKETCH-BOOK.

earth, — a doctrine which, before this event, was not
so satisfactorily estabhshed, — and thus, also, they
were assured of the final deliverance of their bodies
from Death. Before this event, many had sunk under
his awful influence ; many in infancy, many in youth
and middle age ; and, at last, Adam himself had gone
down to the grave. Till now, Death had sternly
stretched his cold sceptre over the body of every
human being that had entered eternity. " Shall he
reign forever over our bodies ? Shall they never be
delivered from his tremendous sway ? " were questions
of amazing interest among the saints ; but there was
none to answer. Enoch is translated. At once, the
righteous lift their heads. They see for the body, as
well as the soul, victory over death ; that it is the
design of God that the body, made mortal by sin, shall
put on immortality ; and that soul and body, united
in glory, shall dwell forever with the Lord.

Uriel. There was another grand purpose which
the high and holy One designed to answer by the con-
veyance of this eminent saint, at that early day, in
this extraordinary manner, to heaven. The angels
were appointed " ministering spirits for the heirs of
salvation." They all felt an eager desire to know as
much as their Lord was pleased to reveal concerning
the result of these long and diversified labors to which
they were appointed. By the introduction of Enoch
into heaven in a glorified state, body and soul united,
the blessed One placed before all his angels a perfect
sample of that ransomed multitude with which he
designed to people heaven, that each might be fired to
delightful activity in the holy employment assigned
them.

A VISION. 323

I remember the morning well. We had been told
God would that day brhig one of Adam's children, in
a new form, to associate with the sons of glory. I
went to the portal of the heavenly city, and looked
down towards the earth, when, far as angel's eye can
see, I discovered the glorified saint. He was rising
past the intervening worlds, as a radiant pillar of light,
while the ministering angels around him appeared a
bright rainbow of gloiy. Soon their hosannas were
heard, and soon they rolled far and wide over the
plains of eternity. The exulting spirit of Abel rushed
forward to hail a brother redeemed from great tribula-
tion. Cherubim and seraphim bent from their thrones
to gaze on the wondrous specimen of glorified human-
ity. It was a triumphant day in heaven. " The
morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God
shouted Amen ! Blessing, and honor, and glory, and
power be unto Him that sitteth on the throne, and to
the Lamb, forever and ever ! "

Raphael. As in this age, the same gospel which
proves a " savor of life unto life " to the penitent
believer, is a " savor of death unto death " to the incor-
rigible sinner, so in that day, those notable acts of
divine Providence which deeply affected the saints
with a sense of their obligations to duty and devotion
were by the ungodly grossly perverted, and used as
the occasion of more exorbitant license to sin.

The venerable example and patriarchal authority of
Adam long exerted a powerful restraining influence on
mankind. This was corroborated by the faithful warn-
ings, the eloquent and fervent public exhortations, of
Enoch. But when the one was removed by death,
and the other by translation, the ungodly world, freed

324 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

from these checks, yielded to the strong impulse of
every unholy passion, and, in the emphatic language
of inspiration, " the wickedness of man was great in
the earth." At first, a general spirit of worldliness
pervaded all ranks of society. Men,

" With impious hands,
Rifled the bowels of their mother earth
For treasures hid, and digged out ribs of gold."

With the increase of wealth grew Pride, and Fashion,
with all her train of frivolous and contemptible follies,
and Envy, and deadly Hate.

To this succeeded a political mania ; and many a
brain was goaded to frenzy in attempts to invent new
methods for the organization and management of civil
society. Many, whose names have long since perished
from the earth, were then " men of renown," figured
high in the political hemisphere, were greatly admired
by themselves, and imagined they were by others.
The political institutions of the first great patriarchal
governor of the human race were, a few years after
his death, indignantly cast aside. It was contended
that they were unfriendly to civil liberty, because they
contained an acknowledgment of the existence and
perfections of God, the claims of his holy law, and
the sacredness of the Sabbath, which God gave to man
the first day after his creation.

Seraph. As Adam, the first patriarchal governor of
men, acknowledged these divine truths, did no one
charge him with aiming to obtain a religious establish-
ment, and insist that the acknowledgment of these
truths was but " the entering wedge " to some perfidi-
ous and horrible scheme against the welfare of the
community ?

A VISION. 325

Raphael. No such allegation was made ; for, in
that age, the minds as well as the bodies of men were
very vigorous. Satan was under the necessity of re-
serving this folly, as materials for clamor and calumny
in a more feeble-minded and stupid generation. How-
ever, the principles of those politicians of whom I
spoke were founded in atheism. They acted on the
doctrine which, at a later day, the devil had the im-
pudence to advance in the presence of the Son of
God, viz., that all the kingdoms of the world belong
to him. The existence of Jehovah was denied, his
law rejected, and the Sabbath insolently trampled
under foot. A rage for idolatry ensued j for God,
whose existence they had denied, and whose institu-
tions they had insultingly spurned, " gave them up to
strong delusions." They soon became the scourge
and tormentors of each other. Loathsome debauchery
and prostitution became general. Green-eyed Jealousy
infested the family circle ; cloven-tongued Slander,
daughter of hell, shed her " noisom^ pestilence "
through each neighborhood ; red-handed Murder, in
broad day, walked the streets ; Theft and Rapine
lurked in each dark lane and alley ; foul-mouthed
Blasphemy was heard at every corner; while villanous
War, covered with ghastly wounds and scars, stalked
frightfully through the land.

" Before the palace door
The beggar rotted, starving in his rags ;
And on the thresljold of luxurious domes
The orphan child laid down his head, and died."

" The world was filled with violence," till insulted
Heaven prepared to wash the guilty generation from

326 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

the polluted face of the earth. Yet even here the
wonderful forbearance of God was strongly manifested.
During the long period in which the ark was preparing,
Noahj a preacher of righteousness, was commissioned
to warn the rebels of their approaching ruin, and
entreat them to repent and humble themselves before
the Lord, if peradventure his anger might be turned
away, and their dreadful doom averted ; but his warn-
ings by some were treated with the coldest neglect,
while by others they were answered with scoffs, and
taunts, and the bitterest ridicule ; yet, like infidels in
every age, they all had their fears lest the word of God
should prove true at last, and the scornful smile often
covered a trembling and an aching heart. But they
had the multitude on their side. Noah was denounced
throughout all the country as a fanatic, a hypocrite, an
enthusiast, a madman. His name was the jest and
by-word of the witty, and the song of the drunkard.

I was deeply affected with an occurrence that took
place the evening before the deluge began. The ark
was finished. Provisions for its destined inmates, also,
had been laid up in store. The numerous band of
workmen so long in Noah's employ were now dis-
missed. As this remarkable vessel had been constructed
on the confines of a large comn^ercial city, the wealthy,
the gay, and the pleasure-loving citizens resolved, as
the strongest proof they could devise of their contempt
and defiance of Noah's God, and their fearlessness of
the threatened judgment, to treat, on that night, all the
workmen who had been employed about the ark to
a splendid ball, in a spacious temple near the centre
of their city, dedicated to the worship of Belus, an
idol afterwards known among the Chaldeans. Every

A VISION. 327

effort was made to have the entertainment of the most
brilliant character, and to collect the beauty and wit
of all the surrounding country. To show the gross-
ness of insult to which they were capable of descend-
ing, they sent tickets of invitation to the younger
members of Noah's family. On that evening, the
angels of God were engaged in bringing to the ark the
beasts and fowls designed to be preserved alive. As
their angelic atteiidants were invisible, these creatures
seemed to the eye of man to come of their own accord
to take shelter in the ark. A young woman, of amia-
ble countenance, who had buried her mother but the
day before, having been on a visit to an elder sister in
the city, was now returning home. Her name was
Tyresah. She had excused herself from attending
the ball, on account of her late bereavement. She
passed by the ark about the going down of the sun.
It was then the dumb animals, of all classes, were
crowding in to obtain their stations. She was shocked
with amazement. She knew that many of them were
wild by nature, and that this strange movement was
perfectly miraculous. Noah was near. She called on
him, from the window of her coach, for an explanation.
He told her the cry of man's wickedness had gone up
to heaven before God, and that the end of all flesh was
at hand. '' To-morrow," said he, " God will sweep
this guilty generation to eternity. Humble yourself
before him ; pray for mercy to your immortal soul ;
for as the Lord liveth, there is but a step between you
and death." Tyresah was greatly affected, and wept
bitterly. She urged the driver to hasten home. Her
father yet retained great bodily vigor, though his locks
were grizzled with age. She fell on her knees before

328 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

hira, told him what she had seen, and entreated him
to pray that God's anger might be turned away. He
was in a transport of fury as soon as the subject was
mentioned, uttered a volley of oaths, demanded if she
had become a fanatic — had lost her reason — had run
mad, " Why went you not to the party ? " She
answered, she " could not go." He fiercely swore she
should, called the servant to bring the carriage in-
stantly, told her that what had alarmed her was all
idle nonsense ; that she must go to the ball, to drive
away melancholy, and cheer her spirits : he would
go with her. She saw remonstrance was vain. The
carriage came. He handed her in, then lifted a little
son of five years old, and entered himself, bidding the
servant to drive with all speed to the place of amuse-
ment. I followed them, to witness the result. A gay
multitude were assembled to spend in sinful revelry the
night ordained to be their last. As they quaffed the
wine, they '' praised the gods of gold, of silver, of
brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone." For some
timg, a pensive and serious air sat on the brow of the
young and beautiful Tyresah ; but she was surrounded
by a crowd of admirers, and Noah, and his ark, and
the threatened deluge were the subjects of perpetual
jest and merriment. At length, her seriousness gave
way. It was only the effect of alarm ; for the Spirit
of God had already forsaken the earth. Gradually
she became gay, excessively gay, laughed at her former
fears, and joined the infatuated company in scoffing at
the warnings of God. I returned to the ark ; but
often, through the night, the sounds of wild extrava-
gant mirth and frolic were heard. They continued
even till the break of day.

A VISION. 329

The morning arose brilliant and beautiful. The
sun appeared, and smiled upon the green earth from an
unclouded sky. No token of wrath was visible ; but
as the report of the wild beasts and fowls entering the
ark on the preceding evening had by this time spread
through the city, a numerous throng, impelled by eager
curiosity, hurried early to the place, to see this strange
sight. At this juncture, a large and merry marriage
party from the country drove up. They were in haste
to reach the temple of Belus, and share in the festive
mirth ere its close. Before the " eastern blooming
bride " moved a superb band of lively and enchanting
music. Surprised at finding so many of the jolly
revellers collected here, they halted, and the music
ceased. Noah's family were just entering the ark as
these multitudes met before it. He himself, strongly
impelled by compassion, paused at the door, and turned
to give them a last address. The day of wrath, he
assured them, was come, and would presently array
around them all its terrors. It was now too late to
secure their earthly lives. The death of the body was
inevitable. " But who," said he, " can fathom the
mercy of God ? Prostrate yourselves before him, and
entreat that he will not destroy your souls and bodies
in hell forever." With awful solemnity, he appealed
to gray-headed fathers of the assembly, his acquaint-
ances and neighbors from early youth ; but they hurled
upon him their horrible imprecations, and madly cursed
his God. He then turned, and began to speak to a
crowd of children and youth that stood near. At this,
the father of Tyresah caught up his little son, sprang
forward, and, holding him up before the righteous man,
bade him "curse the abominable old hypocrite — curse
28*

330 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

his God ! " The child attempted to stammer forth the
hideous execrations his father dictated ; others cried,
" Stone him with stones ! " but ere their fury could
find weapons, I pushed him into the ark, and, accord-
ing to my commission from above, " shut him in."
When they saw the door closed, theu- madness was
uncontrollable ; and, as if possessed by the same hell-
ish demon, all, with one voice, exclaimed, "Set fire to
his pitchy den ; and let him have a conflagration,
instead of a flood." Some ran to bring fire, and others
to collect the fagots ; but at that moment a dense, dark
fragment of cloud eclipsed the sun,* and every star of
heaven looked down with unwonted brightness upon
the earth. Another moment, and the angel of destruc-
tion, a tall, terrible form, appeared standing on the
tower of the temple of Belus. Shuddering horror
seized all who saw him. Thrice he glared frightfully
around, and thrice he flapped his sable wings over the
quaking city. Then, with a mighty voice, such as
earth, since her creation, had never heard, he called to
the great deep to come forth from her storehouses.
He called to the clouds of heaven to muster all their
armies, and execute the vengeaiice of the great- God.
At his word,, all the storms of the north and south
awoke, and prepared to discharge their magazines of
wrath upon the earth. Instantly all heaven was
wrapped in blackness. But who may speak of the
terror of pinners in that hour ? Some fled, they knew
not where, in search of refuge ; others stretched their
hands towards heaven for help, and cried to the God
they had despised. But the day of mercy was past.

* Pearfiil sights and appalling prodigies preceded the destruction
of Jerusalem. See the accounts given by St. Luke, and by Josephus.

A VISION. 331

He answered their prayers . in awful peals of thunder,
and the shriek of despair was lost in the fury of con-
tending tempests. Amidst the confusion and wild
uproar of the convulsed and distracted elements, I
could mark the mighty angel of destruction putting
forth all his tremendous energies to drive the ruin on.
He uprooted the hills, burst the rocks, and rent the
earth, till from her deep centre the troubled waters
spouted up, " ten thousand fathoms wide, ten thousand
fathoms high." Nor did he wait for the heavens to
distil their showers in the usual form, but rushed
fiercely up, and tore the thick cloud asunder, till its
contents were precipitated in foaming cataracts, while
through the tortured air I perceived a ghastly cloud of
guilty ghosts going up, blaspheming, to their last dread
account at the bar of God.

