Memoir of Rev. Joseph Badger / Fourth Edition

by E. G. Holland

There were plans occupying his mind at this time, which, though unannounced to the world, were of large moment. Aside from ministerial duties, at home and abroad, he contemplated the publication of several works. He intended to have given the world the biography of several distinguished ministers whose lives were closed in the field of arduous labor. Among these, he had selected, for a prominent place, the life and writings of Joseph Thomas, of Ohio, a man of eloquence and interesting ability. All the materials for this book now lie in Mr. Badger's desk, in the order in which he arranged them. In ministerial biography, how capable had been his pen! His acquaintance and experience were so extensive that, from memory alone, he could have drawn the largest contributions for his object. He had also determined on editing a Church History which should have reflected the success of Christian principles preached for half a century. In this, also, how largely was he qualified to do justice to his undertaking! No inconsiderable quantity of material gathered for this purpose now remains in his library; but the hand that would have edited them is motionless for ever, and the son whose age and capacity then qualified him to second and to render effectual his enterprises, was taken from the earth. Notwithstanding these breaks in these cherished aims, his life continued active, and the churches felt the weight of his counsel and the worth of his influence.

In June, he attended three conferences in the State; at Rock Stream, Yates County, where the attendance of both ministers and people was great, he preached, on Saturday, a sermon of marked character, full of the calm and harmonizing spirit of Christianity, founded on Ps. 119: 165: "Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them." It had a visible influence, it was thought, on the proceedings of the body, and on the tone of all the meetings. In dwelling on the peace of the divine law, he spoke of the trials of brethren against each other as wholly wrong; as unnecessary; he dwelt on the repose of spirit, on the fine feelings and peaceful sentiments of the true Christian, explaining the latter part of the passage as meaning that "nothing shall cause them to offend." At this time, he was appointed chairman of the committee on education, who met in the new chapel at Honeoye Falls, September, 1839, and there decided the location of the contemplated seminary in favor of Starkey, N. Y.

This season, Mr. Badger attended several dedications of new chapels in western New York; one at Union Springs, on the shores of the Cayuga, one at Searsburg, one at York, one at Laona; whether he was present at the dedication of the churches at Springwater and Machias, no evidence informs us. At Marion, Wayne County, N. Y., September, 1840, he preached eleven sermons, which were followed by good effects. I here quote a paragraph, as it embodies his opinion on the subject of revivals:

"Some would call our meeting at Marion a protracted effort; but I care not what it is called, provided God is honored and souls are saved. A protracted meeting, conducted by enthusiastic, proud, extravagant, and ranting leaders, is a curse to any well-organized congregation. Some men think it is no matter what means are employed if an effect is produced; the end will justify the means. But this is a dangerous sentiment. Let a meeting be conducted for days or weeks, with prudence, candor and solemnity, let an appeal be made to the understanding of rational men, let their judgment be informed; then the experience will be sound, the effect lasting, and the revival will be a blessing and an honor to any congregation."

It were, indeed, a lengthy task to record the history, in detail, of his various labors from 1840 to 1848. Justice, however, demands a condensed statement of facts. In 1840, his labors were very successful in Stafford, Genesee County, N. Y. About sixty were added to the church. Under his labors, the Christian society of that place merged out of many discouragements. In the spring of 1841, he speaks of a revival in his own assembly; of some sixty who had made religion a fact of inward experience; of the reception of about forty members into his church; of the baptism, at one time, April 25th, of twenty-nine persons in the waters of the Honeoye; of other important seasons of administering this symbolical rite to persons in whom had just opened the new epoch of a spiritual life. The first year of his retirement from editorial labor was spent in considerable devotion to study and reflection. This year, he visited Castile, Wyoming County, N. Y.; also several other places whose condition required his assistance. He said:

"No energy should be suffered to slumber, no rational and scriptural means should be left unimproved, for the conversion of sinners, and the perfection and holiness of the church of God. In such exciting times as these, what a steady and constant care should every Christian exercise in order to 'discern between the precious and the vile,' and be suitably guarded against the extravagant inventions of men, which direct the mind from Christ and from that holy work which devolves upon our hands as disciples. How many have followed vain speculations and empty theories until they have lost their Christian meekness and zeal, and have become proud, haughty, heady, self-righteous sectarians, the sport of the infidel, or stumbling-block to sinners, and a reproach to the cause of God. In this state of things, ministers should be awake, divested of the world, harnessed for the holy war, and, in Christian meekness, should lay the axe at the root of every evil tree, whether within or without the church. In this view of things, I have not dared to engage in any worldly enterprise, and now feel strong, as in my youth, to go forth into the harvest of the Lord. It will be thirty years next August since I engaged in the work of the ministry. I mourn that I have done no more good. The past year, I have preached as many sermons, and labored as hard, as in any other year of my life, and I trust it has not been in vain. To be useful to the souls of men, to produce a healthy and saving influence in the church, should be the great motive to govern all good ministers of our Lord. With this object in view, every man who puts forth an untiring effort will assuredly see the fruit of his labor.

