THOUGHTS AND INCIDENTS OF 1819 AND 1820.
Mr. Badger is now in the twenty-seventh year of his age and the seventh
of his ministry, and occupies a position that affords him more leisure
for reflection than the activities of his itinerant life had yielded
him. Among the subjects that he accepted for the action of his own
thought was Universalism, whose pillars and foundations he seemed to
have thoroughly examined, as set forth in the systems of that day. His
mind was led to this by the circumstance that his father, for whom his
letters and journal only express the kindest filial feeling and
reverence, had, after much study and thought, adopted that system as his
favorite form of religious belief. The document which contains his views
is entitled "An affectionate Address of a Son to his Father." We offer
from this a few extracts, in which the reader can see the candor,
cogency and kindness that pervade the whole address, which covers some
twenty-three pages of letter-paper, very finely and compactly written.
This is the opening paragraph:
"HONORED AND DEAR FATHER:--With pleasure I once more take
my pen to address one for whom I have the most reverential
regard, a regard greater than I cherish for any person on
earth; one who has with hopeful anxiety watched over the
days of my childhood and vanity, and wept at the follies of
my youth. My former letters have given you the state of my
affairs and prospects in this pleasant part of the
country; also, in my several letters, I have noticed the
extensive spread of the Gospel, the increase of light, and
the effect of those glorious reformations I have been
allowed to witness, the subjects of which are now my choice
society; and you cannot imagine the unspeakable joy of your
son, while a stranger in a strange land, to learn that his
aged father has been entertained and comforted by the
contents of his letters on those subjects. Permit me, my
dear father, in this short treatise, to make a few remarks
on the doctrine which you have for years embraced and
vindicated relative to the salvation of all men. If this
doctrine is true, it is a pleasant thing; if untrue, it is
dangerous to rest on the sand. As I have serious objections
against the system, I feel it a duty to lay them before you
for your consideration, wishing, if I am in error, to be
convinced of it; and I hope that, should you find the
doctrine you have esteemed as truth, cries 'peace and
safety' to those whom sudden destruction awaits, you will
be willing to exchange it for that truth which opens to the
sinner the worst of his case."
After this kind and gentle introduction, Mr. Badger proceeds to take up
the chief arguments which his father had, in other years, employed for
the support of the system,--arguments from general reason and from
Scripture. He then attempts to show the origin of the system in human
causes, and its disagreement with the plain teachings of Revelation, and
with the spirit and genius of the Christian experience and life. Such is
the plan of his treatise. The period to which these arguments belong,
was one in which there was a strong controversial clash of theories,
each one of which was undoubtedly a fragmentary and imperfect statement
of some essential truth in religion; and as Calvinistic reasoning was
then generally in the ascendant, as its bold premises were the main
foundation of the plea of its opposite extreme,--the Universalian
statement,--the subject seemed to take a fresh interest in the hands of
one who approached it from an intermediate region of thinking.
"One of your favorite and powerful arguments in favor of
this doctrine is, that in the beginning the soul of man was
a part of God, and therefore cannot be defiled, condemned
or punished, as Deity will not sentence a part of himself
to misery. All the Scripture I ever heard quoted in favor
of this view, is that 'God breathed into man the breath of
life and he became a living soul,' which carries a very
different idea from the one you derive from it. It does not
say that the soul is a part of God, or that God breathed
into man a part of himself. It means just this, that God
breathed into man the breath of life, and that, as a result
of this, he became a _living, active, intelligent
creature_.
"Let us further reason on this subject. Can a part of God
be ignorant of another part of himself? Yet are we not
ignorant of what passes in the breast of our neighbor? Does
not one drop of a fountain possess _all_ the qualities of
the fountain from which it was taken? But who will say that
mortal man has all the qualities and qualifications of his
Maker, God? If the soul is a part of God, where lies the
propriety of those Scriptures wherein he threatens to
punish the sinner? Would he threaten to banish a part of
himself from himself forever, or say to a part of himself,
'Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity?'
"The supporters of this theory, arguing on the old
Calvinistic, fatal plan, say that 'God foreordains
whatsoever comes to pass;'--a popular and highly esteemed
idea, from which I must dissent for the following reasons."
Mr. B. proceeds to urge half a dozen reasons for rejecting these
theological premises, alleging, from the authority of scripture
revelation, that many things have taken place which the Creator has
disapproved of; that the premise assumed puts the decrees of God and his
commandments into exactly hostile relations to each other; that it
destroys the justice of all punishment whatever, unless it is just to
punish human beings for doing the highest will in the universe, and for
doing what they could not avoid.
"If all creation," says he, "moves in exact accordance with
the divine will, I cannot find anything in the world that
is sin. Where _all_ is right, there can be no wrong. Sin
then is rendered virtue, falsehood is truth, darkness is
light, Satan is man's friend and helper toward the 'new
heavens' and the eternal bliss. Is it not strange that God
should give laws to machines? For this scheme completely
renders men such. He does not announce laws to the trees of
the forest. What would we think of the goldsmith who should
appoint a day in which morally to judge all his watches
according to their works? This doctrine gives as much honor
to Satan as it does to Christ, as it makes him as active as
he is in the salvation and final happiness of men. It
certainly makes him the brother of Christ, for Jesus said,
'He that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven,
the same is my brother;'--as universal foreordination
causes the devil to do the will of God, it presents him as
the brother of Jesus Christ. If the two ideas, that the
soul is a part of God, and that God has foreordained
whatsoever comes to pass, are true, then Universalism is
correct; if they are not true, the system must fall, for
these are the main pillars which support the fabric, and in
my opinion they are as weak in their nature as were the
feet of the king's image in the prophet's vision, which
were 'part iron and part clay.'"