^ Innumerable buildings were prostrated, and immense
destruction of human life effected, by the breaking up
of the " fountains of the great deep," and the opening
of the " windows of heaven ; " yet here and there a
strong house still resisted the shock of the tempest,
and braved the violence of the current, which now
rushed with singular vehemence over the plain. From
these issued deep groans and unavailing prayers, min-
gled with distracted screams and bitter lamentation.
Fragments of houses, furniture, garments, and dead
bodies of beasts and men, were every moment drifting
by, with, now and then, a "strong swimmer" still
buffeting the waves and struggling for life. At length,
the ark itself rose from its resting-place, and began to
move with the waters. On perceiving this, the pious
family within united their voices in a solemn hymn of
praise and adoration to God, their Preserver. The

332 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

direction it took was along the great street of the now
ruined city. A huge stone building of strongest ma-
sonry was still standing, and from within came the
voice of wailing, lamentation, and woe ; the waves,
already near the top of the walls, were rapidly rising
higher and higher, as if still hungry for their prey. I
looked till the roof was burst open from within, and
several miserable wretches came forth and stood upon
it, silent and shivering in the extremities of horror.
Among these I marked the unhappy Tyresah. Her
reason was totally dethroned ; her cheek was sunken
and ghastly pale ; the wild, irregular glare of insanity
shot from her eyes ; her gray-headed father held her
by the arm, while with the other hand he sustained
the little favorite son. The swelling waters now
dashed quite over the roof, and rippled among their
feet ; another surge rose to their knees ; another came
and swept the child from the hand of the affrighted
father. Tyresah saw him sink among the waves, and
answered his last cry with a frenzied and fiendish
laugh ; then turned her maniac visage, and looked full
in her father's face, as she pointed to the ark, now
passing near them, furiously exclaiming, " Father !
curse the abominable old hypocrite ! — Curse his God i "
He spoke not, but

" Lively bright horror and amazing anguish
Stared through his eyelids."

At that instant, the strong building gave way ; the
raging billows flashed and boiled over them, while the
shrill tempest went howling by, his voice no longer,
interrupted by the shrieks, and wailings, and blasphemy
of man.

A VISION. 333

A few there were whose destruction was more
protracted. They attained a point of land of a great
elevation, from whence they looked down on the
resolute advance of the raging waters. Finding that
prayers addressed to Heaven were unheeded and fruit-
less, they turned their supplication to the waves, and
wept, and wrung their hands, and besought the waters
to stop the pursuit, and spare their lives. The waters
were deaf and inexorable ; the angry upward march
was continued, till the fugitives, driven to their last
retreat, were overcome and washed into eternity.

The dominion of Ocean was now complete.
Earth was buried. The vast billows of the shoreless
deep, as if flushed with victory, and proud of the wide
range and unlimited ascendency they had obtained,
wheeled, and tossed, and foamed, and practised their
huge, unwieldy gambols, above the tops of the tallest
mountains.

Raphael paused, when all the splendid assembly
raised an anthem of praise to the Most High. The
sentiments were exceedingly elevated and grand. In
the language of mortals, their song might be rendered
thus : —

"Loud hallelujahs to the Lord,

From distant worlds, where creatures dwell ;
Let heaven begin the solemn word,
And sound it dreadful down to hell.

" The Lord, how absolute he reigns !
Let every angel bend the knee ;
Sing of his love in heavenly strains,
And speak how fierce his terrors be.

" The world's foundation by his hand
Is poised, and shall forever stand ;

334 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

He binds the ocean in his chain,

Lest it should drown the earth again.

" When earth was covered with a flood,
Which high above the mountains stood,
He thundered, and the ocean fled.
And sought its own appointed bed.

•* Let clouds, and winds, and waves agree
To join their praise with blazing fire;
Let the firm earth and rolling sea
In this eternal song conspire.

" Speak of the wonders of that love

Which Gabriel plays on every chord ;
From all below, and all above,
Loud hallelujahs to the Lord."

ANECDOTE OF ItEV. E. F. HATFIELD. 335

ANECDOTE OP REV. E. F. HATFIELD.

In the month of June, 1848, I labored for some
weeks in Calloway coimty, Missouri. Many of the
early settlers in that county were religious people ; and
the ordinances of the gospel have now been sustained
among them, with little interruption, for quite a number
of years. About the year 1833 or '34, brother Hat-
field, now of New York, labored among this people
with very great success. He was with them at a sac-
ramental meeting of five or six days' continuance. He
preached every day. The gospel was accompanied
with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. Chris-
tians were revived, backsliders were reclaimed, and
many souls were brought from the bondage of sin into
the liberty of the children of God. During my visit,
in 1848, I was delighted to find, that after the lapse of
so many years, the memory of that brother, who had
been so much blessed as the messenger of God among
them, was still affectionately embalmed in their hearts.
Knowing that I had been much associated with brother
Hatfield since he left Missouri, they called on me for
such portions of his subsequent history as were in my
possession. Among many other facts, I gave them the
following anecdote, which, as it was favorably received^
I now lay before the reader.

In the winter of 1836, the Lord poured out his

336 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

Spirit, in a remarkable manner, on the Seventh Pres-
byterian Church in the city of New York, of which
brother Hatfield was then the pastor, and, indeed, of
which he is the pastor now. The awakening was
extensive and powerful. The number of serious inqui-
rers was great, and soon there were many cases of
hopeful conversion. As is usual in such an attitude
of affairs, the tidings went abroad that the Lord had
visited his people of the Seventh Presbyterian Church,
and the friends of Zion in neighboring churches
would occasionally come to weep and to rejoice with
them.

Brother John was pastor of a church not

far distant. That church had been blessed, in years gone
by, with precious revivals. Many of its most efficient
members had been born to God in those interesting
seasons. Such individuals, of course, when they could
find opportunity, that is, on Sabbath afternoon or
evening, when they felt at liberty to leave their own
place of worship, would go to brother Hatfield's church,
and share in the blessings of the revival. With

brother John my acquaintance has been

very limited. I -have never had the opportunity to
hear him ''define his position " in relation to revivals.
But it seems that his zeal did not carry him so far as
to approve of members going from his own church in
order to witness the progress of a revival in another.
And yet, from Sabbath to Sabbath, as he appeared in
the pulpit to address his people, empty pews, with
alarming frequency, were yawning in every quarter of
the church, and the evil was evidently on the increase.
Brother John determined that the offenders should
meet with speedy rebuke. Accordingly, one Sabbath

ANECDOTE OF REV. E. F. HATFIELD. 337

morning, when they were mostly in their pews, at
their own church, brother John arose in the pulpit.
Perhaps it could scarcely be said, as in the case of
Goldsmith's village schoolmaster,

"Well had the boding tremblers learned to trace
The day's disasters in his morning face."

But when he announced his text, they began to look
one upon another. His text was Matt. xi. 8 : " What
went ye out for to see ? " This text he repeated, look-
ing earnestly, now on one part of the congregation,
and now on another. As he fixed his eyes on those
on the right hand of the pulpit, — and a number of the
delinquents were there, — he demanded, " What went ye
out for to see ? " Then turning to those on the left
hand, he repeated, " What went ye out for to see ? "
And then the assembly in front were addressed, " What
went ye out for to see ? " The preacher, (I pretend
not to give his identical words, but the substance,
merely, ) according to the good old custom, raised from
the text an important doctrine, to wit : That when he
preached in that pulpit, there was no propriety in those
who ought to attend his church, going to hear or see
what might be transacting in other churches. " What
went ye out for to see ? "

Brother John maintained that any departure from the
above doctrine was unauthorized : 1. By Scripture ;
2. By the confession of faith ; and 3. By the Catechisms,
both the Larger and the Shorter. And to many of his
hearers the sermon abounded in " striking " remarks.
It was not long, however, until there came one that
had "escaped," and told brother Hatfield. On the
Sabbath afternoon, therefore, when many of the same
29

838 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

persons were present, of whom it had been demanded,
'' What went ye out for to see ? " brother Hatfield
arose in his pulpit, and announced his text : " Go
and show John again those things which ye do hear
and see : the blind receive their sight, and the lame
walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the
dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel
preached to them. And blessed is he whosoever
shall not be offended in me." (Matt. xi. 5, 6.)

A friend desires to be informed of the difference
between Calvinism and the Fatalism maintained by
Mahometans. I answer. Fatalism teaches that all
things are governed by blind, undesigning fate —
atheism asserts that all things are the sport of blind
chance and contingency. The Bible teaches that "all
things are of God." On this holy ground Calvinism
plants her standard, distant alike from the two extremes
of blind fate and blind contingence, (Truth lies in the
middle,) and rejoices, with joy unspeakable, that an
infinitely intelligent and benevolent Being, for his
own glory and the greatest good, " works all things
after the counsel of his own will."

THE MISSISSIPPI JUDGE. 339

THE MISSISSIPPI JUDGE.

In the month of February, 1839, I was riding, in com-
pany with a Mississippi judge, along the bank of the
great river which gives its name to the state in which
he resided. Said he, " There are some portions of the
Bible that are very difficult to be understood, and re-
quire, I should think, a great deal of explanation."

" Mention, if you please, some of the passages to
which you refer."

" Well," said the judge, " one of them is found in
the writings of Solomon, where he says, ' Cast thy
bread upon the waters ; for thou shalt find it after
many days.' Now, suppose a man should cast his
bread on the Mississippi River, — would he ever find
it again ? "

" The text you have quoted, judge, is the first verse
of the eleventh chapter of the book of Ecclesiastes.
It is a beautiful text, and teaches a great lesson. You
must observe, that in the sacred Scriptures that is often
called bread out of which bread is made, — bread-corn,'
for example ; because out of it bread is manufactured.
Thus we read, that in the days of Joseph ' the dearth
was in all lands ; but in all the land of Egypt there
was bread.' That is, there was bread-corn there, out
of which bread could be made. Now, Egypt was the
most famous of all the ancient countries for the pro-

340 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

duction of bread. Very soon after Abraham came first
into Canaan, ' there was a famine in the land : and
Abram went down into Egypt, to sojourn there.'
(Gen. xii. 10.) Again, in the days of Isaac, 'there
was a famine in the land ; and the Lord appeared unto
him, and said. Go down into Egypt.' (Gen. xxvi. 1, 2.)
In like manner, Jacob was driven by famine into Egypt.
Egypt was the storehouse of bread to the ancient
world, and continued so, in fact, until the time of the
Roman empire. The ship in which Paul sailed to
Rome was bound from Alexandria, in Egypt, to Rome,
loaded with bread-corn ; for when the storm came
upon them, you read that ' they lightened the ship,
and cast out the wheat into the sea.' Now, Egypt
being thus famous for the production of bread, and
Israel having sojourned there during so many years,
it is not strange that Egyptian scenery should mingle
with the Bible language on this subject. The unpar-
alleled fertility of Egypt was owing to the annual
overflowing of the Nile. At a certain season, every
year, immense tracts of the level country were entirely
inundated. When the water was about receding, the
husbandman would take his seed-corn, and sow it over
these wide fields. The grain would fall on the face
of the water, and sink down into the soft loam that
was just below. Presently the water was gone ; and
"that grain, cast thus upon the waters, would spring up,
and yield an abundant harvest.

" Now, the command is, To you who have wealth,
disperse it abroad among the poor and needy. Do not
aim to consume it all yourself, but appropriate a portion
-of it, as the wise husbandman appropriates a portion of
his bread-corn when he uses it for seed, and you^

THE MISSISSIPPI JUDGE. 341

also, in due time, shall enjoy an abundant harvest.
' Cast thy bread upon the waters ; for thou shalt find
it after many days.' "

" That is, indeed, an instructive and valuable lesson,"
said the judge, "and beautifully inculcated. And now
I am encouraged to mention another text which I have
not been able satisfactorily to understand."

" I shall be gratified to hear you."

" The text to which I now refer," continued the
judge, " is found in Rev. xiv. 13 : ' And I heard a
voice from heaven, saying unto me. Write, Blessed are
the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth : yea,
saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors ;
and their works do follow them.' The difficulty in my
mind is with the words, * from henceforth ' — ' Blessed
are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth.'
Have not the dead, in every age, who have died in the
Lord, been blessed ? Were not those blessed who
died in the Lord in the time of Abel and of Noah ?
Were not those who died in the Lord blessed in
the days of Abraham, and Joseph, and Moses ? In
short, has there ever been a period when those were
not blessed who have died in the Lord ? What, then,
can be the meaning of the words ' from henceforth ' ? "

" You must observe, judge, that the book of Reve-
lation contains a prophetic history of the church, from
the apostolic age until the end of the world. The
Scriptures clearly teach, that while we are justified
before God only for the sake of Christ, and our own
obedience is entitled to nothing on the score of merit,
yet the Lord graciously rewards his people according
to their works ; and this is held up before the church
as a motive why we should ' always abound in the
29*

842 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

work of the Lord.' Now, in the present day, the plain
Christian has an opportunity of accomplishing much
more in the vineyard of Christ than could have been
accomplished with the same means five hundred years
ago. Suppose your lot had been cast in the world as
early as the thirteenth century, and that you had then
set your heart on doing good to men by circulating the
word of God, At that period, the art of printing was
unknown ; and one copy of the Bible in England cost
the sum of thirty pounds sterling, — that is, about one
hundred and forty-five dollars of our money. Now,
for the cost of one Bible at that time, you can at this
day put in circulation more than five hundred copies.
The same principle will apply to other good books, and
to religious tracts. How great, then, are the facilities
for doing good which have come up in divine provi-
dence, and are within the reach of those who live in
the present age ! These facilities extend to other de-
partments of Christian enterprise, as Sabbath schools,
missions, &:.c. It may be affirmed that additional value
is given to time, and additional value is given to health,
and to influence, when such precious opportunities of
^ abounding in the work of the Lord ' are brought even
to our door. We live in an age which

' Prophets and kings desired to see,
But died without the sight.'

