Memoirs and sermons of Wm. J. Armstrong

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MEMOIR.

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13 CHAPTER I. — The early Life of Armstrong — Biographical Ac-

Introduction

combine the several accounts which appeared at the time, as the better to preserve the unity and order of the thoughts and events therein contained ; the other was, to let the writers of those different notices each speak for himself, as he spoke while yet every ear was tingling with the sad reverberations from that doomed vessel, and while that solemn bell was yet tolling the requiem of the departed ones, and anguish and wailing was yet going up from many an afflicted household. I chose the latter method as more consonant, I doubt not, with the feelings of the numerous friends who still retain a vivid recollection of the mournful catastrophe. They would have its events recounted in the language of the day, when men spoke with the voice of the Almighty still sounding in their ears. This, we are persuaded, will more than compensate for the lack of order and consistency which we consent to sacrifice.

In reference to the sermons destined to fill up this volume, the only difficulty has been in the selection. Few pastors, of the same number of years standing, it is believed, left behind them so many good sermons. I do not say great sermons in the usual acceptation of the term, but good, practical, evangelical sermons ; all so uniformly good as to make a selection difficult. I am, therefore, by no means sure that I have selected the best of the great number put into my hands. Those selected will doubtless be pronounced good ; and they present a fair and pleasant record of the man, the preacher, and the Christian.

We present this volume to Dr. Armstrong's friends as a memorial of his worth, sure they will accept the offering as a record of one they loved. You loved him as a man, you honored him as a Christian, you revered him as a minister of Christ, and you will love to cherish his memory, to imitate his virtues, and to transmit his character to your children.

Accept, then, this record of your friend and brother in Christ ;

INTRODUCTION. XI

peruse it ; circulate it ; and pray the great Master of the vineyard that he will raise up a succession of such men to adorn the ministry of reconciliation, to favor God's gracious plans of mercy to the heathen, and thus abundantly to light up with a smile the moral desolations of our world.

MEMOIR OF REV. W. J. ARMSTRONG, D.D.

Chapter I

The early life of Armstrong — M*moir by Rev. David Greene.

THOUGH dead the wise and the good 'man lives ; though dumb, he speaks ; though absent in the place of graves, he is present with us, and we commune with the soul that is gone. He lives in every truth he promulgated, in every precept he exemplified, in every right principle he inculcated, or which he yet more indelibly impressed on the minds of his cotemporaries by living acts ; he lives in every right feeling and moral affection which he transmitted to others. The teachings, the character, the virtues of the good man are immortal. Hence the value of all truthfully written biography. If it be a fair picture of the good man, it is an inheritance to posterity worth preserving. If it be a truthful mirror, we cannot suspend it in too conspicuous a place, or look at it too often. But will it be read? We think it will, and we think so because it pays homage to goodness, to moral excellence, to truth, integrity, benevolence, and amiability.

Eare as these virtues are in our apostate world, yet when they are really seen or recorded, as in the case of the subject of this memoir, they are revered. It is the homage which the world pays to virtue.

Few men have shared so largely in the confidence and affections of all good men as Dr. \V. J. Armstrong. He was one of the five excellent Secretaries of the American Board, who in quick succession, and while their sun had scarcely passed the zenith of life, have been called from their arduous and useful labors below to enter upon a higher service, nearer the great King. Such was the man, such the various posts he held in the King's service, such the work he did, and the universal esteem in which he was held, as to seem to accord to him a memorial among the mighty dead. Armstrong was a man of kindred spirit with Worcester, Evarts, Cornelius and Wisner. He had filled the office of Secretary of the Board longer than either of them — eleven years in all. And such, too, was the manner of his death as to give an interest to the details of his life.

A biographical notice, by the Rev. David Greene, co-secretary of the Board with Dr. Armstrong, very happily portrays, in a few pages, the prominent points of the life of the late secretary. We insert this excellent notice without mutilation or amendment, simply adding to it such other notices as appeared at the time of Dr. Armstrong's death, and as we have been able since to collect. We also interpose a few entries in a brief diary which he kept in the early part of his life, and two letters — one from his excellent father — all furnishing a further illustration of his early life.

