CENTENNIAL SERMON AND OTHER SERVICES IN JOHN-STREET CHURCH, NEW YORK.
On the morning of Sunday, June 27, 1875, Father Boehm preached his
centennial sermon in the Methodist Episcopal Church in John-street. It
was a notable event, and among the congregation memory and imagination
were both busy with the associations and thoughts suggested by it. When
he preached what was called his centennial sermon before the Newark
Conference, in the preceding April, he had not quite completed his one
hundred years; but now he was a genuine centenarian, and the interest
of the occasion was heightened by the place in which he preached his
real centennial sermon. His first visit to the old church, which stood
on the present site in John-street, was made in company with Bishop
Asbury on the 7th of May, 1809, of which he wrote: “What thoughts crowded
my mind as I entered this cradle of Methodism! What rich and hallowed
associations cluster around this original home of Methodism on this
continent!”
But to those who were present at the services in question, as well as
to the venerable centenarian who revisited the place after so long a
period, the occasion was one of singular and peculiar interest. Here
was the oldest Methodist minister of the world preaching in the oldest
Methodist church—an event which may well be called unique, an incident
seldom seen, even once in a century.
The church was crowded. Among the clergymen present were Bishop Janes;
Rev. N. G. Cheney, pastor of the church; Rev. Dr. Reid, Missionary
Secretary; Rev. Dr. De Puy, Rev. Dr. Holdich, Rev. Mr. Dikeman, and
Rev. Dr. Dean, of East Tennessee. After a voluntary on the organ the
congregation joined in singing
“From all that dwell below the skies.”
Dr. Holdich led in prayer. During the preliminary devotional services
Father Boehm, accompanied by some of his most intimate friends, entered
the church and took a seat in the pulpit beside Bishop Janes. Our
senior bishop looked to be in the bloom of youth beside the venerable
centenarian. The tender and affectionate manner in which the bishop
assisted him in the service suggested the most touching attention of son
to sire. After singing the hymn commencing,
“When all thy mercies, O my God,”
the whole congregation showed their respect for Father Boehm by rising
as he came forward to begin his sermon. Opening the Bible, he announced
his text, and in a clear voice spoke fluently as follows, amid the
profoundest silence:—
FATHER BOEHM’S SERMON.
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my
voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup
with him, and he with me.”—REV. iii, 20.
We have set before us in this passage an astounding
condescension. The Great Being condescends to come and stand at
the door of our hearts and knock, and wait for an entrance. This
is indeed a wonderful condescension; for here it is set before us
that the blessed Jesus, who has all power in heaven and in earth,
condescends to come down to dependent, sinful beings, and wait at
the door for voluntary entrance. “I stand at the door and knock.”
This refers, no doubt, to the impression made upon the mind, the
sensibilities aroused with fear and with hope. This sets before
us the working of the gracious influences upon the heart of man,
and they wait for a voluntary entrance. The Lord condescends
to knock, and this knocking implies a call—“If any man hear my
voice, and open the door.” Jesus will not break the door; he will
not enter by forcible means. There must be voluntary consent
on the part of the subject, who must invite the Holy Spirit to
come in with his gracious influence and divine power. “Behold, I
stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice”—that is,
attentively hear my voice—“if any man hear my voice, and open
the door, I will come in.” “I will turn out all that is contrary
to the divine influence. I will sup with him. I will, in its
gracious manifestations, enjoy the divine favor; and I will, as
it were, partake of the blessings that I have provided.” What
condescension! “I will sup with him as though he had prepared all
the feast.” Jesus provides all that is necessary, and then he
condescends to say, “I will sup with him, and he with me.”
Glory to God in the highest for his manifestations, for his
goodness, for his mercy and long-suffering, extending unto
us! O, the goodness of God in sparing us, in giving us this
opportunity for another call, another gracious touch, another
divine influence! O, that our hearts may be opened, and may this
be a day long to be remembered, a day of mercy and power in the
salvation of many thousands of precious souls! Blessed be God for
his divine mercy and goodness! I rejoice that the enjoyment of
the favor of God, the love of God, is something that does not get
old. It is ever new, it is ever precious. It is as precious to my
soul this day as it was many years ago. In the days of my youth
the Lord manifested himself unto my soul and led me to see the
evil that I should shun, and his grace was sufficient to lead me
on; and, bless the Lord! now in advanced years it is the source
of comfort, the source of joy and hope to me. Yes! Look beyond
and what do we see? A bright and heavenly day, a glorious day,
awaits us beyond this vale of tears.
May God in his infinite mercy add his blessing, and may his name
be glorified in the salvation of many precious souls! O what a
change has occurred since I was first at this place—not the same
church edifice, but a church was in this place—in 1809 with the
venerable Bishop Asbury, and many other brethren who have gone
home to their reward! Bless the Lord that he has still a people
here to serve him! O, may their numbers increase many fold, and
may thy name, O Lord, be glorified here in the salvation of
hundreds of precious souls! Amen.
When Father Boehm had resumed his seat Bishop Janes added the following
remarks:—
BISHOP JANES’ ADDRESS.