''Now, the book of Revelation contains a prophetic
view of the progress of the church, from the apostolic
day until the end of time. ' The Lamb in the midst
of the throne ' has taken the book of God's eternal .
counsels, and as he opens seal after seal, the future
condition of the church rises to view. Age after age

THE MISSISSIPPI JUDGE. 343

of trial, perplexity, and persecution passes by — periods
in which the church, like Noah surrounded by the
wreck and desolations of the deluge, finds that the
utmost that she can do is to 'remain alive.' (Gen. vii.
23.) But the opening of the seals goes on. Page after
page of futurity rises in sight ; when, behold, a day
appears, in which the iron rod of persecution is broken,
and the church is free. The light of divine truth
shines clearly, and Zion's King 'walks in the midst of
the golden candlesticks.' The minister of the gospel
is blessed in his labors. His preaching is accompanied
with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. The
members of the cliurch find that the vineyard of God
furnishes to each the opportunity of becoming a suc-
cessful and honored laborer. One can circulate Bibles
by the thousand ; another rejoices in the Sabbath school
enterprise, and sees how he can benefit immortal souls,
and lay up treasure in heaven ; another beholds the
missionary field opening to him a prospect full of im-
mortality. Every child of God discovers that ' the time
to favor Zion, yea, the set time, is come,' and that now
he has before him an open door for the wise and happy
employment of health, time, influence, wealth, every
talent that he possesses, for the glory of God and the
everlasting good of his kingdom. Is it strange that at
the dawn of such a day of salvation in the apostle's
vision, he should record the passage under considera-
tion ? — 'And I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto
me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord
from henceforth : yea, saith the Spirit, that they may
rest from their labors ; and their works do follow
them.' "

" Very satisfactory," said the judge. " And what

344 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

rich and delightful meaning the text possesses when
viewed in that light ! But as you speak of the unpre-
cedented circulation of the Bible among all people at
this day, allow me to ask, is this great movement of
the church noticed in any of the predictions of the
ancient prophets ? "

" Certainly, judge ; it is noticed very particularly by
the prophet Isaiah, in the third verse of the second chap-
ter of his book : ' Out of Zion shall go forth the law and
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.' Zion and Jeru-
salem are well-known titles of the visible church. The
word of the Lord, his law, and his gospel shall go forth,
and a glorious moral revolution shall ensue. Hear the
prophet specify the particulars : ' The Lord's house
shall be established in the top of the mountains, and
exalted above the hills.' That is, the worship and the
service of God shall stand higher in the estimation of
men than every earthly interest. Higher than politics,
higher than commerce, higher than agriculture, the
Lord's house shall be established in the top of the
mountains, and exalted above the hills, and all nations
shall flow imto it. ' And many people shall go and
say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the
Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob ; and he will
teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke
many people ; and they shall beat their swords into
ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks :
nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither
shall they learn war any more.' "

''That is, indeed," answered the judge, "a very
notable prediction of the universal circulation of the
Bible in the latter day, and of the happy results that

THE MISSISSIPPI JUDGE. 345

shall follow. I have one question more. Perhaps you
will smile when I mention it. Is there any prediction
of railroad travelling and steam cars, in the Bible ? " '

" Prophecy was not given merely to entertain or
gratify our curiosity, ' All Scripture is given by inspi-
ration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for re-
proof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.'
And yet, in answer to your question, the student of
the Bible, when he beholds the long trains of railroad
cars, each bearing six or eight- hundred passengers,
darting by each other with the speed of birds on the
wing, is forcibly reminded of the prophecy of Daniel
xii, 4 : ' Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge
shall be increased.' In the book of Nahum, chap. ii.
verse 4, there is this remarkable passage : ' The chariots
shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against
another in the broad ways : they shall seem like torches^
they shall run like the lightnings.^ Who that has
travelled in these conveyances has not felt them ' justle
one against another in the broad ways ' ? and who that
has looked on the fiery horses, speeding on their way
in the night, could not say, ' they seem like torches,
they run like lightning ' ?

" Well," said the judge, •' the word of God is now
to me a source of great delight. But O, I lived many
years in sin. I am astonished when I review the stu-
pidity and blindness of my former life. I lived more
than forty years anxious for the world, and careful
about my reputation. But in all that forty years, I
had not spent one half hour in trying to please God.
My Creator, my Redeemer, were wholly forgotten and
neglected. When my mind was roused to look at the
awful fact, I could scarcely live under the thought. I

346 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

went directly to our minister, and asked him to give
me the earliest opportunity of coming before the
church and the congregation, and confessing my shame
and sorrow that I had so long denied Christ before
men, and neglected the great salvation."

GIDEON BLACKBURN. 347

EECOLLECTIONS OP GIDEON
BLACKBURN.

Gideon Blackburn was in the prime of life at that period
when the great revival of 1800 visited the population
of the western country. He had been preaching, it is
true, quite a number of years — how many I do not
exactly know — before the commencement of that
extraordinary visitation from on high ; but the portion
of time embraced between the years 1800 and 1830
may be put down as the meridian of his ministry.
Most of the great events of his life appear to have
occurred between those dates ; while it should be borne
in mind, that both the morning and the evening of his
days were crowned with varied and extensive useful-
ness. A full and faithful record of the great and good
results of his long and laborious life would fill the
pages of a very voluminous work. A mere sketch of
a few important facts is all that will here be attempted.
1. His Creator had bestowed upon him an exceed-
ingly fine person. He was rather above the middle
size, and well proportioned. His form was that which
unites strength and activity in a very high degree.
Thus it was that the " Lord of the harvest " had evi-
dently fitted him for the important part he was designed
to act in the great field where his lot was cast. The

348 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

exposure he was called to endure, together with the
arduous and multiplied labors that devolved upon him,
must have soon crushed a man of ordinary constitution.
But to him the promise was made good, " As thy days,
so shall thy strength be." While as yet the country
was very new, no regular roads established, and the
rivers in general without ferries, he traversed almost
every part of the great west where settlements had
been formed. He penetrated the canebrakes, he trav-
elled through the wilderness, he swam the rivers,
"always abounding in the work of the Lord." In
very many of the newly-formed neighborhoods, he was
the first to set up the standard of his divine Master.
Should you now visit Knoxville, Nashville, Gallatin,
Huntsville, Cincinnati, Louisville, or almost any of the
prominent cities of the west, and inquire of the aged
people concerning the state of the church at the period
of their first recollections, you will hear the name of
Gideon Blackburn pronounced, with a frequency and
a fervor of enthusiasm which show how intimately his
life and labors are interwoven with the early religious
history of those sections of our country.

2. He had a singularly captivating countenance, in
which benignity and authority were delightfully
blended. When he arose in the house of God, and
cast over the assembly that benevolent and command-
ing look, every human being in the congregation felt
the power of his presence. His voice was musical and
attractive to an extent that enabled him at once to seize
the attention of any company or crowd which he under-
took to address. In the court-yard, or in the market-
house, on the public square, or on the crowded wharf,
Avherever the tones of his remarkable voice reached the

GIDEON BLACKBURN. 349

ear, and his graceful and impressive attitude caught the
eye, the multitude was instantly reduced to silence and
attention.

The venerable Dr. Griffin has remarked, that in
attempting to promote religion among the careless and
the ungodly, the first great object at which we should
aim is, to secure "attention " to the gospel. There is
no doubt that a leading instrumentality in that im-
mense success which attended the preaching of Gideon
Blackburn, is to be found in that extraordinary power,
with which he was endowed by his Creator, for arrest-
ing the attention of men. Sinners would press near to
him in crowds, and while they were melted into tears,
they wished those overwhelming addresses to continue.
They were reluctant to have the meeting close, and
the opportunity pass away : even children would de-
signedly throw themselves in his way, that he might
say a word to them concerning the salvation of their
souls. I remember, distinctly, when he had spent a
night at my father's house, and was about to depart in
the morning, that I, though then very young, went
out and took his horse by the bridle, and stood there
till he came. There was no need for me there at the
horse's bridle ; but it was my wish to throw myself in
the good man's way, that he might speak to me of the
great salvation. He did speak ; and not only the sub-
stance of what he then said, but the very words in
which it was expressed, are indelibly engraven on the
tablet of my heart.

There was something in Blackburn's manner of
preaching, that fastened his text, for life, on the mem-
ory of his hearers. You will mark this peculiarity when-
ever you hear the old people, at this day, speak of his
30

350 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

preaching ; and one will say, "I heard Blackburn preach
at Knoxville, in the year 1805, on this text, (Ex. xii.
30:) ' And there was a great cry in Egypt: for there
was not a house where there was not one dead.' "
Another will say, " I shall never forget the sermon
which he preached at Maryville, in 1807, on the text,
(Ex. xiv. 15,) ' Speak to the children of Israel, that
they go forward.' " A third will speak up, " I heard him
at Nashville, in 1810, and his text was, (John i. 14,)
' And the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,
and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only be-
gotten of the Father, full of grace and tTuth.' " On my
arrival in Boston, May, 1849, I found venerable old
deacons who spoke with the warmest interest of the
preaching of Blackburn in Boston, as early as the year
1802 or 3, when evangelical religion in Boston was very
low. And I was delighted to find that these old men
could yet repeat the texts on which those discourses
were founded, that so much encouraged and revived
the people of God. At Ipswich, in Massachusetts, I
was addressed thus by a man advanced in 3^ears : —

" You are from the west ? "

" Yes, sir."

" Well, I heard a man from your country preach,
many years ago. His name was Blackburn. I shall
never forget that sermon. His text was, ' The tree of
life, that bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her
fruit every month : and the leaves of the tree were for
the healing of the nations.' " (Rev. xxii. 2.)

I know no reason for the texts on which he preached
being so accurately and so long remembered, except
that his preaching abounded in exposition of the sacred
text. His aim was, to place the truth, the beauty, the

GIDEON BLACKBURN. 351

grandeur of God's word in a clear and forcible light
before his audience ; and this he accomplished so suc-
cessfully, that an impression was made on the minds
of his hearers, which could never be effaced,

3. A strong and unwavering confidence in God was
another characteristic of Gideon Blackburn. For this
he was remarkable when young, and this he retained
through all the multiplied vicissitudes of his checkered
and 'eventful life. He had the care of a large family,
when the west was a wilderness, and when provision
for the support of a minister's family was a thing
scarcely known ; yet, by his remarkable industry, and
his firm reliance on the promises of a covenant-keeping
God, he was enabled to bring up and educate that
family, so that its members became a blessing to the
church, and a blessing to the world. All his children
who attained maturity made an early consecration of
themselves to God in the gospel. Two of his sons
became useful ministers. They are now gone from
earth. All the surviving members of the family are
adorning the gospel which their father preached, by an
irreproachable and consistent walk and conversation.
How should our hearts rise in gratitude to God, when
he sets the seal of his divine approbation to the life
and labors of a self-denying minister, by crowning
with blessings from above his children, and his chil-
dren's children ! I have repeatedly visited the family
of Gideon Blackburn since he has been called to "go
up higher " in the temple of God. I have looked
upon his aged widow. I have looked upon his surviv-
ing children and grandchildren ; and I have been
pleasingly reminded of that precious promise which the
" God of glory " gave to Abraham, " the father of the

352 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

faithful," — "1 will bless thee, and thou shalt be a
blessing."

The venerable Dr. Clelland, of Kentucky, gave
me this anecdote of a little grandchild of Gideon
Blackburn. At a sacramental meeting in Woodford
county, Kentucky, when the elders of the church had
met to converse with those who were desirous of unit-
ing with the body of professed Christians, among other
candidates was a very small girl. She was a gfand-
daughter of Blackburn. Her apparent age was not
more than six or seven years. Blackburn was modera-
tor of the session, and conducted the examination.
When the turn of this little girl came, her answers
were most satisfactory. Her profession of repentance
for sin was distinct and clear ; and her love to Christ,
and her trust in him for pardon and salvation, were
expressed in the most appropriate and decided terms.
But she was so little : that was all the difficulty.
Others were received into the communion of the
church ; but she was advised to wait longer. After
some five or six months, another communion season
came round. The session met. Blackburn again was
moderator. A number of applicants appeared, and
among them this same little girl — clear, decided, firm
in her attachment to Christ and his cause, but still very
small. Again she was advised to wait. Some months
afterwards, when she had made her third application,
with a similar result, she lifted up her little eyes, swim-
ming with tears, and said, " Grandfather, how old
must I be before I can love the Savior ? "

It should here be remarked, that Blackburn's .views
of early piety were scriptural and unwavering ; but
there is often unbelief in the church, that cramps the

GIDEON BLACKBURN. 353

minister ; and this being his own grandchild, he
thought it not best to take that stand which he would
have taken in the case of another. The early history
of this little girl is an instance of the blessing which
crowned this good man's family.

4. Gideon Blackburn was distinguished by zeal for
the advancement of the gospel, and for the salvation
of men. In the early part of his ministry, there was
little or no support provided by the church for the
family of a minister. Like the apostle Paul, Black-
burn labored with his own hands for the supply of the
temporal wants of his family, while he kept the banner
of the Redeemer constantly unfurled. I have heard
his neighbors tell how he would maul two hundred
rails in the fore part of the day, and then mount his
horse, and ride twelve or fifteen miles, and preach the
gospel to some little assembly of plain people in the
evening. Sometimes he labored on a farm, some-
times he taught school, to sustain a dependent family ;
but the fire of divine love burned continually on the
altar of his heart, and the " trumpet of the gospel "
was ever at his mouth ; and verily, when blown by
him, it gave no " uncertain sound." When, at the age
of eight or nine years, I sat under his ministry, and
felt the impressiveness and power of his awful appeals,
repeatedly was I reminded of the record that is given
of the preaching of his divine Master — " The people
were astonished at his doctrine ; for he taught them as
one having authority, and not as the scribes." (Matt.
vii. 28, 29.) I distinctly remember a conversation
among some intelligent Virginians, after they had at-
tended one of Blackburn's overwhelming discourses.
They spoke of the preaching of the celebrated William
30*

354 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

Graham, so long and so extensively a blessing to the
churches in Virginia. They spoke of the preaching
of James Waddell, the noted blind preacher. Some of
their number had sat under the ministry of both of
these distinguished men ; and after commending these
favored servants of God in very exalted terms, their
conversation was directed to Blackburn, to whose dis-
course they had just been attending ; and one then
made an observation which I shall remember to the
close of life. Speaking of Blackburn, he said, " Indeed,
he is the great Elijah of our day."

Beyond a doubt, if future generations receive an
accurate history of our country, Gideon Blackburn will
be regarded as the early " apostle of the west." I
have no hesitation in pronouncing, that Isaac Anderson,
John McCampbell, David Nelson, and many others who
have risen to great usefulness and distinction in the
church of God, were much aided and blessed, in the
commencement of their ministry, by the beams that
streamed forth from that " burning and shining light "
which a gracious God had kindled up in the heart of
the west, in the very morning of its Christian history.
And, with ample justice to all the excellent men that
have since appeared, — the Joshuas, the Samuels, and
the Nathans that have blessed the western church at a
later day, — I may apply to this subject the words of
inspiration — " There arose not a prophet since in
Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to
face."

In conclusion, I must record two notable illustrations
of the zeal of Blackburn in his Master's service.. The
first is the case of John Glocester, a colored man, and
a slave. In the revival of 1800, John was a convert.