"WILLIAM JESSUP ARMSTRONG was born on the 20th of October, 1796, at Mendham, New Jersey, where his father, Rev. Amzi Armstrong, D.D., was pastor of the Presbyterian Church. He was the oldest of nine children, of whom six were daughters. His parents consecrated him to God, and early expressed the desire that, following in the footsteps of his father, he might be qualified for, and in due time enter, the Gospel ministry. Their prayers and councils, and all the arrangements relative to his education, bore on this subject.

" The first years of his life were spent at home, acquiring the common rudiments of an education ; in addition to which he had, at the age of thirteen, made such attainments in the Latin and Greek languages as to be qualified to enter college. But for want of maturity and vigor of physical constitution, and probably, also, a desire to retain a youth of such a temperament longer under the Christian watch and guidance of the parental roof, he was placed on a farm, where he spent about five years, anticipating some of his college studies, but dividing his time mainly between manual labor and reading, the former increasing his muscular energy to a somewhat uncommon degree, laying a foundation for that excellent and- uninterrupted health which he enjoyed, and contributing undoubtedly to that promptness and tact in every station and employment to which he was called, by which his later years were characterized; and the latter storing his mind with much of that general information on which he drew when subsequently occupied with active public labors.

"In 1814, at eighteen years of age, young Armstrong entered the junior class in the college at Princeton, the venerable Dr. Green being then President. Hitherto he had been a lively, ardent, impetuous youth; and though he must have known the wishes and prayers of his father, and that he was sent to college only with the hope that he might become qualified to preach the Gospel, yet he seems not to have sympathized with him, nor spent much thought on his own spiritual concerns and prospects. As the best method of reaching his heart, the father, before the object of his hopes was sent from home, addressed a sermon to the youth of his congregation, prepared with special reference to the case of this son. The prayer of the father was heard, and his aim in part accomplished. By that sermon the first decided religious impressions were made on the mind of the son. These impressions, though partially effaced by the novel scenes and excitements of college life, never wore off; and a few months afterwards, during a revival of religion in that institution, young Armstrong indulged the hope of acceptance with God. This revival, it is understood, gave occasion for the tract, by Dr. Green, entitled ' Questions and Counsels,' which has since been so extensively useful in times of religious awakening."

Fain would we know more of this interesting portion of young Armstrong's life. A youth of eighteen years, he consecrates himself to his God. Here he lays the foundation of that sterling Christian character which so well adorned his after life. How was this character formed, under what guidance, by what helps, through what instructions ? We trace in the formation of such a character the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the counsels of the inspired word. And we may distinctly trace, too, the " Questions and Counsels" and teachings of that time-honored servant of Christ (lately fallen asleep) who then presided over Nassau Hall. Were we to judge of the thoroughness and depth of that work of grace from Dr. Green's carefully drawn up statement, in the .shape of a report to the trustees of the college, wo should expect its converts would prove such men as Armstrong and Bishop Mcllvine, and others of blessed memory, who were its subjects. Yet we are not without another ray of light here. Though Dr. Armstrong was not in the practice of keeping a journal, yet a few

MEMOIR OF VT. J. ARMSTRONG. 1

entries in the early part of his Christian experience give no doubtful intimation of the kind of Christian character which he then began to form. We shall there discover the germ, the elements of that meek, self-denying, energetic religion, which so beautifully characterized his after life. Though they are the breathings of the new-born soul, the fresh aspirations of the bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoicing as a strong man to run a race, yet we discern in them the elements of that character which afterwards so adorned the man, and blessed the church.