"When our American fathers fought for liberty, the love of country inspired their bold and worthy devotion. Their voluntary suffering and sacrifices were the loud clarions to proclaim immortality upon their names and virtues. It is so with ministers and people; where a suitable degree of love to the Redeemer's cause is felt, the sacrifices will be voluntary and hearty, and the blessing is sure to follow as that they put forth a suitable effort from the right motive. But we too often ask and receive not, because we ask amiss, by asking or laboring with a wrong or impure desire. Whether the minister is suitably remunerated or not, he should do all he can for the cause of God, and leave his hearers to answer in the judgment for their treatment to him. Let us, as ministers and people, do our duty, come what will. It will be a poor apology for a minister in the judgment day, when asked why he was no more active in God's vineyard, to say that he was poorly paid; and it will be a poor apology for the miserly professor, when asked why he has sustained the Gospel ministry no better, to say he did not like the minister, that he never signed subscriptions, or any of the thousand excuses the covetous urge in this life. When we behold all the beauty of nature, all the splendid works of art, and all the wealth of this vast world melted down in the general conflagration, how will Christians mourn over the pernicious worldly spirit which has choked the good seed, rendered them nearly useless in the church, and presented them mere dwarfs in the presence of God. Oh, foolish Christians, to be so worldly now; of what blessings do you deprive yourselves in this life, and what a reward you lose in heaven! Oh, precious Zion, how she bleeds and suffers, and how indifferent her professed friends! Who will put forth a helping hand to rebuild her waste places?"

As his own congregation was now established on a good foundation, numbering upwards of a hundred members, he began to think of devoting his labors one half of the time to the churches generally, to raise in them a higher tone of religious feeling. In the winter of 1842 he visited Yates County, preached thirty-one sermons in the village of Dundee to large assemblies. His sermon on temperance raised one hundred and four signers to the pledge; his personal visits to the liquor-sellers took every drop from their stores, so that none of it could be bought. His sermon on profane swearing changed the tone of language among young men, and gave rise among them to an association whose object was the cultivation of a pure speech. Being unable this year to comply with the invitation of his brethren in Michigan to attend their Conference, he addressed them a letter, in which he offered the counsels he supposed adapted to their condition in a new country, among which was the idea, that if they would prosper as a people, they should, in building chapels, be careful to select the best locations, to build in thriving villages and in cities; for he pleaded that a village, however small or wicked it might be, is a far better location than can be gained a mile or so distant, inasmuch as it is sure to finally centralize the interest of the surrounding region.

In the fall of 1842, Mr. Badger resigned his pastoral care of the church at Honeoye Falls, that he might travel among the churches, and be free to attend the many calls for ordination, dedication, and other services that were made upon his time and labor from abroad. This separation was in the kindest feeling, and on the part of the society was accompanied by a commendatory letter that expressed the highest regard for his services and character, a regard based on an acquaintance of twenty five years. The society, with the counsel and approval of their former pastor, engaged the labors of Rev. Oliver Barr, whose tragical death in the late railroad disaster at Norwalk, May 6th, 1853, has given occasion to many expressions of appreciation and sympathy. Under the labors of Mr. Badger, this society stood on a solid basis of prosperity and union; all in all, their position was stronger and their influence sounder under his pastoral care than they ever have been since they were organized as a church. Mr. Badger is again free to obey the miscellaneous calls of his brethren and of the community in general, December 7th, he attended the dedication of the church at Shelby; the 8th, he preached the ordination sermon of Chester Covel, and for several weeks continued meetings with success. He valued this revival, because its subjects were persons of character, talent and influence, "who would do honor to any cause," and because they embraced Christianity understandingly, and not from excitement and fear. "Where men are frightened, abused and stormed into sectarian measures," said Mr. B., "they may make professions, and like slaves may submit to Christian ordinances, but they will seldom walk worthy of their avocation. Such persons will generally make warm partisans and proud worldly professors, rather than humble, useful Christians." He also visited Ogden and Barry, and gave several discourses. He did not preach six sermons in any place during his labors in the bounds of the Western Conference, without seeing a revival commence. He speaks highly of that association of churches and ministers.