Elderly people usually appreciate aged men and aged things. They
usually see in them interest, and have for them veneration, and
perceive that there must be in them some strength, some power,
some excellence which sustains them. Younger persons are more
taken with new things, and those that perhaps have more of
show, more that excites present admiration. And this is not
unphilosophical. Our experiences would naturally lead to this
difference of feeling and of regard.
No one, however, can contemplate the spectacle that we have
before us this morning without the conviction to which I have
referred—that there must be something in the constitution and
character and life of our dear father that has contributed to
his great longevity. The British fortress of Gibraltar has stood
through so many continental wars because of its great strength,
because it was impregnable to all the military powers and forces
that were known and employed in those wars. Those very ancient
cathedrals in the Old World that have stood for centuries, and
to-day look as if they were likely to stand for centuries more,
convince us that they were built with great care and with great
strength, or they could not have stood so long the exposure to
the elements and the influence of time. If you go to the mountain
side and look upon the oak that has stood there as long as our
father has lived, and that has battled all the storms of a
century and is still strong, and covered with foliage and beauty,
we know that there must have been perfect soundness in the tree,
and that there must have been great strength in its roots, or it
could not have thus lived, and grown, and still possessed such
beauty in its old age. If there had been the least defect in the
tree that defect would have been seen in its increasing decay
long before this. And if you go into an orchard and look upon
a tree that has given fruitage to two generations, and perhaps
is being covered with moss—some of its topmost boughs may be
leafless, and perhaps sapless—and you see it is still bearing
fruit in its old age, you know that tree was a sound one, and had
been cared for; and because of its perfectness, and because of
the care it has received, it has reached this great age, has been
so fruitful and has benefited so many, and given pleasure to such
multitudes.
The same is true of this individual who has lived one hundred
years. He must have inherited a good constitution, and during
his youth he must have avoided all excesses, and during his
manhood also he must have been, in the language of Scripture,
“temperate in all things.” There can have been indulged no
consuming lust, no excessive indulgence. There can have been
indulged no appetite to excess, but all these bodily appetites,
and passions, and lusts, have been held in abeyance. He has kept
his body under. He has governed himself in all his physical
habits, and in all his physical enjoyments and exercises;
otherwise this “harp of a thousand strings” would not have been
kept in such perfect tune so long. More than this: his mind has
been under government, controlled by right principles and by
proper motives.
There has been no consuming ambition, no burning desire for
wealth, that consumes the vitality both of body and soul. And
when the secrets of human life are understood we shall find
how many of those sudden deaths, and of those suicides, have
resulted in consequence of this terrible ambition to be rich. And
equally corroding, and consuming and destroying, is the desire
for honor. I do not refer now merely to that extended fame after
which the soldier and the statesman and the poet aspire. Those
little ambitions which exist here among us, in our families,
in our social circle—to excel one another in our condition and
surroundings in life, in the furniture of our houses, and the
style of our living—those petty ambitions in families are just as
corroding and destroying as are those grander ambitions to which
I have referred. And, in order to such a life as our father has
lived, and such an age as he has reached, and such an evening
as he enjoys, a good conscience is an absolute prerequisite.
There is not one of us here to-day who believes if he had had
a reproaching conscience, one that disturbed his hours during
the day, and prevented rest at night, that he would enjoy this
tranquil, serene, beautiful old age. One single cause of remorse
would destroy all this beauty and blessing that crowns his life.
Now I make these remarks in order that we may learn wisdom from
his example, that the youth who are here may see the importance
of the strictest bodily habits—eating, drinking, sleeping, all
bodily exercises, and especially the avoiding of all bodily
excesses, and all unlawful lusts, and passions, and appetites.
Avoid them as you would death and hell, for they are the cause of
destruction both in this world and in the world to come.
We also call your attention to that source of strength and power
which has so greatly influenced the character, and governed the
life, and made perfect the experience, of our venerable brother.
As he has told us, he was converted to God in his youth. He gave
his heart to the Saviour in his early manhood, and he has had
through all these years the peace of God, a tranquil soul. O
what a treasure! How rich a boon religion gives in this life!
How sweet the experience which grace imparts! In this governing,
controlling, harmonizing power of religion we have one of the
greatest means of bodily comfort as well as sources of spiritual
delight and joy. And having lived in all good conscience—for I
can say that of him; I have been with him by day and by night;
in the sanctuary, and on the camp ground, and in almost all the
varied circumstances in which itinerant ministers are placed; I
have been thrown intimately with him at times—and I am prepared
to say that he has lived in all good conscience until this day.
He has its sure reward, perfect peace, now. Would God that were
true of all!
O that these young people would appreciate the great blessing of
a good conscience, that gives us serenity, tranquillity, joy,
peace, hope in all conditions, and in all periods of life! A good
conscience! O, as you would be blessed living and blessed dying,
I charge you in no case, under no temptations, allow yourselves
to do that which conscience condemns. Of all the terrors to be
avoided in this world or the world to come remorse is the most
terrible. And I beseech you be so watchful, so circumspect, so
guarded in all your ways, in all your doings, as to escape from
this terrible calamity.