Mr. Badger goes on to speak of the universal goodness of God, as a
pledge and proof that the divine laws will be executed; he says, that
the goodness of a government, the goodness of a governor and his
subordinate officers, are the proof that the laws will be duly
enforced--that the criminal will find no refuge from deserved
punishment.
After quoting from Mosheim on the opinions and reasoning of Origen, the
celebrated father of the third century, whom he regards as the original
founder of this theory, and after quoting from a late theological writer
a statement of the system of Dr. Chauncey, and the Calvinistic theory of
Mr. Murray, he asks which of these systems is the true and the reliable
one; and after bringing the ideas he opposes to the subject of Christian
experience, to the self-denial, inward love and joy produced by the
regenerative agency of the Gospel, he pleads its incongeniality with
those qualities of the Christian religion which cause repentance and
reformation of life.
Occasionally I have heard it stated that Mr. Badger's preaching was very
interesting to that class of Christians who take the name of
Universalists, that they generally were fond of hearing him, and a very
few unguarded persons have said that he was substantially of their
doctrine. In regard to the first part of the statement, it must have
been true that many of this class were pleased and interested with his
preaching, for how could they be otherwise? It is to his credit that
they were pleased with him as a man and as a speaker. Being less rigid
than many others in their dogmatical restrictions--being less
conservative and proscriptive than most other sects, and having
investigating and inquiring minds, they would often be pleased to hear
so natural and so gifted a man as Mr. Badger. Then his mode of preaching
was never founded in terrific appeal--was never noisy or boisterous; the
paternity of God, the fulness of the love of Christ to all mankind, the
simplicity and reasonableness of religion, were topics that shone with
peculiar brightness. Men often judge by contrasts. He who preaches
humanely and from the fulness of a brotherly heart, when it is customary
to hear the thunders of Sinai rocking the pulpits and churches of the
land, and especially if the speaker draws the chief motive from the
endearing magnetism of heaven rather than from the repulsions of the
horrible pit, there will always be some to claim him as standing upon
their platform, as belonging to the theory which has so stoutly and
heroically fought the vindictive theology of Calvin. But if the truth is
looked for or abided by, it will stand as the most unquestionable
certainty that Mr. Badger adopted _none_ of the theories of
Universalism, whatever may be their merits or defects. He was one of
those naturally balanced men who could see the fragmentary excellence
residing in religious theories or in human reforms without becoming a
partisan. Probably there is no one theological subject on which there is
a larger amount of manuscript among the papers of Mr. B., than may be
found on the subject of Universalism, and the whole of it may be
appealed to in evidence that as a theory he always regarded it as human
and erroneous. Before me lie his early writings, in which he frankly
says, "I feel myself bound before my Eternal Judge to bear my testimony
against it;" and plots of some controversial sermons, laid out in the
form of a massive strength, and preached in the later years of his
ministry, are unequivocal testifiers to the same fact. These remarks are
not made to cast reflections on any sect, for our philosophy and
observation have taught us to revere the great religious movements of
the past century, believing that truth has been helped by each and by
all of them. They are made that the original, to whom these pages refer,
may be seen as he was. I rejoice that so many of those who hold the hope
of the world's salvation were drawn to his ministry, and that among his
friends throughout the country were those of different schools of
thought, of different denominations; and it may be truthfully added, a
large number of persons who were not in the habit of rendering their
regards to sects by membership, nor to churches by a regular attendance.
Many of this latter class, both of the intelligent and the very
illiterate, would catch something from his manner and words that drew
them about him. Sects are so much dressed in uniform, and are run so
exactly in fixed castings, that a man whose influences go out naturally
from the centre of an individual manhood is among the rarest
productions. At Naples, in the State of New York, a lot of ignorant
shingle makers, for example, some of whom drank and none of whom cared a
groat for a church, came down at mid-day from the adjoining hills with
but two questions in their mouth and heart, which were--"_Where is he?_"
and "_Will he preach?_" nor were the hundreds of like instances that
multiplied in his path anything less than the highest compliments, the
surest evidence that a _man_ was there and that his word was a help to
all. No _real_ man was ever yet on all sides walled by a sect; where one
appears, men generally are made to feel that the bond which unites them
to him is not ecclesiastical but human. Man and his brother are there.
Here is the closing paragraph of the argumentative letter from which
quotations have already been made:--
"For seven long years I have been deprived of the joys of a
father's house on account of my obedience to the great
commission, 'Go ye into the world and preach the Gospel to
every creature;' yet in distant lands I have met many dear
friends, and found many dear homes. But I have not lost my
regard for my relatives, and the silent groves are witness
to my tears that my father's family may all share in the
grace of Christ. Oh, what comfort it gives me to learn that
some of the family have in their experience known the
light, joy, and peace of religion since I saw them. Though
we connect with different sects of Christians, though our
views may be vastly different, yet if we have real virtue,
if we 'fear God and work righteousness,' we shall be
accepted of him. It is with the greatest tenderness that I
have penned these arguments against your theory, and it is
with solemnity that I look forward to a coming judgment
where we shall soon meet. Should you still think your
system true, remember that we should have something more
than a belief in any doctrine,--something more than a
profession of religion to qualify us to meet our God in
peace. May he crown your hopes with eternal joy. May your
grey hairs, when he shall call, come down unto the grave in
peace. With your ancestors and children may you praise the
Lord God and the Lamb forever. My best regards to my dear
mother. Ten thousand blessings crown the evening of her
life, and may her sun set without a cloud. My love to my
brothers and sisters, who to my heart are still dear. May
they live as children of the light. Though hundreds of
miles shall separate us--though hills and valleys, lakes
and rivers between us lie, we can pray to the same God,
cherish the same spirit, walk according to the same rule,
and, ere long, meet in the same eternal mansion of repose,
where sorrows, pains, and labors shall end, where tears
shall be wiped away from all faces."