Occasionally during the year 1815, the year after the date of the commencement of his religious life, he noted down his religious exercises. We find expressions like these : —

" Oh, for increasing grace ! Oh, for the Holy Spirit to warm and animate my cold and insensible heart, and to revive my weak and dying grace ! How good is God ! Praise him all my soul — all that is within me. Praise his holy name for all his mercies unto me. What precious privileges have I this day enjoyed. Dr. Or. preached from Eph. ii. 14, ' He is our peace.' A powerful sermon, and I humbly hope not quite useless to my dying, immortal soul. How little have I lived to Him who died for me. How much sin have I committed ; how much that I might have done have I left undone ! Gracious Saviour, quicken me by the sanctifying influence of Thy holy spirit, so that I may live more to Thy glory. Subdue these lusts which war against my soul. Kule in me, and reign over me. Be my prophet, priest, and king; be my wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Oh, give me a spirit of earnest, humble, and fervent prayer. Give me the temper of a little child. Make me meek and lowly, make me, if it please thee, an humble instrument in Thy hands of

18 MEMOIR OP W. J. ARMSTRONG.

doing much good in my day and generation. True, Lord, I am unworthy, but Thou art merciful. Thy sacrifice is sufficient. In that world, I place all my hopes. To Thy cross would I nail all my corruptions. By it would I rise to dwell for ever in Thy presence.

" Truly the Lord is good to me, though I am ungrateful. Oh, that His mercies might lead me to repentance — that His suffering, His dying love might sweetly constrain me to love Him with my whole heart, and to serve Him with a perfect service. Blessed, precious, lovely, dying Saviour, take me! take me, oh, take me, with all that I have and am ; renew and sanctify me, make my polluted soul a fit temple for Thy holy spirit to dwell in. Give me a spirit of prayer ; grant communion and fellowship with Thyself. May I live near to Thee — may I walk with God.

" How little I have profited by the privileges of this day. Lord, call me not to an account in justice as Thou mightest do for misimprovement. Look in mercy on me through the mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ. For his sake have mercy on me and bless me. Create in me a new heart, and renew in me a right spirit. Guide me in the path of wisdom ; make me wholly Thine. May I live in Thy fear and to Thy glory. Thou knowest my heart — lead me in Thine own way. Bless to me the opportunity of hearing Thy word this evening.

" Again the light of that blessed morning that saw the Lord arise has greeted my opening eyes. But how cold has it found me. How little prospect of a blessing on this day unless God, for his own mercy's sake, interpose. My heart is cold as the ice, and harder than the nether mill-stone. How dead and cold were my secret prayers this morning. Oh, blessed sun of righteousness, shine upon me, and warm and animate my cold

MEMOIR OF VT. J. ARMSTRONG. 19

and lifeless affections. I do long for Thy salvation. I do earnestly long for Thy presence, and to enjoy the sweets of communion with thee. I deserve them not, but Thou hast said I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Call me — draw me sweetly to thee by the sweetly constraining influences of the blessed Spirit. Oh, for a sight of my blessed Jesus — for one of his seraphic smiles, to give me, even in this world of sin and sorrow, a precious foretaste of those joys which angels and the spirits of just men made perfect, have, while they cast their sorrows at His feet, — and in loudest symphony tune their golden harps to the praises of the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world.

" This day I have made a solemn resolution in the presence of God, and, in His strength, I humbly hope never again so to yield myself to temptation as to indulge in my most easily besetting sin. I most fervently pray that he would keep me from it by his grace, and grant, for Jesus' sake, that I may serve him in holiness all the days of his life.— W. J. A. [Broken] — God be merciful to me a sinner. — W. J. A."

