Farewell to the First Congregational Church in Norwalk, Conn. (bound with other addresses)

ajurnell 5lltti»eratta Cihrarg Charles H. Hull Cornell University Library BX7233 .HI 7 (Discourses. olin 3 1924 029 487 497 B Cornell University ^ Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029487497 "> - ^^^2^-92^ f^^x-^^/^ BICHARUe^ PROI'ESSCFt '3F CHRISTTATl THEOLOGY ft,-^,.-.-^ TV 'f FAEEWELL fm\ Cnngregatoiml Cjitirrj) IN NORWALK, CONN., SABBATH, APRIL 29, 1855. BY REV. EDWIN HALL, D.D. AT THE CLOSE OP HIS LABORS AS PASTOR OE THE CHnKCH FOR TWENTY-THREE YEARS. NEW YORK: W. H. TINSON, PEINTEE AND STEREOTTPER, 24 BEEKMAN STREET. 1855. NoBWALK, May 2, 1865. To Eev. E. Hall, D.D. Rev. and Dear Sib : — At a meeting of the First Congregational Society of Norwalk, holden at the Lecture Room, on Monday last, the undersigned were appointed a Committee to convey to you their unani- mous acknowledgment, that, during the long period you have been their Pastor, you have preached to them the Gospel in its fullness and purity ; that your pastoral duties have been performed with kindness, faithfulness, and impartiality ; that your daily walk, as a man and a Christian, has been eminently such as to win their confidence and esteem and that of the community at large ; and to assure you, that entertaining these senti- ments, and regretting the partial loss of health which has induced you to separate from them, they shall ever hold your services, and intercourse, and character, in grateful and affectionate remembrance ; and pray that length of days and temporal happiness, and the peace that passeth all understanding may attend you in the new relations you are called to sustain. We were further charged with the duty of conveying to you the unani- mous request of the Society, that you will favor them with a copy of your Farewell Sermon, for publication. Hoping that a compliance with their request will be consistent with your views and feelings, we are Very truly and sincerely Your friends, Thomas B. Butler, Stiles Cubus, L. Hyatt, Charles Lock^wood, A. E. Beard, Ira Gbegokt, Henry I. Hoyt. FAREWELL SERMON. 2 COE. XIII. 11. " FINALLY, BRETHREN, FAREWELL. BE PERFECT, BE OF GOOD COMFORT, BE OF ONE MIND, LITE IN PEACE ; AND THE GOD OF LOVE AND PEACE SHALL BE WITH YOU." The apostle having, in two long epistles, set forth to the Corinthian, brethren the whole scheme of Christian, doctrine, with every exhor- tation to holiness, comes, at last, to a point where his labors for their good must close. In a few brief words he sums up the amount of all he would say, and bids them a final farewell, ' ' Final- .ly, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace ; and the God of love and peace shall be with you." " Be Perfect." — The word in the original, for Be perfect, is used in Mark, i. 19, where James 6 and John were " mending " their nets ; — repairing whatever was defective or unsound ; making them whole, complete, and serviceable. It is used m Gral. V. 1, for restoring one who has been over- taken in a fault. It is used in Luke vi. 40. Every one that is perfect shall be as his master ; i. e., every one that is a complete, finished disciple, shall be of such a character as Christ. If the original idea of mending is retained, every man wholly restored from his sins, and made a complete Christian, shall be like Christ. The word is used, Heb. xiii. 21, " The God of peace make you perfect in every good work, to do his will." Be perfect : . be complete Christians ; having a symnietrical and finished Christian character. Let your whole mind, soul, spirit, and life be wholly imbued with Christianity, and completely under its power. Some Christians content themselves with one or two traits of Christianity ; and, overlooking other important requisites, grow up sadly out of shape. Some, ^W-ho lay great stress on devotional frames of mind, and who, perhaps, excel in spiri- 7 tuality and prayerfulness, forget to be active in "well-doing — in feeding the hungry, "clotliing the naked, visiting the sick and the prisoners, and endeavoring to lead souls to Christ. Some, who are in repute for devotional piety, strangely fail in honesty or in liberality, — become hard men to deal with, or have an unpleasant temper, and fail in kindness and love. It should seem hard to explain how such qualities can exist together ; but man, when he is renewed, has two natures : he delights in the law of God after the inner man, but he finds a law in his members warring against the law of his mind, and bringing him into cap- tivity to the law of sin and death. While he watches and cultivates one part of his character, the evil breaks out unnoticed in another, and he may be all unconscious of it. Some are active in the church, but self-sufficient and self-willed. Some fail in direct activity, who are yet even in their course, and much to be relied on in case of need. Some run well in other respects, but fail in the graces of forbearance and patience. They cannot bear a slight injury, or a disrespectful or disparaging remark. They lack the charity that beareth all things ; not considering that in this sinful world whoever would possess his soul in patience, must bear many things, which would not need to be borne if the world were not