GIDEON BLACKBURN. 355

Pious slaves often took part in the prayer meetings of
those days. John was very able and edifying in his
prayers. Blackburn heard John offer up a prayer in
more instances than one. He also heard some of his
attempts at exhortation ; and he concluded that if John
had his liberty, and were properly educated, he might
be useful as a preacher of the gospel, especially among
his own people. " Immediately he conferred not with
flesh and blood." His maxim was, " Whatever ought
to be done can be done." Soon John Glocester had
his liberty. In due time, he received a respectable
education, and became an ordained minister. His
career was one of eminent usefulness. In a few years,
he settled in the city of Philadelphia, and collected a
church of colored people. In the year 1819, when I
first attended the General Assembly of the Presby-
terian church, I found John Glocester in Philadelphia,
at the head of a large and respectable African church.
I attended a communion season with them. The
communicants were in number about two hundred and
fifty ; and, on the same day, eleven well-dressed colored
infants were brought before the congregation, and
solemnly dedicated to God in the ordinance of baptism.
I was deeply affected by this tender and impressive
scene. There was much of the venerable and the
apostolic about John Glocester. He possessed in the
pulpit extraordinary eloquence and power. He has
long since gone to his reward.

The other example of enlightened zeal to which I
referred, is found in the efforts of Blackburn in the
cause of foreign missions. Long before the American
Board, or the General Assembly's Board, was formed,
or thought of, this man of prodigious, heaven-born en-

356 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

terprise had planted Christian schools at a number of
important points among the Indians on the south side
of the Tennessee River. Ahhough the cry for his
labors came up from every quarter of the American
settlements that were then forming in the west, yet, in
the ardor of his flaming zeal, he would cross the great
river, and, by the aid of an interpreter, tell to listening
and weeping multitudes of copper-colored savages the
story of God's wondrous love to sinful man, and how
the beloved Son of God agonized in Gethsemane, and
suffered on the cross, that our souls might be redeemed
from death. These early missionary eiforts were
warmly sanctioned by Return J. Meigs, Indian agent
of the general government at that period. The schools
were afterwards patronized by the general assembly of
the Presbyterian church. It is believed that much
good was accomplished ; but the entire results can only
be known when the books are opened in the great day.
Rev. Charles Coffin, D. D., who was a disciple of
Dr. Samuel Spring, of Newburyport, Mass., gave me
the following anecdote of Blackburn : When quite a
young man, he was travelling in one of the Atlantic
states. He had been desired by some of the people of
a certain village or town to preach them a sermon. He
consented, and when he was able to fix on the time, he
sent an appointment to the place, never dreaming but
that it would be acceptable to the resident minister,
should there be one, that the people should hear the
gospel from the lips of another witness of Jesus, as
well as from himself. Blackburn himself had much of
the spirit manifested by Moses, when Eldad and Medad
prophesied in the camp, and a young man came and
said, " My lord Moses, forbid them." And Moses said,

GIDEON BLACKBURN. 357

" Enviest thou for my sake ? Would God that all the
Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would
put his spirit upon them." (Num. xi. 29.) Such was
the spirit of Moses ; but not so was it with the presiding
genius of the village above mentioned. He seemed
rather to be animated by the spirit of Daniel's ram,
which the prophet so graphically describes, (Dan. viii.
4 :) "I saw the ram pushing westward, and north-
ward, and southward, so that no beast might stand
before him." This man received Blackburn's note,
but refused to make the appointment. Blackburn came
at the specified time, and learning that the minister had
refused to give publicity to his appointment, he went
to his house and inquired for the facts of the case.
The minister attempted to be very dry, distant, digni-
fied, and told him that he was not willing that he
should preach to the people at that place, and therefore
he had refused to make any appointment. It must be
borne in mind that Blackburn's person was remarkable
for elegance and gracefulness, and that he had a pres-
ence of peculiar solemnity and power. As soon as he
was told how his proposal to preach had been rejected,
he arose and stood for several seconds in the most sol-
emn attitude, right in front of the now fluttered and
agitated man of dignity. " Sir," said he, " I have a
very painful duty to perform, but it is imperatively
enjoined by my Lord and Master. When he sent forth
his disciples to preach the everlasting gospel to dying
men, he laid upon them this command : ' Whosoever
will not receive you, nor hear your words, shake off
the dust of your feet for a testimony against them.'
Sir, as a rejected minister of the Lord Jesus Christ,
I shake ofl' the dust of my feet for a testimony

358 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

against you ! " As he thus spoke, he extended, in his
own impressive manner, the right foot, and shook it
with a deliberate solemnity that was awful. He then
extended the left foot, and shook it in like manner ;
then turning entirely away, he left the important
" place man " to his own meditations. This minister's-
name was Flint. " Sir," said Dr. Coffin, when he
told me the story, " Flint as he was, the performance
of this awful duty by Gideon Blackburn made him
turn as white as ashes."

CAMP MEETINGS. 359

CAMP MEETINGS.

The origin of camp meetings in the United States
was among the members of the Presbyterian church.
They were first held in Logan county, Kentucky,
during the revival of 1800. The multitudes which
came together were so great, that accommodations
could not be found in the neighborhood of the place
of worship. Many of these people had recently re-
moved to the west from Virginia, North Carolina, or
Pennsylvania. On the road, while they were removing,
they had cainped out, and cooked their own provisions,
and provided their own lodgings. The idea originated
among them, during the great revival, that they could
camp out near the place o'f worship, and take care of
themselves, as well as they had done on the road, while
on their journey. The experiment succeeded admira-
bly. The country being new, this mode of holding
large meetings seemed peculiarly adapted to their cir-
cumstances. Indeed, it was believed to possess a
striking resemblance to the '* feast of tabernacles " in
the Old Testament church. Moreover, these meetings
were crowned with precious divine blessings. Among
the Presbyterians of the west and south, also the Meth-
odists, the Baptists, the Cumberland Presbyterians, and
other denominations, such meetings have been held,
Avith great and good results. In many parts of the west

360 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

and south, they have now worshipped in this manner,
occasionally, for the space of fifty years. During that
extensive and powerful revival in the state of Ohio,
from 1828 till 1831, quite a number of camp meetings
were held, at which many thousands assembled to wor-
ship God. One of the ministers engaged in these
meetings spoke on the subject thus : —

" The camp meetings in Ohio were not undertaken
without much serious and prayerful deliberation. The
ministers of Jesus Christ in that country saw, with
much concern, an immense population spreading over
the land, while the regular preaching of the gospel
was neglected by at least two thirds of this living mul-
titude. They also saw a deep, dark, blaspheming
infidelity, rolling far and wide through the country,
scoffing at the Bible, cursing religious tracts, tram-
pling on the Sabbath, and breathing out bitterness
against all that is sacred. They saw that if the
deadly pestilence was suffered to spread and extend
its pernicious influence a few years longer, not only
would our religious institutfons be destroyed, but our
civil liberties would be jeopardized ; the monster would
break down our churches, set up the guillotine, and dip
its hands in the blood of the innocent, as deep as did
the infidels of France during the ' Reign of Terror.'
They felt that something must be done to arrest the
conquests of the enemy, who was ' coming in like a
flood ; ' and the only weapon with which they could
successfully oppose him, was ' the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God.' And as the multitudes,
among whom the plague was raging, could not be
assembled in the regular houses of worship, the ' sol-
diers of the cross ' resolved to take the field ' in the

CAMP MEETINGS. 361

name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of
Israel.' Preparations were made, seats in -a shady grove
sufficient to accommodate a vast assembly, and a ' pul-
pit of wood,' erected. The day appointed arrived,
' and all the people came out by hundreds and by
thousands.' It was a season • of the right hand of the
Most High.' The tide of y/ar was rolled back from
the gates of Zion, and trembling was in the camp of
the enemy. The infidel renounced his blasphemy ;
the Universalist fled from his refuge of lies ; the gray-
headed sinner cast himself at the feet of the Savior ;
and infant voices were heard proclaiming, ' Hosanna to
the Son of David ! Blessed is the King that comethin
the name of the Lord ! '

" Meeting after meeting of this description was held.
The everlasting gospel was preached, the blessing of
God sent down, sinners converted, the church made
glad, and heaven filled with rejoicing."

" Look at the example of our blessed Savior. He
might have preached every Sabbath in the Jewish
synagogue, if he had chosen ; but he did not. On
one Sabbath, he preached in the temple ; on another,
he preached on a mountain ; at another time, he en-
tered a boat, and thrust out a little from the shore, and
taught the people from thence ; at times, we find him
in the wilderness, or in the grove, surrounded by many
thousands, who had nothing better to sit on than the
green grass. Nor did these crowds come out in the
morning from their homes, and return the same even-
ing ; but they continued together day after day, to
hear the Savior's words. At one time, we learn that
they continued with him three days, where they had
nothing to eat ; and how much longer they continued
31

362 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

on Other occasions, when they had made better prepa-
rations, we are not told. I have no doubt, that while
the Savior designed the miracles that he wrought to
confirm his divine mission in the view of all inquirers,
he, at the same time, designed those miracles to wake
up the public mind, and excite attention, that the people
might come together, that he might have an oppor-
tunity of preaching to them the word of God. Ac-
cordingly, we find, when he began his wonderful
works, that ' his fame went throughout all Syria.
And there followed him great multitudes of people
from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem,
and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan.' The im-
mense results of the Savior's ministry to these vast
congregations are amongst the things that ' are not
written ' in the New Testament ; but, doubtless, the
disclosures of the great day will show that they were
worthy of the time and labor thus devoted.

" Now, if we wish all the inhabitants of our land to
feel the blessed influences of the gospel, we must be
willing, after the example of our Savior, to bring vast
multitudes together, and let them remain together day
after day, and preach to them the word of life. This
must be done, this will be done, before all flesh sees
the salvation of God.

" In this age of benevolent eff"ort, Christians and
Christian ministers are doing much to push forward the
tract cause, the Bible cause, the Sunday school cause,
&c. ; but we have not made corresponding efl'orts to
push forward the preaching cause, and yet it is by the
foolishness of preaching that God is pleased to save
them that believe. While we have been solicitous to
prepare the way for the salvation of the rising genera-

CAMP MEETINGS 363

tioii by Sabbath schools, and the education of suitable
young men for the ministry, have we done as much
for the present generation as we ought? Have we
employed the ministers now in the field to the best
advantage ? Without slacking the hand in any other
good work, can we not make a more vigorous effort to
save the present generation, who are past the period
for Sabbath schools, and who must die, many of them,
before the young men now in a course of education
can enter the field ? Yes, let a great effort be made to
save the present generation."

CAMP MEETING ANECDOTE.

Great care was taken to preserve good order among
the thousands that .came together at our camp meet-
ings. This .was essential^to the accomplishment of
good. It was also of greaj simper tance because of the
enemy ; for there Were many watching, eager to find
fault, and raise the,eiy that our meetings were scenes
of confusion and disorder. I would just here quote
the remark of the venerable " skeleton preacher," that
fault-finding is an easy business. It can be set up with
a very small capital. It requires neither genius nor
talent, neither education nor goodness, to fit out a fault-
finder in business, I have seen men of little or no
valuable endowments; — men who were scarcely worth
a straw for any useful undertaking, or any effort at
doing good, — who were, nevertheless, capital fault-
finders, and could make themselves noisy and conspic-
uous in opposing the labors of others. Fault-finding —
I repeat it — is a business that can be set up on "very
small capital." Our plan was, to have seats prepared

364 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

for all who might attend, and then, from the com-
mencement of the public worship, require all the con-
gregation to be seated. There is little difficulty in
preserving good order during worship in the largest
assembly, if they are comfortably seated ; but if they
are compelled to stand up, there is danger that they
may begin to whisper and talk among themselves, and
thus become disorderly.

I had been called by the brethren to preside over the
camp meeting at Sharon, in 1831. It had been in
progress from Thursday noon until Saturday night.
The whole scene had been solemn and delightful. The
preaching was enlightened, captivating, and powerful.
The seasons of prayer and praise were edifying and
precious. The Holy Spirit brooded over the assembly.
The awakened sinner exclaimed, " Surely God is in
this place, and I knew it not ! " and the young convert
answered, " This is none other but the house of God,
and this is the gate of heaven."

Saturday night had come. The lamps were lighted,
and suspended to the trees that stood here and there
through the camp ground, and the seats before the pulpit
were ' occupied by perhaps about tv/o thousand people.
But the congregation was not yet complete. New acces-
sions were pouring in continually, and our custom was
to occupy those who first collected with short addresses,
and seasons of praise and prayer, until the assembly
was full, and then we would have a regular sermon.
During these preliminary services, a number of young
men clustered around a tall sugar-tree that stood some
twenty steps from the pulpit, and commenced a low-
toned conversation. There was no palpable proof that
they meant to be rude ; but still their position, right bv

CAMP MEETINGS. 365

the congregation of worshippers, and the hum of their
continued conversation, was quite an atnioyance. A
statement was now made aloud from the pulpit, that
the rules of our meeting required that all who met with
us should be seated during the hours of public worship,
and the hope was expressed, that with this regulation
all would cheerfully comply ; but the cluster around
the tree remained unmoved, and the hum of their con-
versation seemed rather to rise than fall. It was now
quite a disturbance, and had all the appearance of being
the result of a preconcerted plan to give us trouble.
Yet I wished, if possible, to get them seated and
silenced without the necessit)'- of a public rebuke. Rev.
Mr. Stafford, of North Carolina, was there. I requested
him to make an address to the assembly, of about ten
minutes' length ; for the people were still collecting,
and the hour for the sermon had not yet come. Mr.
Stafford's address was appropriate and powerful. The
congregation were interested, but not a man in the
circle round that tree moved or sat down, and the vex-
atious hum evidently increased. Mr. Cressey, of Salem,
Indiana, was then requested to make a short address.
Brother Cressey is now in glory. His address was
admirable. The congregation hung on his lips with
rapture and astonishment. He sat down ; but around
that tree the ring was unbroken, and their disorderly
conversation was still kept up. A hymn was sung at
the close of Mr. Cressey's exhortation, and during the
hymn, I left the pulpit and took a seat in the crowd,
half way from the pulpit to the circle around the tree.
At the close of the hymn, I arose and said, " I have
long endeavored to avoid giving any public rebuke for
the improper conduct of an individual at a place of
31*

366 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

public worship. I believe the practice generally does
more harm than good, and therefore I have shunned it.
But now I am about to depart, for once, from my long-
established practice. There was an individual here
this morning that came for no good. Indeed, I under-
stand that he came with the preconcerted design to do
mischief, and make all the trouble he can. He was on
the ground this afternoon. He is a very bad character,
and I learn that he is here to-night. I am not speaking
at random. I have documents in my possession to
establish every word that I say. And as this matter of
exposing an individual is somewhat trying, I mean to
make thorough work now, as I have undertaken it, and
I will tell you his name before I have done. Now, I
wish you all to sit down," waving my hand to those
around the tree. Instantly the tree was deserted ;
every man was seated and profoundly silent. During
a pause here of some seconds, the interest was intense.
Father Thomson and the ministers in the pulpit
thought I was acting most rashly. They thought it
likely that the individual alluded to, as soon as he
should be named, would reply, and try to raise a party
in his own defence, and that most likely a row would
ensue. They seemed to catch their breath in the
thrilline anxiety of the moment. I then proceeded : —

" The individual to whom I allude is a liar, a most
notorious liar, and I am able to prove it on him by testi-
mony that none of you will dispute : further, he is a
thief!"

