Biography of Rev. Hosea Ballou

by Maturin M. Ballou

"He believed also in God;—in God as the supreme good. He believed in him as sovereign,—not simply as a candidate for sovereignty, but as already sovereign; nor alone as sovereign to create, to uphold, to rule, to condemn, and to chasten or destroy. So far had the world's faith gone. He regarded him as sovereign, not to do evil, but to do good, and to do good only. He believed God limited by his very nature to the doing of good,—that he is no more able to do evil than he is to be untrue. And, since it is admitted, on all hands, that there are moral influences by which some will be saved in perfect harmony with the exercise of their own voluntary powers, he believed that a God who is really sovereign in his moral domain can accomplish in all souls whatever is possible to be accomplished in any. Thus, from the character of God he saw freely flowing the blessed promises of his word.

"His faith, too, in Christ stood related to the affectionate Father as the sovereign cause. Christ was God's messenger to man. He came not to procure the Father's love for the world, but as a testimony of that love. He came not to open to man the door of mercy, but to strengthen man to walk in the already open door. His mission was not simply to explore the wide-spread moral waste, but to possess and cultivate it; not to make salvation possible, but actual; for God 'hath appointed him heir of all things,'—'hath given all things into his hands, that he should give eternal life to as many as God had given him.' Thus it was his mission to accomplish a work, rather than to offer to accomplish it; and, by his ever-memorable prayer on the cross, he perfected the power by which the world will be saved; as he said, 'And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.'"

No one who has thus far followed this unpretending but truthful biography, can fail to admit the full justice of the foregoing analysis and eulogy of Mr. Ballou's moral and mental nature. The faith of which Mr. Miner speaks was the strongest characteristic of the man. It illumined his whole life. His intellect was not clouded by doubts. In the geniality and genuineness of his faith he proceeded to the study of the book of books; every leaf he turned in the sacred volume confirmed the steadfast belief of his soul. He read it not as a verbal critic, not as a worldly philosopher, ambitious to found some system on the hints he might discover, but as a Christian seeking, where he knew he should discover it, the eternal light of truth. It was, indeed, to him a source of unsullied, uncloying, constant delight. Daily and hourly he discovered new beauties and new truths in its pages. Its story rolled before him like a wave of unbroken harmony, until his mental vision became almost microscopic in its powers of detection. Thus filled with the word, thus made conversant with its glowing truths and beauties, he constantly renewed and multiplied the means of awakening and confirming faith in others.

As we have labored to show, his reverence and love for his Maker were boundless; they absorbed his whole being—not, however, to the exclusion of earthly objects of affection, for he well knew that a true love of our Father in heaven is totally incompatible with the neglect of his creatures. Therefore, he was as unlike as possible to those ascetics of the middle ages, or the recluses of our own day, who fancy that a strict seclusion from the world, and a complete abandonment to religious exercises, is the most acceptable offering that can be made at the foot of the altar. This was an idea that found no sympathy in his bosom; he knew that there was nothing inharmonious between religious and social duties, and that to love our fellow-creatures is a proof of love towards God. His devotion was filial, but of that transcendent nature which far surpasses all the affections of this world. His boundless love of God rested on his vivid conception of his nature, as all-powerful, all-merciful, and all-good, the enthroned sovereign of the universe, the Father and Benefactor of each and all of the human race.

In a recent letter to the "Star in the West," Rev. George H. Emerson says:—

"The theological mission of Hosea Ballou was this:—to assert the benevolent and perfect sovereignty of Almighty God. I once said to him, 'Suppose the idea of God's sovereignty were taken out of you, how much would there be left of you?' His answer was significant, and comprised three words,—'O my soul!' Of course, these three words, of themselves simply, convey no answer; but the tone with which they were uttered said, very distinctly, that, the idea of God's sovereignty taken away, there would be no Hosea Ballou. But this great man did not simply believe that God is a sovereign, but, further, that God is a benevolent sovereign; he not only believed that God ruled in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, but that he ruled them with the especial object of bestowing happiness; he not only believed that God worked all things after the counsels of his own will, but that it was God's will that all should be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. Every one who has heard or read him will recollect how frequently he would illustrate his views of the divine government by the beautiful story of Joseph and his ten brethren:—'But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass as it is this day, to save much people alive.' This verse contained volumes of meaning with Father Ballou."

Such was the sum and substance of his doctrine, his life-long mission, the creed he held forth to the people for more than sixty years.

Some of his religious opponents have frequently charged him with card-playing, an amusement which we conceive to be of no evil import in itself, but the charge was designed as a matter of reproach against him. Now, we happen to know, and can say for a certainty, that Mr. Ballou did not know one card from another, nor could he have named a dozen cards rightly, had his very life depended upon his doing so.

This may be thought, perhaps, a trifling matter to notice; but the truth is, his religious opponents, finding no evil in him that they might expose, invented this charge to prejudice the public mind, and one minister in New England more than once publicly declared it from his pulpit; though, when called upon by one who heard him, and who knew the subject of this biography, he was puzzled to produce the name of his informant. It is within our own recollection that these stories were rife, and that they were very generally talked of. It was also sneeringly said that he preached to the lowest classes of society, and that respectable or intelligent persons never attended his meetings; that some of the most wicked and sinful of the community were found listening to him, and that they were always welcome!

These declarations were often made as evidences, weighing not alone against him, but also against the truth and godly character of his doctrine; they were preferred by clergymen from their pulpits, and often in opposition religious papers; but, of course, this was more frequently the case during his early settlement in Boston than in subsequent years. The first part of the latter charge brought against him needs no refutation; an intelligent public can judge of its truth; but we cannot refrain from calling the attention of the reader to the spirit that prompted the last clause. How very like it is to that evinced by the Pharisees of old, who said reproachfully of their Divine Master, "This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them." And now mark the reply of Jesus to these grumblers:—"The whole," says he, "need not the physician, but they that are sick." "The most wicked and sinful of the community," said Mr. Ballou's revilers, "are found listening to him, and they are always welcome!"