in a fallen state : and not considering, perhaps, that they themselves are not fit for a better world. Some do well till they are injured ; and then they show they have not yet attained the grace of the Saviour, who, when he hung upon the cross, instead of speaking one word of rebuke, by which his enemies would have withered up and perished, only said. Father, forgive them, they know not what they do. Some do very well in prosperity, but when troubles come they faint, and forget to profit by the words which are written for our comfort, and which describe the Lord as our Rock, our Fortress, our High Tower, our very present help in time of trouble. It requires many and many a lesson, and much severe discipline, to take a poor, fallen creature, whose depravity is not only innate, but strengthened by long habits of evil, and to make him in all respects a complete, perfect 9 Christian. But this is what we are to strive for, to be perfect ; to be as kind, as just, as true, as pure, as merciful, as forbearing, as patient, as zealous in doing good, as meek, as humble, as prayerful, as full of piety to God, as heavenly- minded, as strong in the faith, as hopeful, as far raised above all improper despondency or gloom, as Christianity requires. This is what we are to strive for to be perfect, with every sin subdued, every defect in our character removed, and every ornament, and grace, and excellency in us in full perfection. All this is a great work for a poor, feeble^ wicked worm of the dust to undertake, but this it is to undertake to be a Christian. It is wonderful what time, and pains, and prayer, and the grace of God will accomplish in one who earnestly sets about the work. Who of us doing it ? Who of us will endeavor to fulfill the apos- tle's injunction. Be perfect ? "Be of Good Comfort." — This is a world of trial. In addition to the ordinary troubles of life, Christians, in the days when the apostle wrote. 10 suffered from the hostility of the world. There are also spiritual afflictions ; when the child of God feels his infirmities, and is distressed with his sins as with the body of death. Hunger, cold, want and the fear of want, are not the only trials of life ; no, nor is one's own sickness or distress, nor one's own calamity or death. Many of our keen- est afflictions arise from our purest affections ; as when we are called to part with our children, or our dear friends ; or when we are afflicted with their sorrows. One may have reached a point where all anxiety for himself ceases, yet his care for the welfare or for the afflictions of those who are nearest to him, may greatly oppress his heart. But whatever be the trials of the Christian, whe- ther outward distress or inward sorrow, it is always his privilege and his duty to be of good comfort. The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice : much more the children of Grod ! Have you cares ? Oast them on the Lord. Are you afflicted ? Pray. Are you troubled with anxious forebodings ? Take no thought for the morrow. The Lord only calls you to bear the evil that he lays upon you 11 to-day. Do embarrassments and trials surround you? Count it all joy. They are the trial of your faith and patience. They are exercises of the gi^ace of submission ; light afflictiorls, but for a riioment, working out for you a far more exceed- ing and eternal weight of glory. Are you anxious for Zion ? Are you grieved for the afflictions of J-o'seph ? The Lord loves Zion more than any of her children love her. He may be preparing the richest mercies in ways that seem the darkest. Or if what seems adverse is a chastisement, that may be'iliore TOedfur than anything else ; the richest blessing, in the end, that a faithful Grod can bestow. With the throne of grace' open before him ; with a kind Father— a Faithful Q-od for his rock and refuge, his very present help in time of trbiible, the Christian may well be of good com- fort. Cast away gloomy, desponding, ' thoughts. Trust in God. Seek his face. Repose in him ; aiid Rejoice ever more ; and again I say,'Rejoice. "Be of One Mind." — Wh^re age, and taste, and judgment; and temperament, and interest, cause 12 men to differ so much, it would seem almost impossible that a large community, or church, can in all things long continue unanimous. Unad- vised speeches, little misunderstandings, party- feelings, and sin in a thousand forms, aU tend to get them out of patience and out of confidence with each other. Then all men love to have their own way. The world would stagnate if the views, feelings, and tempers of all were alike. If all material objects were of the same chemical cha- racter, the world would die. It would be a dull world indeed, if all things were of one color. Music would be a wearisome monotony, if all were one note. Grod made men to differ. Their looks differ ; their complexion, their gait, their minds, their voices ; and so with their views. God meant it so. There is use in it. But as all nature in its infinite variety blends in harmony and beauty, so it should be with the differences among men. Expect differences. Never demand that all shall feel and think alike. Yet remember how some of our dearest interests depend upon union ; and how necessary these very varieties of thought 13