" O ! O ! O ! " said low voices in the crowd.

" Yes, he is a thief ; and more than all this, he is a
murderer ! "

" O, that is too bad ! " said low voices in the
crowd.

CAMP MEETINGS. 367

"No, it's not too bad. I tell you he is a murderer.
I have the proof at hand. He is a murderer from the
beginning. The proof to which I refer you is con-
tained in the New Testament, and the name of this
disorderly and troublesome individual is the Devil."
Rarely has the name of the devil brought relief to so
many anxious minds as on this occasion. The deep,
long respiration, denoting that the burden was gone,
could be distinctly heard from the pulpit, and from
many in the crowd. I then, in few words, told them
that the Scriptures warned them to beware of their ad-
versary, the devil — that he is exceedingly malignant;
the great foe of God and man — that he is very power-
ful, having no less than the tremendous energies of
" archangel ruined " — that he goeth about as a roaring
lion, seeking whom he may devour. Thus this address
was speedily wound up ; and then we had a sermon
from another minister, to a very silent and attentive
congregation, all seated in the most orderly manner.

I had almost forgotten the above incident, and per-
haps it would have faded entirely from the pages of
memory ; but, some eight or nine years afterward,
Dr. Mc Kinney, now of Southern Missouri, came to
my house at St. Charles. " Do you remember," said
he, " the company of men at the Sharon camp meet-
ing, in Ohio, who gathered around the sugar-tree, and
kept talking after the commencement of worship, and
refused to sit down when requested ? "

" You remind me of the circumstance," said I.

•' Well," said the doctor, " I was one of that com-
pany. I was not then a professor of religion ; indeed,
I was very far from it. A number of us had come
down from Oxford. Gay, thoughtless young men, we

368 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

had high notions of our consequence and mdependence
and thought we were entitled to do very much as we
pleased. We had been somewhat stiff, stubborn, and
Linruly through the day, though no public notice had
been taken of us. I aspired to be something of a
leader among those associates ; and we had formed a
mutual league, that we would stand shoulder to shoul-
der. When you commenced speaking of the individual
that had come there for no good, but with the purpose
of being troublesome, I began strongly to suspect that
the reference was to me. The further the description
advanced, the more exactly it appeared to j&t my case.
I became greatly alarmed, insomuch that even when
those severe charges were made, ' the liar,' ' the thief,'
' the murderer,' conscience told me 1 was guilty of all.
I had been false to God. I had vowed, and basely
broken my vows. As a sinner, I had rohhed Qodi;
and I deserved the charge. I had- indiilged hatred
against my brother ; and God calls such a murderer in
the heart. I was awfully agitated ; and when you
said that you would tell the name of the offender, I
fully calculated that my name would presently be'
called out before the whole assembly. When you
requested the company to be seated, I was down in a
moment ; and never was I more relieved than when
told that the offender was the devil ; and never was^I
better pleased than when I found nothing more re-
quired of me than to keep my seat, and keep quiet,
and listen to a good sermon."

Such was the narrative of Dr. McKinney ; and the
reader should know that he was now a Christian min-
ister, preaching " that faith which once he destroyed."

JRECOLLECTIONS OF DR. NELSON. 369

RECOLLECTIONS OF DR. DAVID
NELSON.

LETTER TO A FRIEND IN THE EAST.

*' Dear Brother, —

" You inform me that you have been greatly
interested in perusing the volume entitled ' The Cause
and Cure of Infidelity,' by Dr. Nelson. You desire to
know whether he has left any other writings than
those contained in the book already named ; and you
further wish to be informed of the state of religious
society at the west, in which such a man arose, lived,
and labored. Dr. Nelson has left other theological
Avritings, of great value, which have been in my pos-
session since the period of his death. I design soon
to give them to the public. It shall now be my aim
in this letter, and the articles connected with it, to give
you some such sketches of his life and times as may
be for general edification. Having been born and edu-
cated in the same neighborhood with Dr. Nelson, grad-
uated at the same college, licensed and ordained to the
gospel ministry by the same presbytery, and for many
years associated with him as co-editor of the Calvinistic
Magazine, and fellow-laborer in preaching the gospel
in the great and growing west, I gladly avail myself
of this opportunity to ' speak that which I know, and
testify that which I have seen.'

370 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

^' The parents of Dr. Nelson settled in Washington
county, East Tennessee, at a Very early day in the
history of that country. His father, Henry Nelson,
was, for many of the later years of his life, a ruling
elder in the Presbyterian church. His mother's maiden
name was Kelsey. Her family stood high for intelli-
gence and respectability. Dr. David Nelson was born
in the year 1793 — in which month of that year I
have not the means of knowing.

" Although the Indians were hostile at this period,
a number of pious families had associated together,
and formed a Christian church. Their preacher was
Rev. Samuel Doak, a graduate of Princeton College,
during the presidency of Dr. Witherspoon. This
worthy and venerable man had emigrated to East Ten-
nessee from the valley of Virginia, soon after the close
of the revolutionary war ; and he had collected some
two or three little churches, in contiguous neighbor-
hoods. Among these he labored as a minister of the
gospel, while, at the same time, he devoted a por-
tion of his attention to the instruction of youth.
He founded, at this early day, a literary institution,
known, at first, as Martin Academy, but ultimately as
Washington College, which proved a source of rich
and lasting blessing to the church, and to civil society.
And now, since this worthy old patriarch has entered
into his rest, we contemplate with amazement the im-
mense results of his life and labors. Without support
as a minister, without patronage as a teacher, he toiled
on, amidst difficulties and discouragements, through
a period of more than fifty years. He cultivated a
farm, and kept a boarding-house, for the support of his
family, while as a preacher and teacher he labored

RECOLLECTIONS OF DR. NELSON. 371

abundantly. As a herald of the gospel, he was remark-
ably efficient. The great Head of the church set
many seals to his ministry, in ' souls renewed and sins
forgiven,' through all the surrounding country, while
many eminent lawyers, physicians, and statesmen were
trained under his instructions ; and the ministers of
the gospel educated by him have proved a rich blessing
to the church, in, perhaps, every one of the Western
and Southern States. Faithful servant of Zion's God !
though gone to thy reward in glory, thou art not for-
gotten in the church below ; and while we embalm
thy memory in our hearts, we will tell to generations
following of that divine goodness which crowned thy
abundant labors with such triumphant success.

" The early days of the west are gone. No future
generation can arise,- and witness what their fathers
have seen. Now, the steamboat, with its travelling
multitude, is on the bosom of our long rivers. Now,
the hand of cultivation is stretched out over our broad
and fertile plains. Now, cities, with their fifty thou-
sand, and their hundred thousand inhabitants, are
springing up here and there amongst us. But I re-
member the day when, in the older states of the west,
the rivers and smaller streams were lined with the dense
and almost impenetrable canebrake ; when the plains
and hills were covered with the rank, luxuriant pea-
vine, so that you could follow the trail of the elk, the
deer, or the buffalo, for hours together. I remember
the period when, at nightfall, the wolf howled on the
hill, and was answered by the scream of the panther ;
and the wild and warlike Indian, v/ith his scalping-knife
and tomahawk, was the terror of old and young. In
those days, the habitation of the best families, even

372 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

the most thrifty and enterprising, was the primitive
log cabin, with its clapboard roof, its puncheon floor,
and its wooden chimney, well daubed with clay ; and
often was the farmer called from his labors in the day,
or roused from his slumbers in the night, to drive the
bear from his hogs, the wolves from his cattle, or the
thievish Indian from about his horse stable.

" In those days, every man, when he left his home,
carried with him his rifle, and his weapons of defence.
Farmers went in companies of six, eight, and ten, to
plant and cultivate their fields : two or three would stand
as sentinels, at diflerent points, while the others per-
formed the necessary work. Thus they went from field
to field, till each man's land was tilled. When they met
for public worship, it was in the same style. Each
man came with his rifle in his hand ; and a suflicient
number were stationed to guard against surprise from
the Indians, while the others listened to the tidings of
the everlasting gospel. And just among the trials and
distractions which I have mentioned, the precious gos-
pel of the blessed God proved the bread of life, and
the water of life, to many a hungry soul.

" Such was the state of society in which the early
days of Dr. Nelson were passed, while it must be borne
in mind that his parents were reading Christians, and
the ' family book-desk,' as the doctor used to style it,
was supplied with a respectable number of substantial
volumes of Scotch divinity. Early in life, he memo-
rized the Westminster Catechism. Not long before
his death, he wrote an article on the subject of the
benefit he received, when young, from Willison's work
on the Catechism. He was deeply impressed during
the great revival, though I know not that he enter-

RECOLLECTIONS OF DR. NELSON. 373

tained any hope of conversion at that period. When
about seventeen years of age, he went to Kentucky,
where his elder brother resided. There he engaged in
the study of medicine, and afterwards went to Phila-
delphia, to attend the medical lectures. When the
war with England was declared, he went into the army
as a physician. There he became associated with a
number of sceptical men ; and, finally, he imbibed
their dangerous and destructive views. He was now
desperately wicked. His constitutional courage, of
which he had much, now put on an aspect that might
be termed savage. The first time that I remember
to have seen him. after his return from the army, he
was hurrying along the streets of Jonesborough, with
a naked dirk in his hand, the very image of a reckless
desperado. There had been a street fight in the vil-
lage, and Nelson was in the midst of it, apparently
highly entertained, and ready to act his part.

" At this period, his mother was much engaged in
prayer in his behalf. She was a woman of deep piety.
Her earnestness in prayer for him was remarkable. I
saw and conversed with her often, about that time.
She had, in her heart, set aside this son, from his child-
hood, for the service of God in the ministry. She had
hoped much while he was serious in early youth ; but
now those hopes seemed blighted, and appearances
were fearfully unfavorable. In prayer, she was impor-
tunate and persevering. Her importunity seemed to
verge on agony. But she lived to receive an answer
of peace ; and her heart was glad. Her son regarded
himself, while he lived, as a brand plucked from the
burning, in answer to the prayers of a mother.

" In this brief sketch, I can notice but few particu-
32

374 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

lars. I must not, however, neglect to mention that,
after his conversion, he was, for a time, strongly in-
clined to Arminianism, and tried hard to reconcile it
with the Bible. His own account of this portion of
his history is contained in the following article, which
he wrote soon after he commenced preaching : —

AN INEFFECTUAL STRUGGLE.

There was a young professor of religion, in the
Presbyterian church, who felt very frequently a rising
repugnance to the doctrines generally denominated Cal-
vinistic. The secret workings of his heart, unknown to
himself, (if they had been plainly translated,) ran nearly
thus : " It were a pity those doctrines should be true :
it is, in short, out of the question. I hope God will
act more in accordance with my ideas of propriety. I
must, if possible, find some passage of Scripture to
overset them," &c. But to all the texts he could pro-
duce, proclaiming the general offer, the unlimited effi-
cacy of the Savior's death, his having no pleasure in
the death of the sinner, &c., &c., he received from his
brethren one short and simple reply : " God offers sal-
vation freely to all, through a Redeemer's blood. All
as freely and with one accord reject it. Shall he let
them all take their own road to death ? or save all ?
We see he does neither, but makes as many willing in
the day of his power as he chooses." And no matter
what the number or variety of passages he cited, this
answer (or the substance of it better expressed) was
always ready, and seemed to fit the whole of them.
His next undertaking was, to try and have those pas-
sages.which seemed to declare God's eternal purposes

RECOLLECTIONS OF DR. NELSON. 375

explained so as to get them, if possible, out of his way.
He was intimate with several pious and worthy men
who did not believe the views of his church on those
points, but thought them false and hurtful. To them,
then, he would go with such a passage from the Bible
as the following : " And they that dwell upon the earth
shall wonder (whose names were not written in the
book of life from the foundation of the world.)" (Rev.
xvii. 8.) He would receive an explanation which
would satisfy him for the time ; but when he next
opened his Bible, he would perhaps stumble upon Acts
xiii. 48 : " And as many as were ordained to eternal
life believed." Here he would find that the former
explanation would not fit this ; for to say they were
ordained to eternal life before they believed, would be
election ; and to say they were ordained after they
believed, would prove the final perseverance ; and yet
it would appear that some time or other they were
ordained. Again, he would go for an explanation to
this and many other dark passages. Sometimes he
would receive an explanation which appeared very
satisfactory, and at others not so much so. But
the greatest dilemma was, that almost every verse re-
quired a different road to get round it. And again, the
task was endless ; for it appeared that at least one half
of the New Testament required him to have not only
ingenuity and skill, but absolute cunning, to escape
from the incessant bearing it had towards God's unqual-
ified sovereignty. He could scarcely commence a
chapter of the epistles in peace. Even the introduc-
tion was, " Paul called to be an apostle," (and he re-
membered that verily the call on the Damascus road
was a cogent one,) — " to the church at Corinth," —

376 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

" called to be saints." Thought he, " Are not all called
to be saints ? " But perhaps he would next stumble
upon 1 Cor. i. 26 : "For ye see your calling, brethren,
how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many
mighty, not many noble, are called." Not only whole
verses, but whole chapters, seemed to demand a dex-
terous transmutation. He had to suppose that an apostle
of God, and a preacher of the everlasting gospel, not
only did not speak of himself when he said /, but that
when he said / inyself^ he meant an unconverted Jew !