In the breathings of this new-born soul, we meet the earnest pleadings for greater measures of grace — deep searchings of heart — the self-renouncing, self-denying spirit — an honest self-examination, and an earnest desire that he may at once enter the service of his new Master : " Quicken me by the influence of Thy Spirit — rule in me and over me. Oh, give me a spirit of earnest, humble, fervent prayer. Give me the temper of a little child. Make me meek and lowly ; and if it please thee, make me an humble instrument in Thy hands of doing much good in my day and generation." K"or were these aspirations after holiness, these hungerings and thirstinga for greater supplies of grace.

this ardent desire to be good and to do good, in vain. They were incipient motions of that spiritual life which was so richly developed in after manhood. They reveal the source of that life, and the means by which it is watched over and cherished, and brought to maturity. Piety is a delicate germ, planted by the hand of the ever blessed Spirit, yet, unless it be cherished by the kindly influence of prayer, and fed by the bread of life, and rooted in the soul by meditation on the Divine Word, and watered from the wells of salvation — unless the genial sun shine upon it, and the breath of Heaven breathe upon it, it will wither and bring forth no fruit.

Such was not the religion of the lamented Armstrong. His religion was a full, flowing, fertilizing stream, gathering strength and depth and momentum at every step of its progress ; becoming broader, purer, more fertilizing as it gently descended into the ocean of eternal bliss. It was the river of life flowing out from the throne of God, and after meandering in delightful luxuriance amidst the moral desolations of this fallen world, dispensing untold blessings in its course, it returned to the exhaustless fountain from which it sprung. Be it our delightful task to start from these small, yet not insignificant, beginnings, and to follow down this living stream, marking well the deserts it has made glad, and the solitary places it has made to blossom as the rose.

The following letter reveals a secret in the formation of Dr. Armstrong's character. Never was parental instruction better given or more honestly and profitably appropriated. Though the letter gives us but a single glance at the parental and ministerial character of the father, it is enough to indicate the rich patrimony which fell to the lot of the son. He evidently "divided his living" with a son, \vho played not the prodigal, but suitably used the goods that fell to him from a worthy father. But we will let the letter speak for itself.

Letter addressed to Wm. J. Armstrong by his fat/ter, Rev. Amzi Armstrong.

"Mendham, 20th Feb. 1815.

" MY DEAR SON :

u Yours of the 10th inst. came in due time by the mail. Never before did you give me such pleasure and comfort as when you asked counsel of me, to help you in the service of the Lord Christ, and concerning the way of life. It is of immense importance to you that the present precious opportunity you enjoy should be used to acquire a fixed and settled taste and decided predilection for your Lord's service, and for the moral principles, and the holy doctrines of His word. Cultivate, therefore, I beseech you, a spirit of meek and dutiful obedience to his will, and firm and unwavering reliance upon his word and promise. I hope the spirit of grace has wrought in your heart that full persuasion which has given you a more complete and joyful assurance that Jesus is the Christ, and that all the promises of God are in him, yea, and in him amen, than you ever had of any other truth or position whatever. This is the rock on which the church is builded, and the foundation — the cornerstone of all our hopes.

" Strive to have this conviction deeply inwrought into all the sentiments and feelings of your heart. This you cannot accomplish by any artful contrivances or stratagems ; but only by maintaining a meek and dutiful temper, and strengthening the conviction by prayerful reading and meditation in the Divine "Word. That word is the great charter of your Christian hopes,

2* and must be your guide in the path of life, and, therefore, your best security will be an intimate and pious acquaintance with it.

"Whether written obligations, as you mentioned in your last, would be useful in your case, I am at a loss to judge. My opinion has been, that for persons naturally of a phlegmatic, unyielding temper they may be useful. But for those of a more pliant and generous native temper, it is better that they accustom themselves to frequent repeated acts of consecration in prayer and worship addressed immediately to their Lord, continually referring in their thoughts and feelings to those highest bonds, and most solemn obligations that are written and sealed in the blood of Christ. In every case there is danger, I suppose : the execution of such written obligations as, I think, Dr. Doddrige proposes, may lead to a legal and self-righteous spirit in relying, if not on our own doings, yet on our purposes of doing, and in holding ourselves bound, by our own act, rather than by those everlasting and most solemn obligations which we owe to God in Christ.