Among the permanent moral lights of New England at this time, Rev. Noah
Worcester, of Brighton, Mass., shone with no ordinary lustre. His
thoughts on several moral and theological subjects, embodied in tracts,
books, and in periodical form, were known throughout the country. His
opinions, though held as unsound by many, were commended to the reader
by the candor, piety, learning and admirable character he possessed. Mr.
Badger soon saw the value of his mind as a theological writer,
instituted some friendly correspondence, and availed himself of a new
element of power by throwing into wider circulation some of his
argumentative writings; he also gained permission of Mr. Worcester to
republish some of his works. His "Appeal to the Candid," and his "Bible
News," were distinctly spoken of by Mr. B., as works deserving to be
placed in every library, and of being read at every fireside. But the
well of Christian life in Mr. Worcester was too full and deep to be
exhausted on theological themes. Under date of April 30, 1819, he says
to Mr. Badger:
"For several years I have devoted my time principally to
the object of abolishing the anti-Christian custom of war.
In this business I expect to spend the remainder of my
days. I very much desire that the ministers of your
denomination should get hold of this subject. A little
attention will convince them that the errors which support
war are the most fatal of any which ever afflicted or
disgraced mankind, and that to be _consistant 'Christians'_
they must renounce all participation in the dreadful work
of revenge and murder. The state of my health requires
brevity. The peace tracts which I send you are gratis,
except that I request you to examine them impartially. I
should be happy to see you. I had the pleasure of some
acquaintance with your uncle, Rev. Mr. Smith, of Gilmanton,
N. H., also with your noble grandsire, Gen. Badger.
"Affectionately yours,
"N. WORCESTER."
Other letters indicate the deep interest taken by Mr. B. in the
productions of this author, and often in later years did he recommend
them to the careful study of every young minister. More than this, he
often bestowed them as gifts upon those who were engaging in the work of
the ministry.
Among the theological papers of Mr. B., written about this time, is one
on the character of God, which furnishes an example of his concise and
successful method of getting at the truth of an important subject when
he became fully interested in it. He commences thus:--
"Oh with what reverence ougth we to make mention of the
exalted name of our Creator, and speak of his lovely
character! Almost all sects acknowledge there is one God,
though their opinions of his character may widely differ,
owing to their present imperfection and the darkness of
their minds. Truly our best discoveries are but imperfect,
and, as the Apostle says, 'We see in part.'"
He then proceeds to state the modes by which the Deity is known, and
offers remarks on his undivided supremacy.
"There are," says he, "three ways by which men receive the
knowledge of God. 1. In the works of creation. 2. By the
revelation of the Holy Spirit. 3. By the Holy Scriptures,
which is a record God gave of his Son.
"In these remarks I would show that the Eternal God is
alone supreme, and that he is the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. The first name given to the Creator in the
Scriptures is God, Gen. 1:1, which, in a peculiar manner,
is expressive of his power and greatness, and is applied to
him in a very different manner from what it is when
bestowed on any other beings. Yet it is an ambiguous word,
and in the Scripture is applied to seven different
characters which are, 1. The Eternal God.--Phil. 1:2. 2.
To Jesus Christ in prophecy.--Isa. 9:6. 'For unto us a
child is born, a son is given; and the government shall be
upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the
Prince of Peace.' 3. To angels.--Ps. 97:7; Heb. 1:6.
'Worship Him, all ye gods.' 'Let all the angels of God
worship him.' 4. To Moses.--Ex. 7:1. 'And the Lord God said
unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh.' 5. To
the Hebrew Rulers or Judges.--Ex. 22:28; Ps. 82:1. 6. To
Pagan idols.--Isa. 44:10. 7. To Satan. 'In whom the God of
this world hath blinded their eyes.' From these passages it
is evident that the word God of itself cannot teach the
self-existent Divinity of that to which it is given.
"God has no equal. I will show that he is greater than all
others. He is so,
"1. In names. 2. In works. 3. In power. 4. In knowledge.
"1. In names. The word Jehovah is employed four times in
the Scriptures, and in its simple, uncompounded form, is
alone applied to the Supreme God. Ex. 6:3.--'And I appeared
unto Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, by the name of God
Almighty; but by my name JEHOVAH I was not known unto
them.' Ps. 83:18.--'That men may know that thou, whose name
alone is Jehovah, art the Most High over all the earth.'
Isa. 12:2.--'For the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my
song.' Isa. 26:4.--'In the Lord Jehovah is everlasting
strength.' This word, it would seem, denotes the eternal
self-existence of God. It was among the Hebrews their most
sacred title for the Creator, so sacred in their regard
that they did not, on common occasions, pronounce it in
reading, or in worship, but after a significant pause of
reverential silence, they substituted for it the word
_Adonai_. Here is a sublime title, having no double
meaning, and is applicable to no one but to the
self-existent God.