In short, the labor of explanation thickened upon
him so fast, that no versatility of talent, and no store-
house of memory, seemed sufficient to invent and retain
the various shifts and expedients necessary to fortify
him against the continual recurrence and multiplied and
inexhaustible variety of expressions. " According as he
hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy," &c. ; " Having predes-
tinated us unto the adoption of children," &c. ; " Being
predestinated according to the purpose of him who
worketh all things after the counsel of his own will."
(Eph. i. 4, 5, 11.) " Therefore hath he mercy on
whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hard-
eneth." (Rom. ix. 18.)

The conclusfon he was finally forced into was, —

" Must I never open God's Holy Book without hav-
ing to summon my ingenuity of evasion ?

" Dare I resort to artifice in expounding so large a
portion of the written will of my awful Creator ?

" I may new translate his Testament ; but will he
acknowledge the edition ?

" I may appear before his bar with my hundred nice-
wrought expositions, and say they were all made to

RECOLLECTIONS OF DR. NELSON. 377

protect his character from the imputation of partiahty ;
but will he thank me for the trouble I have taken ?
Or will he say, ' Who hath required this at your hands ?
Can I not defend my own character ? Thoughtest
thou that I was altogether such a one as thyself? '

" I might write folios by way of commentary, and,
with indefatigable zeal, paint with a thin coloring the
whole of the Sacred Oracles ; ' but in the glare of the
judgment day, it would all vanish like smoke.' "

"THE LEARNED SCHOOLMASTER.

" Dr. Nelson delighted much in the preaching of the
gospel. This he regarded as God's appointed instru-
ment for renovating and saving men. His aim was to
obey the apostolic injunction, ' Be instant in season,
out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-
suffering and doctrine.' He took a peculiar pleasure in
preaching the gospel in destitute places, where few
opportunities had been enjoyed. Like his divine Mas-
ter, he had compassion on the multitude, who were
wandering like sheep without a shepherd, and he wonld
seize on any occasion by which the word of life might
be proclaimed in their ears. The wayside, the moun-
tain-top, the field, the grove, no place came amiss to
such a preacher.

"■ In the year 1829, he was travelling among the
mountains that divide Kentucky from the state of
Tennessee. As the day was wearing to a close, he
approached a little village, in which he determined to
spend the night. It is well known that almost every
neighborliood in the great west has its presiding genius,
its literati, its great man. You will rarely find, even in the
32*

378 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

mountainous districts, a little community but its master
spirit is there, an object of as much regard and venera-
tion as John C. Calhoun at Charleston, Henry Clay at
Lexington, or Daniel Webster at the city of Boston.
Thus it was at the little village where Nelson had
stopped for the night. There were two small houses
of entertainment, on opposite sides of the street, each
having its sign hung out, with appropriate inscriptions.
Near one of these was a schoolmaster, surrounded with
a delighted circle of listening admirers, while he expa-
tiated on the unparalleled march of mind within the
period of his own remembrance. Difficult and hitherto
inaccessible heights of science had recently, he alleged,
been scaled by learned men, like himself, while the
philosophical world had gazed at the achievement in
mute amazement. He was, in short, the exact du-
plicate of Goldsmith's country schoolmaster.

' His words of learned length and thundering sound
Amazed the gazing rustics ranged around ;
And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew,
That one small head could carry all he knew.'

This illustrious genius had his literary harangue ar-
rested in mid volley, by the halting" of a stranger before
the door of the tavern on the opposite side of the street.
All eyes were at once turned in that direction.

"' There !' exclaimed the schoolmaster, "we'll go
over and ask that man. I know that he is a scholar,
by the looks of him.' So the whole party, lifting
their feet with high expectation, came stalking over
the street.

" ' Stranger, can you tell me which is the greatest of
all the sciences ? ' said the schoolmaster.

RECOLLECTIONS OF DR. NELSON. 379

" ' I can tell you which is the most important,' an-
swered Nelson.

" ' Well, let us hear, stranger.'

" ' To fear and honor our Creator,' said Nelson.

" ' Ah ! ' exclaimed the schoolmaster, raising both
his hands, and stepping backward — ' ah, that kills
me ! '

" The company, whose admiration had been so
highly excited by the exhibition of such rare endow-
ment by this son of science, and who, while listening
to his rhetorical flourishes, really regarded him as per-
haps the most marvellous man within the circle of the
literary world, were now perfectly stumbled and as-
tounded on beholding their champion throw down his
arms, call for quarter, and surrender at discretion, when
the stranger had merely thrown himself into an atti-
tude of defence. Here the modern schoolmaster fell far
short of Goldsmith's hero, of whom he testifies,

' In arguing, too, the parson owned his skill ;
For, e'en tliough vanquished, he could argue still.'

" All eyes were now, of course, turned to the newly-
arrived gentleman, who was still on horseback. After
staring for a few moments in silence, one, more bold
than the rest, started forward.

" ' Are you a preacher, sir ? '

" ' Yes,' said Nelson.

" ' Suppose you preach for us to-night.'

" ' Agreed,' said Nelson.

" ' Well, I'll alarm the town.'

•' ' Start ! ' said Nelson.

" Away went this self-constituted towncriep, an-

380 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

jQouncing to the people that a ' high-learned ' man
would preach at the court house at early candlelight.

" At the appointed hour, quite a congregation of plain,
serious-looking people assembled. Dr. Nelson took his
position among them, and commenced the services by
singing his favorite hymn, —

' Lord, when I read the traitor's doom,' &c.

Many of those who have heard Nelson preach, will
long remember that hymn. On the occasion of which
I am now speaking, he proceeded, in his earnest and
faithful manner, to preach to them ' the glorious gospel
of the blessed God.' The fruit of his labors will ap-
pear 'at the resurrection of the just.' Such seasons
were exceedingly precious in the estimation of Dr.
Nelson. It was sowing the good seed where, with the
blessing of God, it might spring up and bring forth
fruit mito eternal life. It was the joy and rejoicing of
his heart to be employed in such humble labors. He
would often quote the apostle's language, (Eph. iii.
8,) ' Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints,
is this grace given, that I should preach among the
Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.'

"THE STARTLED LANDLORD.

" Some critic has remarked of the Iliad of Homer,
that it is a picture rather than a poem ; that is, the
scenes there appear to stand out before the eye, and
the impression left upon the reader is, that he has be-
held those scenes, rather than heard them described.
Such was the preaching of Nelson. When he addressed

RECOLLECTIONS OF DR. NELSON. 381

an assembly, you were a spectator rather than a hearer.
You saw the facts and scenes with which he wished
to impress the mind. This characteristic also entered
largely into his conversation. He had a peculiar power
of throwing before the mind a vivid picture of that
which he wished you to understand and feel. I will
mention an example. Many of the plain country peo-
ple, remote from large cities, have heard strange stories
of dissecting-rooms, how dead bodies are dug up and
brought from their graves into these places, and then
cut to pieces by the doctors as ruthlessly as the butcher
carves up his pork and his beef. Rumors of what is
done in these dark dens have found their way into
remote country districts, and have been rehearsed in
circles of awe-stricken hearers, while the hair of their
heads stood up, and their eyes seemed ready to start
from their sockets.

" About the year 1830, Dr. Nelson spent a night at
a public house among the mountains of Virginia. The
landlord was a strong-built, jovial, merry-hearted man,
who evidently was in the habit of using freely what
the New England people call ' rum.' Early in the
morning. Nelson was up, making arrangements for
proceeding on his journey. The landlord, polite and
attentive, was bestirring himself for the accommoda-
tion of his guest.

"'Come, stranger,' said he, setting out a bottle of
spirits, 'help yourself to a morning dram.'

" ' I don't drink spirits.'

" ' Let me, however, recommend a little of this.
The morning is chilly, and this is good as an " anti-
fogmatic." '

'•' ' Excuse me,' said Nelson, ' I know it to be injuri-
ous, and I would advise you to quit it.'

382 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

" ' Well,' said the landlord, with a horizontal shake
of the head, and a self-satisfied strut across the room,
' if it is a poison, it is a very slow one. IVe been
trying it a great while, and I always find that a little
does a man good.'

'' ' Sir,' said Nelson, turning and looking him full in
the face — ' sir, let me tell you that I'm a doctor ; and
I've cut open dead people. I've seen what frightful
havoc this liquid fire that you are drinking makes on
the inside of a man. You think that you are now in
firm health ; but I can tell by your looks that the work
of destruction within you is far advanced. Could you
have a vie w of your entrails at this moment, you would
see them all dappled, streaked, and discolored by this
deadly poison which you are drinking. Yes, you
would now see great bloody knots there, dark and gory,
as big as the end of my thumb.'

" Scarcely did Daniel's interpretation of the hand-
writing on the palace wall produce a more visible change
in the countenance of the Babylonian king, than was
made in the looks of our stout, jocular, but now
startled landlord, by this account of the frightful in-
scriptions of King Alcohol on his inner man. In a
moment his haughty airs were dropped, his proud strut
abandoned ; even his round, joyous face seemed to
lengthen, and his short, chubby neck looked, for the
time, surprisingly slim.

Nelson mounted his horse and resumed his journey.
Whether his remarks produced on the landlord any
thing beyond a mere temporary effect, he had never
afterwards an opportunity to learn.

RECOLLECTIONS OF DR. NELSON. 383

"A SCEPTIC IN TROUBLE.

" Dr. Nelson having been, for many years, a pro-
fessed infidel, and intimately associated with that class
of men, he ever appeared, after his conversion, to have
a special concern for them. Where he could discover
but the dim dawning of honest inquiry, and willing-
ness to know the truth, his sympathies seemed inex-
haustible. With untiring assiduity, he would labor
night and day for the recovery of one such victim
from the meshes of scepticism ; but when, as was
often the case, he encountered the pride of ignorance,
— some little soul, who thought to render himself
conspicuous by strutting against the ordinances of the
Most High ; some Tom Thumb, in the boots of the
giant Incredulity, thinking to stride from hill to hill,
over all that is sacred and venerable in society, — in
such cases, he took high and peculiar delight in de-
molishing, at a single blow, the imaginary greatness of
the self-deceiver. Like Abishai, the son of Zeruiah,
his first blow was perfectly decisive. There was no
need why he should ' smite a second time.' (1 Sam.
xxvi. 8.) Many an anecdote is told in the west of
inflated, towering, cloud-capped Infidelity, that was
shivered -to the ground by one flash of his terrible
genius. An instance of this kind occurred in 1831.
A fine steamboat, crowded with passengers, had left
the wharf at Louisville for Cincinnati. The cabin
was thronged with travellers, of genteel appearance,
cheerful countenances, and engaging manners. An
ignorant, conceited sceptic on board concluded that
this was a favorable opportunity for making an advan-

384 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

tageous display. To some who were near him he
remarked, in a louder tone than others had thought
proper to assume, ' The literary eminence of the age
in which we live is matter of congratulation to all the
real friends of man. The superstitions and prejudices
of former generations are dissolving and disappearing
before the fall-orbed glory of modern science. The
researches of learned men have, at length, ascertained,
conclusively, that the Bible is false ; and that the reli-
gion it teaches is without the shadow of foundation in
truth.'

" ' How's that ? ' said a passenger at a little dis-
tance. ' Do you say the Bible is false ? '

'' ' I do, sir. The discoveries of modern science
have established that fact beyond a doubt. The Bible
is false, its history is fiction, its doctrines a delusion,
its hopes a dream.'

" These ' great, swelling words of vanity ' attracted
considerable attention among those who were not other-
wise occupied ; yet no one attempted to contradict the
sceptic, who, delighted to find himself an object of so
much notoriety, went on to expatiate, for some time,
as he fondly imagined, in a very learned strain, evi-
dently supposing that, like certain committees of Con-
gress, he was ' reporting progress,' in fine style. Dr.
Nelson was sitting near, but judged it best, for a time,
to ' give rope ' to the boaster. When he thought mat-
ters had gone far enough, he turned to the sceptic —
' Have you made yourself acquainted with these sub-
jects, sir ? '

" ' Yes, sir, I have,' was the confident reply.

" ' You have examined, then, the discussion of
learned men on these points, have you ? '

RECOLLECTIONS OF DR. NELSON. 385

" ' Well — why — yes, I suppose I have,'

" * Can you tell me, sir, at what period it was that
Cecrops founded the city of Athens ? '

" ' Cecrops ? ' demanded the sceptic, looking rather
blank.

" ' Yes, sir, Cecrops. At what period, or about
what year, did he found the city of Athens ? '

" ' Well, sir, I believe, really, that I can't remember.'

" ' Can you tell me, then, at what time it was that
Cadmus introduced letters into Greece ? '

" ' Cadmus ? ' said the sceptic, with a look yet more
woe-begone.

" ' Yes, Cadmus, the founder of Grecian literature,
as all the world knows. I asked you at what period
he flourished.'

" ' Why, I — I don't think I am acquainted with
his history.'

" ' Well, sir, at what time lived that notable individ-
ual named Phaeton, whose singular exploits are so
largely celebrated by ancient poets ? '

" ' Phaeton ? ' said the sceptic, with lengthened
visage, and an attitude that seemed to implore com-
miseration.

" ' Yes, sir, Phaeton.'

" ' I believe, sir, I don't know.'

'''My dear sir,' said Nelson, 'you should inform
yourself before you presume to talk so confidently on
these subjects.' Then casting on him, for a few
seconds, a dry, withering look, the power of which
none could know but those who felt it, the doctor
turned entirely away, and engaged in conversation
with those who sat near him. The crest-fallen sceptic
presently shot for his state-room, and displayed himself
33

386 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

no more during the remainder of the voyage. The
style of his retreat resembled that of the prairie fox,
whom the scorching flames have unexpectedly sur-
rounded. He felt that he was sadly singed, and that
all the company beheld him suddenly and surprisingly
curtailed of his flowing honors.

"SACRED POETRY.