" I think it would be better for you if you could habituate yourself to a cheerful and entire trust, committing yourself and all your interests and concerns to God in Christ, and being anxious only to obey his will and do his service. Your self-examinations, then, would turn not on the question ' Am I safe ?' but on this rather, 'Do I reverence and love my Lord and Master, and am I obedient to His holy will and pleasure ?' And if, at any time, fears and doubts beset you hard, look into the pages of His sacred Word for a refreshing of your faith in that Divine truth, which is the source of light and peace. And continue to look there, with prayer and supplication, and turn not to any other expedient, till the spirit of grace revive that persuasion which so fills and satisfies the mind as to leave no wish or desire unsatisfied, but this, that you may serve and please the Lord. Be assured that nothing short of this persuasion of the truth as it is in Jesus will ever fill your heart with the true joy and peace of the believer, and without this persuasion all other sources of joy and consolation must fail you. Your Christianity is no better than deism if this be not the chief and leading axiom in it, that Jesus is the Christ ; and it is only by a direct view of faith, beholding the Lamb of Grod, that the power of sin in us, and over us, is effectually broken. If you lose sight of this object, you will be involved in darkness. And, remember, God requires of you the exercise of your moral faculties, and your rational nature, in habits of believing, and extended views of the precious truth, to suPPtyj m a measure, the place and office of those vivid apprehensions which are the more immediate work of the spirit of grace, and which you are not to expect will be always continually supplied to you in your state of trial ; else there would be no trial. If you be indeed a Christian, it is your faith that is to be tried, that your temper may be mended. You are not to be guided or measured by men, nor to rely on comparing yourself with yourself, but your rule of faith and the foundation and support of your hope, are to be taken only from the sacred Scriptures.

" Your very affectionate father,

ARMSTRONG."

The lines which follow, the effusions of his youthful heart and untried muse, give us a further intimation as to where young Armstrong gathered the elements of that healthful, Bible character, which unfolded in such ripeness in after years. The means by which these

24 MEMOIR OF W. J. AKMSTKONG.

stanzas were preserved, and the source from which they came into the hands of the compiler, give them some additional interest. There still lives in this place an aged woman, now humbled and debased, who well knew the Armstrong family when William was a boy. Either from repetition, or otherwise, she had received these lines, and committed them to her memory. And there, after more than thirty years, was found the only copy known to be in existence. The following facsimile was taken, verbally, from its original plate and transferred to paper : —

THE BIBLE.

The Bible, mnu's best friend on earth, Friend, indeed, of Heavenly birth, Precious gift of God to man, Who Thy excellence can scan f

In this vale, where sorrows spring, Thou canst make the mourner sing; In this land of darkest night, Thou canst cheer with heavenly light.

When the heart corrodes with care, Sweet Thy consolations are ; When the anguished spirit dies, Springs of life are Thy supplies.

In the hour of ardent youth, May I love Thy sacred truth ; May it all my actions guide, May it check my passions' tide.

When advancing on life's stage, I arrive at middle age, Be thou still my chosen friend, All my footsteps to attend.

May I never, never stray, From that calm and peaceful way, Over life's tempestuous sea, PoinUd out alone by Thee.

MEMOIR OK \V. J. ARMSTRONG. 25

When I hear the billows roar, As they dash against that shore Whither all are tending fast, At which all must end at last :

As a beacon shed Thy light, O'er the waves, dispel the night, Cheer the darkness, cheer the gloom, Thickening awful o'er the tomb.

Light me to that blissful port, Where my Saviour holds his court ; Then I'll chant Thy praises high, There my joys will never die.

In this connection, the following letter will be read with interest; it is the voice of a much respected friend. Not only does it come as a timety and faithful messenger, to serve our present purpose, but to many it will be received as a precious record of by -gone scenes of peculiar interest. That precious revival was the beginning of spiritual life to some of the brightest ornaments of the American church. Armstrong, Mcllvaine, Daniel Baker, Byington, and Governor McDowell, of Virginia, were the subjects of it. It was truly a fountain from which flowed forth many a copious stream that has carried beauty and fertility through as many desert fields.