"2. 'Eternal God,' is a title given to the Father, and to
none else. Deut. 33:27.--'The Eternal God is thy refuge.'
"3. The words 'invisible God' are equally exclusive in
their use. Col. 1:15.--'Who is the image of the invisible
God, the first-born of every creature.' 4. He is called the
Highest. Luke 1:32, 35. If the Deity is composed of three
persons who are perfectly equal, it would be very improper
to attach the name Highest to either of them, as it would
disturb the equality of the three. Was not the Angel
Gabriel probably ignorant of these distinctions when he
made the announcement to the Virgin Mary? 5. He is styled
the 'Most High.'--Ps. 107:11; Ps. 14:14; Acts 7:48; Heb.
8:1. 6. 'God of gods,' is another title given to none but
the Father.--Deut. 10:17. 'For the Lord your God is God of
gods.' 7. The Father is called the 'only wise God.' Jude
25.--'To the only wise God our Saviour be glory and
majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.' 1
Tim. 1:17.--'Now unto the King eternal, immortal,
invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever
and forever.' 8. He is styled the blessed and only
Potentate. 1 Tim. 6:15.--'Which in his times (in the days
of his flesh) he shall show who is the blessed and only
Potentate, (the Father) the King of kings and Lord of
lords.' These eight titles, which are alone given to the
Father, do, as I consider, most perfectly demonstrate this
part of my subject, and in part it illustrates what Jesus
said in John 10:29. 'MY FATHER which gave them me is
_greater_ than _all_.'"
These indeed are strong Scripture positions, comprehensively stated,
well fortified, and clearly expressed.
In some of his published writings of this year, we find him looking into
the subject of church polity, and endeavoring to answer the question,
"_Where is the power of government?_" He noticed four different systems
for answering this question, systems which have had their favorites,
from all of which, he adds, "I am led to dissent in certain respects."
These are: 1. The idea of submitting the power of government to the
civil authority, as in the Church of England, as in state religion
generally. He affirms that good government does its office when it
defends our rights and protects our persons; that it never should
attempt to enforce the laws of the church, or dictate in any way to the
conscience. 2. The idea of a central man, or of a few chosen men, in
whom the authority shall be vested. "The New Dispensation," said he,
"establishes a kingly government; yet, as the government is on the
Messiah's shoulder, I cannot consent that the power should be given to
any other." He is the legislative centre. "A Diotrephes was rebuked for
loving the preëminence." 3. The idea that in a council of ministers,
exclusive of churches, the controlling power concentrates. 4. That in
the churches, independent of the ministers, all power resides. In
neither of these systems does Mr. Badger confide. He confides in the
union of ministers and churches, in their assembled light. He refers to
the consultation at Jerusalem as combining several elements: "apostles,
elders and brethren," all being interested and active on the subjects
agitated. The general state of the Christian Church called for
something which the local action of no one society could give, and hence
there was a general assemblage drawn together at Jerusalem by the
magnitude of the questions to be discussed; and even their decisions
were not sent out as _laws_. "We, in submitting to the LAWS of Christ,
have a government among us, and each is to be esteemed for his work's
sake. Not considering churches and ministers as two parties, but as
one," says Mr. B., "we find them authorized with the power of
government, but not to _make_ laws." Referring to the council at
Jerusalem, he remarks that "it is a beautiful example for modern
Christians, one that fulfils the saying of the wise man, 'In the
multitude of counsellors there is safety.' Where no counsel is, the
people go astray." In this brief article, published in 1819, is
expressed the main view to which he always adhered in his ideas on
church government; a view more widely expanded and qualified in a series
of articles published in the "Christian Palladium," in 1837. He goes
against the spirit of isolation and individualism, and contends for the
united concentration of all the light of the church--for the active
union of the ministers and people. Hence he was neither Episcopal, nor a
radical Congregationalist, who boasts a church government independent of
the ministry.
In the town of Brutus, Cayuga County, N. Y., October 2, at a meeting
where several clergymen and a large assembly were convened, Mr. Badger
preached a sermon from Habakkuk 3:3, 4: "His glory covered the heavens,
and the earth was full of his praise, and his brightness was as the
light; he had horns coming out of his hand, and there was the hiding of
his power,"--a sermon that gave much good instruction, and made a strong
impression on the people, if we may rely on the candid report of the
meeting made by the most faithful of men, Mr. Elijah Shaw, then the
minister of that town; it was a sublime text, and was discussed and
illustrated in a manner worthy of its exalted sentiments.[30] Also, in
the town of Clarence, Niagara County, N. Y., September 26, at the
ordination of Rev. Allen Crocker, he preached an effective discourse
from the Apostolical Commission, Mark 16:15, in which Christ, and his
authority to command, the qualifications of his ambassadors, the
commission given, the Gospel to be preached, the various characters to
whom it is to be addressed, the effect produced, and the sacrifices,
afflictions and reward of the faithful minister, were plainly and
interestingly set forth.[31]
At this time Mr. Badger held a pastoral relation with three churches;
one at Henrietta, one at Lima, and one at Mendon; and in the midst of
the many duties and cares that surrounded him, he found time to write
occasionally for two religious publications, one called the "Christian
Herald," Portsmouth, N. H., the other "The Religious Informer,"
published at New Andover, in the same State. To this last mentioned
periodical we have no access, and therefore can select nothing from his
communications to that work.