" In reference to sacred poetry, the mind of Dr.
Nelson was endowed with peculiarly accurate and
delicate perception. He possessed, in a very high de-
gree, that exquisite intellectual relish, that nice discern-
ment, which we denominate taste. Indeed, before his
conversion, he delighted to revel amidst the gorgeous
beauties of the English classics. Shakspeare. Milton,
Dryden, Pope, Montgomery, Byron, and Walter Scott
were his chosen companions ; but after his mind and
heart were turned to the Lord, Dr. Watts became his
favorite author. Among English sacred poets, Dr.
Watts stood, in his estimation, without a rival, while
he valued highly some of the best productions of
Cowper. Steele, Kirke White, and others.

" His extensive practice as a physician had led hirn
to an intimate acquaintance with the mass of the com-
mon people. He found, by mingling familiarly among
them, that a large proportion of the theological knowl-
edge which they possess is embodied in the standard
hymns of the church, which they have learned by
memory. That individual, or that family, who have
memorized eight or ten standard hymns, such as Dr.
Watts's 2d and 7th hymns of Book I., and 9th, 30th,
66th, 69th, and 107th, Book II., and 1st and 13th of

RECOLLECTIONS OF DR. NELSON. 387

Book III., — those, I repeat it, who have these hymns
well fixed in their minds, are possessed of much im-
portant gospel knowledge. In no other form, where
the English language is spoken, has divine truth, dur-
ing the last hundred years, reached so many immortal
souls, as through these and similar standard hymns.
On this account, they were greatly valued by Dr. Nel-
son. These standard hymns were also very highly
valued by him for the purpose of admonition. He
regarded the exhortation of the apostle, when he
enjoined on the church the duty of ' teaching and ad-
monishing one another in psalms, and hymns, and
spiritual songs.' Dr. Nelson would often sing one of
those instructive and impressive hymns alone, at the
commencement or at the close of a sermon, without
reading it, or first repeating the lines. He believed
that the divine truth embodied in one of these sacred
songs, when it is sung ' with the spirit, and with the
understanding,' is often blessed in arresting the atten-
tion and awakening the conscience of the hearer, when
a solemn sermon may have entirely failed. Thus he
often used singing as a species of sacred rhetoric, for
the purpose of extending the knowledge and the im-
pression of gospel truths among the children of men.

" He also commended the standard hymns of the
church, because they were such effective sources of
consolation to the afflicted. Often, while as a physician
he was among the sick and the dying, he found the
sufferer sustained and cheered by the precious, divine
truth contained in some rich stanza, such as the follow-
ing : —

' O, if my Lord would come and meet,

My soul should stretch her wings in haste,

THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

Fly fearless through death's iron gate,
Nor feel the terrors as she passed.

' Jesus can make a dying bed

Feel soft as downy pillows are ;
While on his breast I lean my head,
And breathe my life out sweetly there.'

" In the social circle, he delighted to take Dr. Watts's
Psalms and Hymns, and read, and point out the beauties
of favorite passages. I have heard him expatiate, in
such circumstances, on the 3d stanza of the 2d hymn,
Book I. : —

' Ere Sin was born, or Satan fell,
He led the host of morning stars :
Thy generation who can tell,

Or count the number of thy years ? '

In the two former stanzas of this hymn, the poet has
been dwelling on the divine grandeur of Christ. He
pursues the same theme through the first two lines of
this stanza ; then his soul is suddenly so overwhelmed
with the ineffable glory of Immanuel, that he breaks
off abruptly from description, and bursts forth into
adoration, closing the stanza with a sublime reference
to the eternity of the Son of God, The 69tli hymn
of Book II., on the subject of God's faithfulness ii>
fulfilling his promises, and the firmness of his word,
was a great favorite with Dr. Nelson. I have heard
him dwell on the 6th and 7th stanzas of that hymn
with an enthusiasm that bordered on rapture : —

' His every word of grace is strong
As that which built tlie skies ;
The voice that rolls the stars along
Speaks all tlie promises.

RECOLLECTIONS OF DR. NELSON. 389

' He said, Let tlic wide heavens he spread,

And heaven was stretched abroad ;
Abraham, IHl be tky God, he said,
And Ire was Abra'am's God.'

"It is much to be regretted, that, in so many of the
American editions of Watts, the corruption ' very,'
instead of ' every,' should have crept into the first line
of the above quotation. The stanza, as Watts wrote
it, is one of the finest in the English language ; but
when ' very ' is suffered to usurp the place of ' every,'
a sad eclipse is thrown over the whole stanza.

" Dr. Nelson's poetical powers, which were of a
high order, and his exquisite and carefully-cultivated
taste for compositions of that kind, prepared him to
place a proper estimate on that wretched mania for
mutilating standard hymns, which has been the vexa-
tion and scourge of the church for a number of the
past years. He regarded the cutting to pieces, or, as
he sometimes expressed it, the ' scalping and toma-
hawking ' of a beautiful hymn, which the judgment
and good taste of the church has sanctioned for, per-
haps, a hundred years, as a grievous outrage, which
the perpetrator has no right to expect the Christian
public to endure. His views are, in substance, the
following : —

" 1. It is flagrant injustice to the author whose name
is used. Hymns are now circulated over the name
of ' Watts,' that Watts never saw. Not only entire
lines, but whole stanzas, of miserable doggerel, that had
no existence till long since Watts left the world, are
now published over the name of that ' sweet singer of
Israel ; ' and the public are told that the author is
' Watts.' This is falsehood and injustice. You would
33*

390 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

not allow a worthy man to be slandered, merely be-
cause he had crossed the ocean, and is now in Europe.
He is in existence still, and still has his rights. And
will you allow that the worthy man who has crossed
the ' narrow sea' that divides earth from heaven, has no
claim to be treated with truth and justice ? Is it not
as wrong to misrepresent the dead as the absent ? And
because the name of Watts, attached to a hymn, will
induce the public to buy the book containing that
hymn, is that a reason why the great poet should be
made to father wretched doggerel, scribbled by some
mutilator, whose brain never was capable of pro-
ducing even the abortion of a poetical idea ? How
indignantly did John Wesley protest against the con-
duct of those who attempted to introduce lean, poverty-
stricken hymns into public notice, by attaching to them
his name, and the name of his brother Charles ! Shall
the dead be slandered, and the church sanction it ?
Jesus Christ maintained that Abraham, and Isaac,
and Jacob are yet living, (Matt. xxii. 32.) and yet
retain their relation to the God of the living. Shall
Abraham be represented as saying what he never said ?
as teaching what he never taught ? And why should
this injurious violation of truth be allowed in the case
of a modern saint, — Watts, or Cowper, or Steele ?

" 2. The mutilation of standard hymns is a great
annoyance to the church. Many of those who delight
in the praises of God have committed to memory quite
a number of the choice hymns Avhich the church has
been using for a long series of years. These have
become very dear to them, not only because of their
intrinsic value, but by reason of many interesting and
precious associations in Christian history and experience.

RECOLLECTIONS OF DR. NELSON. 391

But, lo'! suddenly up starts an inflated, fidgety mutila-
tor, and protests that the hymn which the church has
sanctioned and enjoyed for a hundred years is ' wrong
end up, wrong side out, and wrong foot foremost/
and that there is a clear call in providence for him to
revise and itnprove it. So at it he goes ; and, by the
time he is done, lackaday ! you may apply to it the
description given by the Scotch poet of one of his
heroes : —

' Poor wretch ! the mother that him bare,
If she had been in presence there,
In his wan cheek, and sunburnt hair,
»S7ie had not known her son'

The fact is notorious, that, since the irruption of the
hordes of hymn-mutilators into the church, congrega-
tions have, to a mournful extent, given up the singing
of God's praises in his sanctuary. How can it be
otherwise, when reckless pretenders are suflered to
tamper with and mar the songs of Zion, until they
retain scarcely the ghost of resemblance to their former
beauty and perfection ?

" 3. Dr. Nelson regarded the conduct of the mutilator
as insuflerably presumptuous. Who is this that, with-
out the shadow of claim to poetical talent, rashly pre-
sumes to tear to tatters the sublime productions of ex-
alted genius ? Shall the friends and admirers of Watts,
Cowper, and Henry Kirke White look on this wanton
havoc, and be silent ?

" 4. He maintained, further, that it was a plain vio-
lation of the ninth commandment. He who writes a
string of wretched doggerel himself, and then proclaims
to the public that Watts wrote it, bears false witness
against his neighbor.

392 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

" 5. And, moreover, it is altogether a question whether
the mutilator is not guilty iji the eye of the sixth com-
mandment. There is certainly ' hymn-slaughter ' in
the case ; for the crippled hymn, or, as Nelson ex-
pressed it, the hymn that has been ' scalped and toma-
hawked,' invariably dies. Its lot is more melancholy
than that of the poor man who ' went down from Jeru-
salem to Jericho,' and was ' stripped of his raiment,
and wounded, and left half dead ; ' for the wounded
hymn dies out and out. It dies in the esteem and
affection of the church. It is not sung in its mutilated
form in the prayer meeting, or in the social circle. It
is dead, and, if remembered at all, with interest, it
is as you remember a murdered friend : the interest
is in the memory of what it once was, and not in the
mangled remains now before you.

" Dr. Nelson would sometimes talk familiarly of
scenes that he believed would take place in the next
world. He believed, with Milton, that there may be
more likeness between things in heaven and things on
earth than is often imagined. He would sometimes
entertain his friends with an account of Watts, Cowper,
and Steele meeting the hymn mutilator in a future
state. The scales that prevented him from seeing the
beauty of their productions will then have fallen from
his eyes, and he will be heartily ashamed of what he
has done ; and should he, when walking along the
streets of the New Jerusalem, discover Dr. Watts com-
ing towards him, how eagerly will he look round for
a by-lane or alley, that he may speedily turn a corner,
and escape from the eye of one on whose works he
had perpetrated such outrageous mischief! "

ARMINIANISM vs. THE MILLENNIUM. 393

ARMINIANISM vs. THE MILLENNIUM.

No impartial man can examine the subject carefully,
without being fully convinced, that if the peculiar
doctrines of Arminianism be true, there never will be
a millennium ; and, on the other hand, that if it be
true that a millennial day is approaching, then the
peculiar doctrines of Arminianism are unquestionably
groundless ; and when that bright day of Z ion's glory
arrives, all nations of the earth will look upon those
peculiar sentiments for which our Arminian friends
now contend so zealously, as nothing better than
" wind and confusion,"

No Arminian can avoid seeing, that if he admits
that God designs to convert the whole world at a " set
time," (Ps. cii. 13,) he admits, broadly and fully, Avhat
Calvinists have always meant by the " purpose of God
according to election;" for the most remarkable in-
stance of God's electing love, is his determination to
convert and save all nations in the millennial day.

No Arminian can avoid seeing, that if he admits
that the Lord will "make bare his arm" in the latter
day, and turn all families of the earth from Satan to
God, then he admits the very doctrine of effectual call-
ing, against which Arminians have so long and so
violently contended.

No Arminian can avoid seeing, that if he admits

394 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

that in the latter day Zion's King will " take to him
his great power," and subdue all hearts to the obedi-
ence of the gospel, then he admits the doctrine of
divine sovereignty ; for all acknowledge that God did
not subdue the hearts of all men in the days of Sodom
and Gomorrah, or in any age that has yet passed.

No Arminian can avoid seeing, that if he admits
there will be a long millennial day, a thousand pro-
phetic years, in which there shall be " none to hurt or
destroy in all God's holy mo.untain," then away goes
his favorite doctrine of ''falling from grace;" for the
inhabitants of the earth will not only be converted at
first, but they will remain converted. They will per-
severe in holiness till the end of life.

Thus it is evident, that when the light of the mil-
lennial morning bursts upon our world, the mists and
clouds which now obscure the vision of many pro-
fessing Christians will be rolled away, and divine
truth will stand out with "sevenfold" brightness in
the view of all nations.

The question may now arise. What will our Armin-
ian friends do, in view of the conclusive evidence
which God's promise of a millennium furnishes against
their peculiar sentiments ? I answer, some of them,
when they look at this subject candidly, and see how
absolutely inconsistent their doctrines, are with the
promise of God, that the whole earth shall be con-
verted in the latter day, will doubtless renounce their
errors, and embrace the truth. Of this I am persuaded,
for, —

1. All Christians love truth when it is clearly per-
ceived by the mind ; and, although there are many
ways in which their minds may be prejudiced, and led

ARMINIANISM vs. THE MILLENNIUM. 395

to take a perverted view of certain Scripture doctrines,
yet error is not the native element of the renovated
heart. And we are assured that, when all hearts are
renewed, and all prejudice is put down, and all misrep-
resentation is done away, then all the inhabitants of
the earth shall see eye to eye.

2. We see that, as the Scriptures are examined more
and more, many are coming over from error to the side
of truth. In the county where I live, I calculate there
are now many stanch advocates for the doctrines of
sovereign grace, where there was one twenty years ago.
Knowledge increases, and truth advances, as the day
of the Lord draws nigh.

