How lovely is thy dwelling-place,
O Lord of hosts to me,
The tabernacles of thy grace,
How pleasant, Lord, they be.
"Glorious things of thee are spoken, O city of God." This saying can be emphatically applied to the above church, for the living truths proclaimed from her pulpit have saved and sanctified many sons and daughters, and clad in the beauteous garments of Prince Immanuel, have gone forth to other churches and to other lands, to lead thousands to the same Saviour that they had found.
Let us glance at its origin.
While Christ is the head of the Church, the tried corner-stone elect and precious, yet his members are the living stones, and have built up a spiritual house unto the Lord. The portion of "Zion" to which we have reference, originated on the corner of Catharine Street, near Madison Street. It was duly organized on Wednesday, May 28, 1819.
The seal of the church is an open Bible, and the words Holy Bible upon it, with the inscription surrounding it: "Allen Street Presbyterian Church."
The location of the place of worship was changed to Allen Street in 1823.
The Rev. Ward Stafford was appointed by the New York Female Missionary Society, who nobly toiled, and was succeeded by the Rev. William Gray. During the first year of its history, twenty-one members were added to the church-roll, and as an expression of her unfeigned gratitude to God for this mark of kindness she became the mother of the same number of ministers of the Gospel, who were called and commissioned, and who have courageously proclaimed the unsearchable riches of Christ, in distant parts of the country. Among them was the present pastor of the Church of Sea and Land, Rev. Dr. Hopper. It is worthy of observation that this church has been able to pay its running expenses by voluntary contributions.