In January, 1820, a religious convention was held at Covington, Genesee
County, N. Y., composed of the Freewill Baptist and the Christian
denominations, the object of whose deliberations was to form a more
social acquaintance with each other, to labor for a greater union, to
strive together for the "faith once delivered to the saints," and to
make all possible advancement towards that perfection in which the
watchmen are to see "eye to eye." Mr. Badger was the clerk of this
convention, a principal speaker in its discussions, and probably was one
of the originators of the meeting.
We learn that the usages and views of both denominations were plainly
set forth, Rev. Nathaniel Brown being appointed to represent the general
order and practice of the Freewill Baptists, and Rev. D. Millard to do
the same in behalf of the Christian denomination. A general and friendly
discussion, abounding in queries and answers, followed, and after much
deliberation it was found that the main difference between the two
denominations was this, that "the Baptists do not receive any as church
members who have not been baptized by _immersion_, though they extend
fellowship and communion to all who live in newness of life; and the
Christians receive all as _church members_ who give evidence that they
have passed from death unto life, and who live in newness of life." They
conversed on many points of doctrine, found no particular difference
except on the character of God and of Christ, which they considered to
be no bar to their union and fellowship. "We think it duty," said they,
"to discard all doctrine which has an immoral effect in society, and to
receive and approbate all who come in the fulness of the blessing of the
Gospel of Christ." They agreed to exchange, to labor together in
harmony, and to acknowledge themselves "the Church of God," to the
exclusion of all party names. In New England I judge the difference was
more marked, as some of Mr. B.'s correspondents in the East complained
that their ideas of catholic brotherhood had been rejected by them.
His indeed was a mingled cup, into which sorrow at times copiously
flowed. In a letter to his brother Nathaniel, dated Mendon, March 25,
1820, we read the following:--
"My home is now in Mendon, where I have a neatly built
house surrounded by only three acres I call my own; yet it
is pleasant and convenient, it being only half a mile from
the meeting-house now going up. I have the care of three
churches. But at this time I am surrounded with great
afflictions. For more than one year has my dear Mary Jane
lain sick, and now she is in the last stage of consumption.
She can remain but a few days longer. I rejoice that she is
so calmly resigned and so well prepared to go into the
world of spirits. How sweet is the presence of religion in
these soul-trying scenes! We had a beautiful little son
taken from us the 30th of January last, named for our two
fathers 'Anthony Peaslee.' Thus with our blessings are
afflictions mingled, and our cup is one of mixture."
In a letter to Mr. Moulton he says:
"Though my situation is very local in a land distant from
you, and from my friends in the Province, my mind often
surveys the north country, where I have travelled,
preached, suffered and enjoyed so much of God's holy
presence; and a hope still exists that I may again visit
the pleasant cottages that have once sheltered me from the
chilling blasts of winter. Since I came into this country
with you it has ever seemed like home, and I still feel
bound in spirit to abide. I find it is a small thing to
take the ground, and a greater to keep and cultivate it.
But with my joys I have sorrows. January 30th, a pleasant
son was taken from us, and a council of six physicians
decided as early as last July that Mary Jane cannot recover
from the consumption by which she is wasting away. She
enjoys much of God's presence, is resigned and patient; but
this is a scene of sorrow in which nothing can give comfort
but the grace of God. The cause of religion still
flourishes in this country. There is a general
steadfastness and a good union among the churches. Our
congregations are numerous. Hundreds flock together to hear
the word of life and the Macedonian cry is heard from every
quarter, 'Come over and help us.'
"'Oh, Jesus, let thy beauties be
My soul's eternal food;
And grace command my heart away
From all created good.'"
In anxious watching at the bedside of sickness, and in pastoral labors,
the days passed away, till the 4th of April, 1820, when the calm light
of the morning shone on the departing spirit of the one who had deeply
sympathized with him in all his interests. On the 5th her funeral was
attended by a large and solemn concourse, to whom a sermon was preached
by Rev. D. Millard, of West Bloomfield, from Phil. 1:21--"To die is
gain;" from his pen we will select a few obituary lines.
"Mrs. Mary Jane Badger was born in Farmington, N. H.,
February 26th, 1798, of respectable parentage. She was the
third daughter of the late Col. Anthony Peavy, of that
town. At the age of thirteen, she made a profession of
religion among a people known by the name of Christians.
Her pious walk and modest deportment while but a youth,
entitled her to the highest esteem of all who knew her. At
the age of eighteen she became united in marriage with
Elder Joseph Badger, by which she became separated from her
dearest parents, never to see them again on earth. Her
constitution was naturally delicate, although for two years
while she resided in this country she enjoyed a comfortable
state of health. She conversed freely with her husband on
death, and gave him some directions about her two little
children. Previous to this time she manifested great
anxiety concerning them, but from this moment appeared
willing to give them up, and seemed to lose that fearful
concern for them with which she had hitherto been
exercised. But God had otherwise declared for the youngest
child. She wept at the afflicting scene, but endured it
with much fortitude and resignation. She said to her
husband, at the close of a prayer when several of her
Christian friends were present, 'I rejoice there is such a
scene as death for mortals to pass through; it is the gate
of endless joy.' Enriched with early religious experience,
she took delight in the singing of certain devotional
hymns, such as 'My God, the spring of all my joys,' and 'O
Jesus, my Saviour, to thee I submit;'--and her last words
were, 'I feel composed, I can put my trust in God.' 'She
was,' says Mr. Millard, 'a striking example of female
neatness and industry; very exemplary in dress and manners,
and particularly chaste and reserved in her conversation.