3. All Christians admit that, in the millennium, the
church will be much more enlightened than at the
present 'time. Show any denomination that the pe-
culiarities for which they contend will certainly be
rejected by the whole church during the millennium,
and at once their faith in those peculiarities is shaken.
No good man is willing to make efforts for the propa-
gation of sentiments which he clearly sees the whole
church will reject as soon as God's glory fills the earth.
For these reasons, 1 doubt not that many who have
hitherto stood up for the peculiarities of Arminianism
will give up the contest, and admit they had been
mistaken, as soon as they perceive the absolute incon-
sistency of those doctrines with the promise of God
that all nations shall be converted " in his time." But
will all renounce these errors ? Not immediately.
Error will not quit the field without a violent struggle.
And although I cannot attempt to point out all the arts
that will be employed to prop a tottering cause, yet the
principal one will be, to deny absolutely that God will

396 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK,

ever grant to the church a millennium, in which, for
many ages, "■ all shall know the Lord, from the least to
the greatest." I have no doubt that, so soon as those
Arminians who are determined to yield to no array of
argument, discover how totally irreconcilable the hope
of a millennium is with the leading features of their
scheme, they will come out and broadly deny that
there will ever be a day of millennial glory enjoyed by
the church on earth. Nor let this be thought incredi-
ble. We find that the advocates of error have, on
former occasions, acted a part altogether as strange,
and have denied doctrines as plainly taught in the
Scriptures as the doctrine of a millennium is or can be.
I will mention one instance. In the days of President
Edwards, Arminians in Europe and America had
breathed out much complaint against the doctrine of
God's decrees, pronouncing it absurd, ridiculous, incon-
sistent, &c. &c. Edwards took up his pen and showed
them, that the doctrine was not only most clearly taught
in the Bible, which they professed to believe, but that
it was also necessarily connected with the doctrine of
God's foreknowledge, which they all maintained ; for,
said Edwards, if God foreknows all events with abso-
lute certainty, before they take place, then they must
be fixed and certain before they take place ; for it is
absurd to suppose that God knows that to be certain
which is uncertain. And if God has foreknown all
events from eternity, then they must have been fixed
and certain from eternity. But if so, some being must
have fixed them, or made them certain ; but no being
existed from eternity but God. He therefore must
have fixed them, in his eternal purpose. Such was
Edwards's argument from the admitted doctrine of

ARMINIANISM vs. THE MILLENNIUM. 397

foreknowledge — an argument too plain to be misun-
derstood, and too powerful to be encountered. The
champions of error were not a little perplexed with
this view of the subject. " And one spake after this
manner, and another after that manner," all feeling that
something must be done to save their favorite senti-
ments, yet each at a loss to know what that something
was. At length it seems to have been agreed that the
plain, unvarnished doctrine of God's foreknowledge is
inconsistent with many of the Arminian peculiarities.
And consequently, singular methods have been resorted
to, either to put down that doctrine entirely, or so to
" darken counsel by words without knowledge," that
the force of Edwards's argument might not be felt.

One class allege, that the actions of free agents are
contingencies in themselves, until they take place ; and
therefore it is not dishonoring God to say, that he can-
not foreknow them with certainty ; for how can that
be certain in the view of God, which is uncertain in
itself? This subterfuge, however plausible in the eyes
of those who use it, is unfortunately directly in the
teeth of those Scripture passages where the Lord .fore-
tells the actions of free agents. He foretold that, Sol-
omon should build the temple, that Cyrus should take
Babylon, that Herod would slay the children in Beth-
lehem, and that Peter would deny his master. These,
and a thousand other instances, show that the future
actions of men are not uncertain in the view of God,
for he can foretell them, and of course does foreknow
them with absolute certainty.

Another class, conscious that the above scheme of
escaping from Edwards's argument would not do, have
alleged that, in the view of the Almighty, no events
34

398 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

are past, and none are to come ; that all things are
present with him from everlasting to everlasting ; and
therefore it is not proper to speak of God's foreknowl-
edge, for in his view one event does not take place
before another, as in ours, but all events stand equally-
present with him from the beginning to the end of
time. On this scheme I would remark, —

1. It is an improvement in theology that has been
discovered since the days of the apostles. Neither
Peter nor Paul was aware that it is improper to speak
of God's foreknowledge. One says to the Jews, " Him
being delivered by the determinate counsel and fore-
knowledge of Godj ye have taken," &c. The other
says to the Romans, "Whom he did foreknow he
also did predestinate." Mistaken apostles ! Had they
only penetrated into the subject far enough to discover
that with the Lord there is, properly speaking, no fore-
knowledge, and that, in his view, one event does not
take place before another, they might have avoided
such gross blunders.

2. If Arminians are correct when they say that, in
the view of the Lord, one event does not take place
before another, but all events have in his view the same
present existence, whether, with respect to us, they
are present, or a thousand years past, or a thousand
years to come, then it will follow that, in the view of
the Almighty, a man is not born before he dies, for he
does not view one event as taking place before another.
In the view of the Almighty, Noah's flood did not take
place before the American revolution. In the view
of the Almighty, Isaiah did not preach in Jerusalem
before Wesley preached in England ; the Bible was
not written before the Almanac for A. D. 1S50 ; the

ARMINIANISM vs. THE MILLENNIUM. 399

law was not given by Moses before the coming of
Christ ; the world was not created before the judgment
day.

3. If it be true, that with the Almighty there is no
foreknowledge, — that those events which in our view
are future, are present in his, so that he does not foresee
them, or look upon them as things yet to come, but
views them as now in actual existence, — then it will
follow, that all the saints now on earth are now, in the
view of the Almighty, as holy and as happy as they
will ever be. There will never come a period when
God will view them in heaven any more than he does
now ; and all the wicked are now, in the view of the
Lord, as absolutely in hell as they will ever be ; and
not only so, but it has been thus from the foundation
of the world — there is no foreknowledge with God.
On the morning of creation, he did not look forward
and see that, in after ages, some of Adam's race would
rise to heaven, and others be cast down to hell. But
in his view, it was all then present ; it had actually
taken place as really as it ever will ! This throws
Calvinism into the shade ! Arminians have long ex-
claimed against the Calvinistic doctrines, because they
represent God as having determined, before the founda-
tion of the world, to take a part of mankind — the
righteous — to heaven, and to send another part — the
wicked — to hell. But according to their OAvn scheme,
which we have been noticing, the Lord not only deter-
mined to do this, but in his view it was actually done,

" Ere sin was born, or Adam's dust
Was fashioned into man."

The saints were placed in heaven, and the sinners were

400 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

sent to hell, as really as they will ever be. Such are
the monstrous absurdities into which men will run, in
order to support a favorite scheme. And now you may
calculate that the doctrine of a millennium will be
denied, as certainly as the doctrine of foreknowledge
has been. For every one must see that the promise of
the millennium is as totally irreconcilable with the
peculiar doctrines of Arminianism, as the doctrine of
foreknowledge is with their scheme in relation to divine
decrees.

They will come out and broadly deny that the
whole earth will be converted, and remain converted
for a thousand prophetic years.

REVIVAL MEASURES. 401

REVIVAL MEASURES.

To us, short-sighted mortals, it seems matter of regret
that a controversy about revival measures should ever
have sprung up in the Christian church. As this world
perishes by neglecting the great salvation, it is impos-
sible for one man to legislate for another, how he may
most successfully, in all cases, call up public attention
to the great truths of the gospel. Let the right thing
be attempted at the right time, in the right spirit, and
by the right man, with judgment and good taste, and
the results will be admirable. But let the ass attempt
to put on the lion's hide, or the crow undertake to
emulate the eagle, and you will have a dolorous ac-
count of the indiscreetness and the unhappy character
of the measure. The agitation of this subject has
often reminded me of the notable lines of Pope : —

" For forms of government let fools contest ;
That which is best administered is best."

Dr. Anderson, of Maryville, Tennessee, came forward
during a sacramental meeting to receive into the com-
munion of the chm'ch a large company of young con-
verts. The assembly was crowded, the solemnity
intense, and the stillness awful, while every eye was
fixed on the affecting scene. In that congregation
were a number of professed infidels. Some of them
34*

402 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

avowed Deism, some Atheism ; but they were men of
genteel manners, who, in a Christian assembly, would
deport themselves with the utmost propriety.

The solemn profession of the religion of Jesus Christ
was now made, the young converts took the vows of
God upon them, and then all who had not received
baptism in infancy came forward one by one, and
kneeling down on a little platform in front of the pulpit,
were baptized " in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost." At the close of this
deeply interesting service, Dr. Anderson made a brief
address to the young converts, exhorting them to
" walk worthy " of the high and holy " vocation
wherewith they were called."

" A wicked world," he exclaimed, " will watch for
your halting. It has crucified your Lord and Master,
and with malicious eagerness and hellish skill it will
spread its snares for you. With flattering vanities,
with deceitful smiles, with bewitching arts, it will
labor to turn your feet aside, that religion may be dis-
honored, that the Savior may be wounded in the house
of his friends, and sadness, sorrow, and despair,
brought into your own souls. O, watch and pray.
Spurn temptation. Resist all the artifices of sin, of
Satan, and of hell. O, follow the Lord fully. Serve him
with all your heart. Lay aside every weight, and the
sin that does so easily beset you, and run with patience
the race that is set before you, looking unto Jesus, the
Author and Finisher of faith. Never faint or tire, until
you have gained the mark of the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. So shall
your Redeemer be honored, the name of your God
exalted, your own souls divinely blessed, and others

REVIVAL MEASURES. 403

shall see your good works and glorify your Father who
is in heaven. And now I turn to the ungodly part of
this assembly. Ye candidates for the second death, I
turn to you. You have witnessed this solemn transac-
tion. You have witnessed the consecration of these
immortal souls to God. You have heard their vows
of eternal allegiance to King Jesus. Now, though you
have rejected the gospel for your own souls, though
you have judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life,
yet, in behalf of these who have named the name of
the Lord Jesus, I appeal to you. Does not conscience
tell you that, though you have chosen the downward
road, yet it is best for them that they should prove
faithful unto death ? that they should be firm in the
service of their God ? Unto you, O men, I call ! You,
whose backs are turned on heaven ; you, whose faces
are set for dungeons of hell ; you, who are hastening
headlong towards the worm that never dies, and the
fire that never shall be quenched, — I appeal to you.
Will not you pledge yourselves to-day, that you will
throw no stumbling-blocks in the way of these souls ?
that you will not attempt to entangle them in the net
of perdition, and drag them down with you to the ago-
nies and the darkness of hell ? And now let every man
that, before earth and heaven, is willing to enter into this
solemn pledge, signify it by holding up his right hand."
The solemnity was overwhelming. The burning zeal
of the minister kindled a flame through the entire audi-
ence ; right hands arose, and were held up over the
whole congregation. The sinner's heart trembled be-
cause of the presence of the God of the whole earth ;
the Christian bowed his head, and worshipped, saying,
with the venerable patriarch of old, " This is the gate

404 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

of heaven." The first right hand that was lifted up,
in this memorable scene, was that of Dr. McGee. He
had professed, for many years, to be a confirmed athe-
ist. He was a scholar, a gentleman, and possessed
many amiable endowments, but had long been settled
down in absolute atheism. Argument had been tried
with him by many strong men, but he seemed im-
movable as the cliff's of the Alleghany. This atheist-
ical Dr. McGee was the first man to hold up his right
hand in the above-described scene. Within a short
time, he came before the congregation, and publicly
renounced his atheism, and solemnly professed his
repentance and his faith in the Lord Jesus. Long will
the church at Maryville remember the day when Dr.
McGee, with tears of penitence for the follies of his
past life, asked to be received into their communion,
and they gave him the right hand of fellowship in the
service of their God. The doctor soon became a
preacher of that faith which once he destroyed, and
lived many years to adorn the gospel profession by a
holy life, and proclaim the riches of a Savior's love to
dying men.

Such is a brief history of one of the boldest, strong-
est, and 7iewest measures that I ever saw attempted in
a revival of religion ; and yet, perhaps not one of the
vast assembly present ever dreamed of calling in ques-
tion its propriety or its usefulness. Why ? Because
it was done with judgment and good taste. It was
done in the right spirit, at the right time, in the right
circumstances, and by the right man. But now let the
wrong man, without judgment or good taste, attempt
such a measure, and he will soon be in a condition to
deliver lectures or publish letters on the " evils of
revivals."

TEMPERANCE SONG. 405

TEMPERANCE SONG.

The following ode was composed at the request of Gov-
ernor Boggs, of Missouri, and sung in the presence of
the members of the legislature, in the hall of the House
of Representatives, February, in the year 1843 : —

When the dark cloud of war threw its gloom round our land,

And the rod of the tyrant was o'er us suspended,
Our fathers aroused, " put their life in their hand,"
And bravely and nobly their country defended.
Then Victory's bright crown encircled their head ;
The haughty invader was routed, and fled ;
And the " star-spangled banner in triumph did wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."

But a deadlier foe stiU was lurking around —
A foe more insidious, and deeply annoying.
Inflicting on health an incurable wound.

And the life of the soul and the body destroying.
We've roused, like our sires, our country to free ;
Already is dawning the glad jubilee ;
And the temperance " banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave,"

'Twas an empire of woe, with a despot enthroned ;

The tears of the mother and widow were streaming.
While around them, in rags, and starving for bread.
Neglected and fatherless children were screaming.
But loud notes of joy on the breezes now swell ;
Our country 's all rising, the foe to expel ;
And the temperance " banner in triumph shall wave
O'er tlie land of the free and the home of the brave "

406 THE WESTERN SKETCH-BOOK.

'Twas a long, dreary night, fraught with danger and death ;

Diseases and vices around us were prowling;
O, the " darkness was thick ! " 'twas a night of despair,
And the voice of a terrible tempest was howling.
But the star of the morn now rises in sight.
And a new, lovely day is diffusing its light ;
And the temperance " banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."

'Twas a deluge of fire that invaded our land,

And mingled hot poison in life's sweetest fountains ;
O, it flooded our fields, and swelled o'er the hills,

And rolled its huge billows above the tall mountains !
But the dove now returns, with the " olive leaf" green ;
Lo ! spanning the heav'ns a bright rainbow is seen ;
And the temperance " banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."

O, how blest is our cause, where friends all unite, —

The son and the father, the husband and brother, —
While beauty looks on, and cheers us with smiles, —
The sister, the daughter, the wife, and the mother !
Come, enlist in this cause ; let all hearts agree ;
Come, down ivith your name, and the land shall be free ;
And the temperance " banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."

O, how happy our land, where the bounty of God

Flows freely and richly, and broad as a river,
While the gospel appears in robes of pure white,
And points us to blessings forever and ever !
Hail ! dear native land, in loveliness dressed,
Through ages on ages, thy children be blessed ;
And the temperance banner — O, "long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave ! "

TENNESSEE PATRIOTIC SONG. 407

PATRIOTIC SONG OF THE

TENNESSEEAN.

Why wander from our early home,

Impelled by hope or fear,
Since bounteous Heaven hath richly shed

Its choicest blessings here ?
Our homes are sweet, our friends are kind.

Our children hale and free ;
" And tlie best of land, we understand,

Is'n the bend of the Tennessee."

We envy not the frozen north.

Its fields of ice and snow;
We envy not the torrid south,

Its sun's o'erpowering glow.
From scorching heat, from piercing cold,

Our happy clime is free ;
" And the best of land, we understand,

Is'n the bend of the Tennessee."

In' days long past, our fathers came

As pilgrims to the west.
And reared their rude and humble homes

On thy fair, bounteous breast.
While panther, wolf, and Indian howled,

They fixed their choice on thee.
" O, the best of land, we understand,