" Belvidere, K J., Aug. 5th, 1851.

" MR. A. MERWIN.

" My dear Sir, — As you have desired from me any information that I may possess relative to the important change in the moral character of that devoted servant of God, I hasten to communicate such knowledge as I possess touching the single point of his conversion. At the time of this remarkable outpouring of God's spirit, I was a member of the senior class, and certain events that transpired then have left an indelible impression

26 MEMOIR OF AV. J. ARMSTRONG.

on my mind. At this period, and how many years prior I know not, an evening prayer meeting was carefully observed by the few pious students of the college. The hour for that meeting was announced by the bell, intimating to the students that the time had arrived when each was expected to retire to his room for the night.

" These were precious meetings for praise and prayer, and as my room was central in its position, it was the place for assembling during most of the two years that I remained in Princeton. There were students at this time connected with the college, who by their riotous and insubordinate conduct had caused the faculty much trouble. Daniel Baker, a beloved classmate and most intimate friend (now Dr. Baker, signally blessed in his labors as a pastor and missionary), in one of our walks, proposed that we should make a special effort for the conversion of our fellow students. It happened that we were members of the different literary societies connected with the college. He a Whig and myself a Clio. The spirit of rivalry between these societies was such that there was but little social intercourse among the students, excepting as Whigs associated with Whigs, and Olios with their fellows. The simple plan proposed was for each to select some one of our unconverted friends, and having made them the subject of special prayer, affectionately and earnestly to direct their immediate attention to the subject of personal religion ; and to report whatever of an interesting nature might occur. I have always felt, in looking back to this subject, that God put this thought and desire in Brother Baker's heart, and that this, however small, was the beginning of that work of grace which issued, under the appropriate means, in the conversion of so many men who have honored God in the ministry, and in the other professions which they have so usefully sustained.

The first person that I took occasion to converse with was a Mr. Newbold, of Philadelphia, a member of the junior class. He was a young man, amiable, of a correct deportment and universally respected. As a scholar, he stood at the head of his class. I never shall forget the tenderness of feeling that he manifested, and the warm embrace with which he drew me to his bosom. He literally took me up in his arms, and said that he had thought often and much on the subject of his soul's salvation, and expressed a determination to delay the matter no longer. He said he had often felt a wish to attend the prayer meeting, but feared he might intrude. That night he was present, and shortly after gave evidence of decided piety. Through his agency the first Sabbath school was organized in Princeton, which I think, indeed, was the first established in New Jersey. It was his purpose to have preached the Gospel, in connection with the Episcopal Church ; but he was called to serve God in his upper temple. The second person that I ventured to address was William. J. Armstrong. I knew him to be the son of a distinguished and devoted minister of the Gospel, and of course the subject of many prayers. Mr. A. had been connected with the college but a short time, but sufficiently long to make it known that he was a man of mind, and a scholar of the first order. He was full of life and good humor ; I think in no way immoral, but manifesting no interest on the subject of religion. I met in this case, also, a very cordial reception. I do not remember even the substance of our conversation ; but this I recollect, that he formed the solemn purpose to give his heart to God, and that I believe was the beginning of that obedience and devotedness to God's service which characterized his subsequent life. Brother Baker, I think, invariably met with a similar reception, and soon a goodly number attended our evening meeting for prayer; indeed after a few weeks our room could not contain them, and it was a most interesting sight at last to behold the whole college, with perhaps a few exceptions, on their knees in social prayer. Dr. Greene labored abundantly in the work, and had the efficient aid of the professors in the Theological Seminary. Mr. A. communicated the state of his mind to his father, and about the time he began to indulge a hope of an interestin Christ, he received and read to us a most affecting letter from his father, in which he stated that he and his mother had just risen from prayer, where they had wrestled with the angel of the covenant that he might be made the subject of the renewing grace of God.