Though she is now no more, yet her memory will long live in
the hearts of the virtuous.'"
A tombstone now appears in the burial-ground near the village of Honeoye
Falls, bearing the characteristic taste and expressive simplicity of Mr.
Badger's genius, on which is inscribed these words:
"HERE LIES THE BODY OF MARY JANE, WIFE OF JOSEPH BADGER,
WHO, IN MEMORY OF HER VIRTUE, HAS ERECTED THIS MONUMENT.
SHE DIED A CHRISTIAN, APRIL 4, 1820, AGED 22 YS. 1 M. 9 D.
"Her race was swift,
Her rest is sweet,
Her views divine,
Her bliss complete."
It is with entire calmness Mr. Badger surveys the clouded skies that
shut down upon his loneliness; a calmness that never ostensibly forsook
him whenever great grief was at the door. He had a heart of great
affections and of fine feelings. His strong nature was also extremely
sensitive. Few could suffer so much, and few would weep so little when a
great sorrow entered his dwelling. He is again alone in the world; his
little daughter, Lydia Elizabeth, was all that remained of his family,
the only tie that would seem to bind him to earth, and one indeed in
whom his affections strongly centered. Letters of sympathy from numerous
sources came in from different parts of the country. But sorrow, though
it might soften and enrich, could never subdue the energies of his manly
spirit; and in the ministry of the holy Cross he applied his force with
a renewed consecration of every ability.
Though a resident of one place, it was not his nature to be a local
man. His sympathies went abroad, his eye caught the signs of real and of
possible success over a large area, and the public, far and near,
responded with a feeling of interest equally general. At ordinations,
and consecrations of "temples made with hands," he was ever a favorite
with the people; and very frequently he journeyed large distances to
attend to calls of this nature. His family now being broken up, after
securing the pastoral labors of Rev. Oliver True, he resumes the work of
a missionary.
There are indeed two classes of successful ministers, though they
succeed in different ways. I refer to the class who have simply great
power in preaching, who can be instrumental in the conversion of great
numbers; who, when they have reached the moral depths of the sinful
heart, and filled it with the new and heavenly light, have ended their
mission. They leave no nucleus about which the new strength may organize
itself. If such ministers belong to a denomination well organized, and
if they labor in the spirit of such denomination, the results of their
efforts will very likely be absorbed in the body which already contains
the speakers. These can create material, but they have no constructive
power to permanently unite it. There is another class, who seem to be
natural husbandmen of the grounds they sow; they build, they gather,
they bring everything into order and system, they fence and harvest the
ripened fields. These last men are seldom if ever idealists; they see
the world as it is, are men of order and of accumulative tendency.
Perhaps George Whitfield and John Wesley may be taken as just examples
of these two kinds of ministers. Mr. Badger was certainly a
constructive, and also was he a gifted creator of material. He was, in
one, both these orders of ministerial power; perhaps we should say that
if either predominated it was that of conserving the wealth which his
creativeness and the creativeness of others might produce. Whitfield was
the powerful, the eloquent preacher, under whose word converts were
multiplied "as dews of the morning;" but under his peculiar genius
Methodism had never become an organic system, to last its centuries.
Wesley, though not a great man in thought or language, was the master
builder without whom the labor of men like Whitfield had been, as it
were, "scattered unto strangers." He gave to his cause the character of
a permanent institution. Mr. Badger was no disorganizer. He believed in
organization, in system, though he sought to organize with simplicity
and on large and catholic principles of Christian brotherhood.
At Milo, N. Y., at a general meeting which, on Sunday, September 3,
1820, was held in one of the pleasant groves of that rural town, Mr.
Badger preached the ordination sermon of Benjamin Farley, James Potter
and Stephen Lamphere, from Rom. 10: 14: "How shall they hear without a
preacher?" The week following he spent chiefly at and in the vicinity of
the village of Aurora, where he preached several sermons and
administered baptism to a few believers. He then returned by way of
Auburn, preached twice to large assemblies in the Presbyterian church at
Brutus, visited his devoted friend Dr. Beman, and in the evening spoke
to the assembled citizens of Elbridge. On the morning of the 11th he
called at the bedside of Dr. Ayers, who was in the last stage of
consumption. "After much conversation," says Mr. B., "I asked him if he
desired us to attend prayers. He paused and said, '_Can_ you pray?'
(What an important question!) I answered in the affirmative. Said he,
'Does God hear you and give you answers?' I told him 'Yes.' He then
burst into tears and said, '_Once_ he heard _me_, but does not of late.'
Every heart present was moved. He was a man beloved. He bowed with us in
prayer. At nine o'clock we left him and proceeded to Camillus, where I
baptized the wife of Esquire Benedict and Mrs. McMaster, his daughter.
At evening I spoke to a multitude of weeping auditors. On my return,
agreeable to promise, I called on Dr. A., who again knelt with me at the
altar of mercy, and when I gave him my parting hand he said, 'I shall
meet you in heaven.' His countenance was as serene as a morning without
clouds."
