Memoir of Rev. Joseph Badger / Fourth Edition

by E. G. Holland

"Man," he said, "is the noblest part of the work of God. He is made capable of great good and of enjoying great happiness; is formed for society, and qualified for government; he is capable of enjoying God's blessings here and his eternal presence hereafter. In his first state he had an extensive dominion over every creature of the earth, but in consequence of sin the crown falls from his head, guilt, misery, and slavery become his companions. Nothing but righteousness can extricate mortals from this low condition and restore to them that holiness and government which Heaven designed them to enjoy. Reason and revelation concentrate their light in the human breast, and prompt us to contemplate with wonder the stupendous works of our glorious Author, 'to look through Nature up to Nature's God,' and to behold also the mighty changes and revolutions which have occurred on the great theatre of nations."

This address, which is full of historical remark and practical reflection, is throughout a cool and rational view of the topics introduced. He glances over the discovery of the Continent, the settlement of the Colonies, the Indian, French, and American wars, the memory of heroes, the effect of America on foreign nations, the origin of the two forms of government, monarchical and republican, locating the former at Egypt and the latter at Rome. After assigning five or six reasons showing wherein the American government is better than any other, he contrasts its glories with other nations, and with the savage state which had, not long previous, occupied the same theatre of action. He says:—

"Ours is the best government on the earth. 1. Because it affords greater privileges than are enjoyed in any other nation. In no other country do Jews and Gentiles enjoy equal rights; and it is only in North America that a descendant of Abraham can own a foot of land. 2. Because our government establishes an equality of rights among all classes of citizens, unknown among other nations. 3. Because we have a form of government and laws, not arbitrarily imposed, but of our own choice. 4. Because we have a voice in the election of all the officers who make and administer the laws. 5. Because the liberties of conscience are enjoyed by all. 6. Because our government establishes no theory of religion in favor of any one sect. Among the nations it has been thought a great honor to have some established mode of religion. But how gross the error! We might, with even more propriety, prescribe to our subjects a system of diet, or a course of medicine. Indeed, there was once a law in France which prohibited a physician from giving an emetic in any case; law excluded potatoes as an article of food, and even in Massachusetts the legislature once decreed that every man's hair should be cut, that none should wear it long.

"Would you see the beauties of law religion? In Babylon, the king set up a golden image and commanded all to worship it; in consequence of a refusal, Daniel was cast into the lions' den. Herod commanded all the young children to be slain. This was law religion. Saul of Tarsus obtained letters from the priests to drag men and women to prison who believed in Jesus. This was law religion. Paul, Silas, Peter and John, were whipped and imprisoned for preaching Christ. A holy Jesus was condemned by false witnesses, and by wicked hands was slain. This was law religion. Charles IX, of France, during his reign, put to death 300,000 Protestants, of which he often afterwards made his boasts; Louis IV succeeded him, and in his days there were put to death in England, 1,200,000. This was law religion. Add to these the reign of Queen Mary. From such religion, gracious Lord, evermore deliver us. In good old Connecticut it was once believed that the use of tobacco was the great and crying sin of the world. Accordingly, an edict was passed that if any man was known to use it within a mile of any house, he should be subjected to a heavy fine. How undignified government may become when it abandons its legitimate aims! True religion never needed the aid of the sword, nor the authority of human law to enforce it. It is able to support itself and all who embrace it.

"No country has risen to rank, power, and respectability so rapidly as the United States. England has been six hundred years in arriving at what she now is. France has stood eight hundred years as a nation. Austria has had one thousand years of advancement from her primitive barbarous state. Russia, in this respect, most resembles the United States, for in the space of one century, and under the influence of one man, she has risen to rank and authority in the civilized world. But how interesting is the reflection, that two centuries ago, this land, which is now ornamented with villages, highways and vineyards, was a howling wilderness. It is now a fruitful field. Arts and sciences here flourish, while mechanism exhibits its glories on every hand. Oh, favored America! Prosperity be thine forever. Be an asylum to the thousands who throng thy shores to escape the rage of foreign tyrants. Over them extend thy protecting banner. Thy fame is known throughout the earth; thy sons are honored in every nation. Righteousness has exalted us. 1. In enjoyment. 2. In usefulness. 3. In honor. 4. In the favor of Heaven. With all the world we are now at peace; plenty crowns our cheerful toil; party rage gradually subsides as light advances, and truly may every American say, 'The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.'

"Before me are aged veterans of the Revolution. Honored fathers, your names and services are not forgotten by your country. Let your hearts expand in gratitude to God, who has more than crowned your sanguine hopes. Before me are many who were active in the preservation of the Republic during the conflicts of the late war, whose services have saved our wives from the tomahawk of the savage, our daughters from the power of a hostile foe, and our helpless innocents from the grasp of unsparing violence. On you shall rest their grateful recollections. May you imitate the virtues of your ancestors, be free in deed, and long enjoy the blessings of the Republic."

As space, in a degree, is limited, I shall offer but one more address, delivered in the city of New York, May 1, 1836, at the ordination of the Rev. D. F. Ladley. At the house of Rev. I. N. Walter, whose cordial and extensive hospitality must still be remembered by hundreds who have been his guests, I had the pleasure to meet Mr. B., a few days previous to the ordination services of May 1. Having listened to the delivery of the charge, which was extemporaneous in its manner, it become my surprise afterward, that so little of the impression there made should have been given to the written statement. After the ordination sermon had been preached by Mr. Walter, Mr. Badger, who was seated in the altar, arose and said:—

"Brother Ladley,—It becomes my duty, by the arrangements of the solemn exercises of this day, in behalf of those ministers who have united in your ordination—this church and the whole body of Christians with which you stand connected, to deliver to you on this occasion, in the name of the great Head of the church, a charge to be faithful and to perform all the duties now devolving upon you as an administrator, with dignity and integrity. You now fill one of the most important stations ever occupied by a human being. A minister of the Gospel, an ambassador of the Lord Jesus, you bear a message of eternal life to dying men. Your work is to save perishing sinners from the miseries of sin and the wrath to come; your station is responsible, your work is arduous, but your reward is sure. The strongest who have ever entered this important field have trembled at the thought of the greatness of the work and the awful responsibilities of the station, and no doubt you have been ready to exclaim, 'Who is sufficient for these things?' That you may be able to occupy the holy ground on which you are called in the providence of God to stand, with satisfaction to yourself and profit to your hearers, suffer me to introduce for your solemn consideration the following leading points:

"1. You should be truly pious. No man, without a genuine experience and the constant influence of true piety upon his heart and life, is fit for an ambassador of Jesus Christ. Sin is odious in whatever form or place it exhibits itself. In the profane circle, in the gambler's group, in the drunkard's shop, in the vilest streets and haunts of wickedness in this great city, how hateful it appears. But it appears not so bad as it would in the parlors of the rich, in the circle of learned and refined society, in the halls of justice, the councils of the nation, or in the house of religious worship. In no person does sin appear so bad as in a minister of the Gospel; and in no place is it so unfit as in the sacred desk. What would be considered innocent in another man, in another place, would be regarded as impious in you while ministering at the altar of a holy God. Your life must be pure, your conversation blameless, and your heart must cherish holy affections for the people you address; it should be like the pot of incense which sent forth sweet odors constantly to God. Your life must be one scene of solitude, study, and devotion. You must be so far crucified to this vain world, that prayer, preaching, and all your sacred work shall be your meat, your drink, your theme, your life. Be ye holy that bear the vessels of the Lord.