At Charleston, Montgomery County, N. Y., on the 10th and 17th of
September, he attended a general meeting, at which between one and two
thousand people were present. He speaks of the Conference business that
was done on the 18th and 19th as very important; but most of all was he
interested in the public improvement of three female speakers, who
occupied the time on Monday evening, Mrs. Sarah Hedges, Mrs. Abigail
Roberts, and Miss Ann Rexford, each of whom was more than commonly
gifted in public speaking, and proved the fitness of their mission by
indisputable success in their respective spheres of labor. Miss Rexford,
then but nineteen years of age, a young woman of polished manners and
accomplished mind, had a clear knowledge of the Scriptures, a winning
voice, a fine command of language, and withal a liberal religious
experience. An article among Mr. Badger's papers, written a year earlier
than this, is devoted to the gifts and sphere of woman in the church,
which, though it does not parallel the claims made by the modern
Conventions, proves the mind of its author to be free from the Oriental
bigotry, and in sympathy with the nobler aspirations of woman's mind. On
the 24th of this month, at a general meeting held at Greenville, Greene
County, N. Y., in the presence of several ministers, of an assembly of
about two thousand people, and under the umbrageous veiling of forest
leaves, he spoke from Ps. 40: 1, 2, 3; "in which," says the reporter of
the sermons given, "he noticed fifteen distinct particulars, and we
could say the word was rightly divided and a portion given to each in
due season. He proved himself a workman that needeth not to be ashamed."
Speaking of this discourse, Mr. Spoor, who reported the order of the
meeting to the public press, said that he appeared before the people
"like a cloud full of rain;" and probably there are few men in the
ministry anywhere whose "doctrine" dropped more "like the rain," or
whose speech "distilled" more "like the dew," than his. His manner was
dignified and gentle.
About this time Mr. Badger related the substance of his missionary
adventures to his intimate friend, Hon. Ezra Wate, of West Bloomfield,
N. Y., in a series of letters, written hastily at snatches of time
whilst on his way. From these we learn the events of the few months
that remain of 1820. To him he says:
"I am happy in a travelling capacity, as I like the work of
a missionary; but I am troubled with the unsettled state of
what I may call my own affairs;--my home in Mendon, my dear
little daughter in Lima, and I, everywhere. I can now see
how true my friends have been to me in Ontario County, and
oh, that Providence had favored me with the blessing of
living and of dying among them! How painful the remembrance
of departed joys that may never be recalled! Though
surrounded with the best society, though often thronged
with company, I am constantly _alone_, and I have many
lonesome, disconsolate and dejected hours. No chastisement
for the present seems joyous."
He speaks of a great meeting held at Cortright, Delaware county, at
which he spoke twice, heard five discourses from other ministers
present, namely, Uriah Smith, O. E. Morrill, and Jesse Thompson,--a
meeting at which the converting power of God was signally displayed
among the people. Under date of October 5, he says:
"My mind has often flown from the crowd of new friends and
acquaintances that surround me, to the enjoyment of those
old friends with whom I have taken sweet counsel in years
that are past. Was I coming into trials and conflicts, I
should be constrained to say of my new acquaintances, as
David did of Saul's armour, 'I have not proved it.' Friends
whom we have proved, friends who have merited our
confidence, are priceless in value. Solomon knew the worth
of this truth when he said, 'A friend loveth at all
times.'"
Also, under date of October 16th, he writes,
"My health is much better than when I left this country,
and never did I enjoy my mind better than now, and never
did I experience greater freedom in preaching than on this
journey. Amidst all my misfortunes I have a world of
felicity in view. It is a time of reformation in this
county (Cayuga). I shall speak next Sabbath evening in the
Court House at Auburn, and the first Sabbath in November I
will preach at our chapel in Mendon."
Letters from many quarters and from leading men in community, came in,
soliciting him to come and preach, and not unfrequently did the leading
members of other denominations second these requests by offering their
chapels for his use.
A plain, concise, and kindly letter to Rev. Mr. Patching, in which he
vindicates the ordinances of the Gospel against the denials of Mr. P.,
who had, by Mr. Badger's recommendations, been preaching to his
congregations, belongs to this year. The main object of the letter seems
to have been to call out investigation, and to throw some conservative
influence around a boldly speculative mind. The following extract will
show its spirit and its point:
"VERY DEAR AND AFFECTIONATE BROTHER,--With the warmest
affection and from a clear evidence of duty, I hastily pen
a few lines for your consideration, hoping that it may not
only serve as an introduction to a familiar correspondence
between us, but that it may lead us to discuss,
investigate, and harmonize our views relative to the
doctrine of the Gospel and the ordinances of the New
Dispensation.
"I was not alarmed relative to the suggestions you made in
my presence concerning a 'new light' you had received,
which led you to deny the ordinances of the Gospel, as I
thought your experience would soon teach you your error,
and the impropriety of annulling what Christ and the
Apostles have established--what both primitive and modern
Christians have rejoiced in. But when I discovered a
division in the peaceful flock of my charge, and at our
last communion, three of our once happy brethren stay away,
their seats vacant which have been so faithfully filled for
years, persons whom I have heard praise God on such
occasions, I cannot refrain from giving you my sentiments,
and from assuring you that after carefully reviewing the
subject, I must still 'Teach and baptize in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,' (Luke
16:15, 16; Matt. 28:19, 20,) and shall continue 'steadfast
in the Apostles' doctrine and in breaking of bread and of
prayers,' Acts 11:41-46. Your 'new light,' as it is called
in this region, to me is an old error, agitated by the
Quakers two centuries ago, and more recently adopted and
taught by the Shakers.
"Water baptism and the Lord's Supper are the two main
ordinances of the new dispensation. I think there was no
such practice as either of these among the Jews previous to
John, who came to prepare the way for the Messiah. At
least, the Scriptures make no mention of any such practice
under the law. Baptism was first practised by John, was
subsequently sanctioned by the precepts and example of
God's holy Son; and since it is comprehended in his
Commission to the Apostles, it must continue to be as
lastingly and as extensively observed as the Gospel
itself. It is no more local or temporary than the mission
which contains it. The Supper also was first introduced by
the Saviour on the night in which he was betrayed, and even
after his resurrection he sanctioned it by appearing at the
head of the table. It is very evident that the custom was
continued among the disciples, and shall we say that the
Apostles and the ancient Christians generally were under
the delusion of the devil in coming together on the first
day of the week to preach and to break bread? If not, where
is the impropriety of our following the Apostles in this
thing? Are they and the holy Scriptures our example, or are
we to be governed by imagination? My dear brother, what can
be your motive in this great stir? Do you think your labor
on this subject essential to the conversion of souls? Or is
it possible that pride and vanity have joined to induce you
to become the author of something new, to be at the head of
a party? My charity forbids me to think this. I hope for
better things. As a gentleman of science, as a Gospel
minister, you have entered upon the very responsible stage
of public life. Your station is high, your position is
critical, and it becomes you to walk gently before the
Lord. This is a time in which we should pray fervently,
think soberly, and act with deliberation. We should write
the words of God with carefulness. Br. Millard informs me
that you intend to publish a work on this subject. Allow me
to advise you to be cautious, as an error once sent forth
to the reading world can only with great difficulty be
recalled. A blunder at the commencement of one's public
life may cause perpetual injury. I advise you to lay your
views before some enlightened council, or to correspond
with able ministers on the subject. If you have a _true_
light, others can see it; if not, you will be assisted in
season by the wisdom of others."
Mr. P., it would appear, was a minister of the Freewill Baptist
denomination, had associated some with Mr. Badger[32] in public life;
but instead of adhering to the suggestions of his friend, it seems that
he published a small volume, in which he sent baptism, the Lord's
Supper, ordination, and the divinely inspired character of the
Scriptures, into endless banishment, with certain broadcast allegations
against the fraternity to which he had belonged. In 1823, Mr. Badger
wrote six strong chapters in reply to his volume, apparently at the
request of the denomination from which the author of the book had
previously hailed. The title of Mr. B.'s manuscript read thus: "A Plea
for the Innocent; and T. Patching's Writings against Baptism, Lord's
Supper, Ordination, and the Holy Scriptures, criticised. By Joseph
Badger, Minister of the New Testament." Among the mottoes of the
title-page is this:
"He brushed the cobwebs from his brethren's urn,
Yet spared the insect that wove the web."
But we judge the insect was not wholly spared. It is ably written.
Perhaps a glance into the boldness of the speculations of Mr. P. may be
gained in the statement that among his common-place are positions like
these: "The Bible is the God of thousands, a stumbling-block to the
blind, and the foundation of Priestcraft--the means by which Satan,
through his prelates, has served himself to the best advantage;" that
those who advocate the Bible, though less numerous than those who
follow the Alcoran, are probably not less blind or wicked; and that the
Scriptures "are not so much as one stone in the foundation upon which
God has made man's salvation dependent;" and that through scripture
medium no man derives spiritual knowledge. Why Mr. Badger's reply was
never published, is unknown; perhaps the passing away of the excitement
attendant on the first introduction of the work of Mr. P., led to the
conclusion that its publication was unnecessary. "I have traced with
care," says Mr. B., "the writings of Volney, the noted French atheist,
and I think he treats the Scripture with more fairness and respect;
whilst Hume and Bolingbroke are decidedly too modest to rank with him.
But when we turn to the pages of Mr. Paine, Mr. Allen, and Voltaire, we
find a style and manner that admit of comparison with the writings now
under discussion."
December 14, 1820, in writing to his father from West Bloomfield, he
said:--
"The church under my care in this region is in a
flourishing state, and my work is in this country. I think
it my duty to continue here. I shall endeavor ere long to
visit you, as my anxiety is great to see you once more.
Though I ceased to keep house the day after the death of
Mary Jane, I think it will be my duty, at some future
period, to resume my home in this place--a home which is
now left unto me desolate."
December 17, from Lima, he speaks of an important reformation, and of a
prospering society of Christians in the town of Williamson, now Marion,
Wayne County, New York, a town in which Mr. Badger at different times
has labored with success, and where to this day the society of liberal
Christians under the ministry of Rev. Amasa Staunton, is prosperous and
strong. It was his primary intention to have journeyed to the land of
his birth and early ministerial success in New England, when the sacred
ties of his domestic life were broken; but a sudden misfortune, which
deprived him of his intended method of conveyance, caused him to employ
the time in visiting those places in eastern New York, spoken of in the
latter pages of this chapter. On his return, whilst at Brutus, he
received a message from Mr. Oliver True, then in Ontario county, that
from Williamson an urgent request had arrived that he should come to
baptize a large number of converts; and though no answer positively
decides his compliance at that time, it is certain that he has
frequently bestowed labor on that community, and was present and
assisted in the organization of that church in 1820.