But if any one here to-day has this troubled conscience, let
me point him to the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of
the world. There is forgiveness with God. The blood of Christ
cleanseth from all sin. Here bring your guilty conscience, here
bring your sinful heart. “Behold, I stand at the door, and
knock:” saith the Saviour: “if any man”—a guilty man, an unholy
person—will “open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup
with him, and he with me.” Fellowship shall be restored between
him and his God.
And let us who feel that we are the disciples of the Saviour,
that we have the religion which has done so much for our
brother, and enabled him to do so much for his fellow-men—let
us who stand, take heed lest we fall. O, how many mighty have
been slain! What evidences have we of the frailty of men—even
Christian men—and how fitting and appropriate are the admonitions
of Christianity to watch and pray lest we enter into temptation;
and how much need have we to say daily to our heavenly Father,
“Lead us not into temptation.” Let not our providential
circumstances be such as to afford temptation; let not our
spiritual adversaries approach so as to be permitted to make
their foul suggestions that we fall from our steadfastness and
into sin, and bring reproach upon Jesus, and upon ourselves a
gloomy and miserable old age—even though we should be saved “as
if by fire.” Let us take the admonition, and though we cannot
live as long as our dear father, let us live as long as we can,
and let us live to good purpose.
We might just as well be in our graves as above the ground,
provided we are not useful, and useful to others. _The one great
motive for earthly life is usefulness_; and I repeat, we might as
well be in the grave as above the ground if we are not living to
a purpose, if we are not glorifying God, honoring our Maker, and
doing good to our fellow-men.
Now let us not only heed the very gracious language of the text
this morning, (and I am sure none of us will ever forget it, or
forget where we heard it preached from, or by whom, nor shall we
forget the simple, plain, and touching sermon that was delivered
to us from it,) but let us not only heed it and come to God for
personal and present fellowship and fruition, but let us take
the lesson which his example furnishes us of temperance and
carefulness in life, of devotion to God, of maintaining such a
spirit as secures us peace, that we may be enabled to do our
duty with joy, consolation, and success, and come down to the
evening of life with a sweet spirit, with a calm mind, with a
joyous heart, and with a hope full of immortality. May God give
us all his blessing, and whether we live shorter or longer upon
earth, grant that we may live for evermore in heaven, with all
the good and glorified through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dr. J. Morrison Reid, Missionary Secretary, had been requested to make
some remarks, but declined, thinking it better not to prolong the
services by delivering an address.
Bishop Janes, after announcing that fact, made merely a passing allusion
to this happy meeting in sweet Christian fellowship of the oldest
Methodist Church Society with the oldest Methodist Pastor in America,
and, in conclusion, pronounced this benediction on the people and the
pastor: “May the presence of God always abide with this people. And
[turning to Father Boehm] may the presence of God always abide with
you, our dear father! Not only in life, but when you come down to the
valley of the shadow of death, may you have our God with you, his rod
and his staff comforting you; and when your eyes shall have closed upon
the scenes of earth, may you be translated to the beatitudes of heaven,
through Jesus Christ. And through Jesus Christ, with the help of the Holy
Ghost, we will meet you there, and share with you that endless felicity
in the presence and beatitudes of God.”
The seventeenth Hymn (“Before Jehovah’s awful throne”) was then sung by
the congregation, together with the doxology, and Father Boehm pronounced
the benediction. The congregation, by request, remained seated until the
venerable man of God had passed out of the church to return to his home
in Jersey City.
THE END.
FOOTNOTES
[1] This is an Indian name, and is so called from the Conestoga Creek, a
beautiful stream that empties into the Susquehanna. The Conestoga Indians
were once numerous and powerful.
[2] Not Owen, as Lednum and Stevens say. See Minutes, and Quarterly
Review, article by Dr. Hamilton.
[3] Life of Abbott, p. 100.
[4] He was the elder who traveled through the district, as well as
stationed preacher.
[5] See Life and Times of Jesse Lee, p. 366.
[6] After the death of Harry Ennalls his excellent widow married Robert
Carmann at Pipe Creek, and in after years I put up with them when I
traveled with Bishop Asbury.
[7] He joined the conference in 1789, and died in 1808. Bishop Asbury
loved him, and deeply lamented his death.
[8] He was an old preacher; joined in 1788, and died in 1827.
[9] Since this was written my old friends Joshua Wells and Henry Smith
have fallen asleep.
[10] See Arminian Magazine for 1808, p. 373.
[11] Ten years later the funeral sermon of Bishop Asbury was preached
from the same text by the Rev. Ezekiel Cooper, in Philadelphia.
[12] Lawrence Laurenson became one of the strong men of the Philadelphia
Conference, and all over the Peninsula his name is as “ointment poured
forth.”
[13] _Leonard Castle_ was the Summerfield of the Baltimore Conference. He
was converted in a prayer-meeting at Pipe Creek. In after years I knew
his relations there and his brother in Tennessee. His race was short but
brilliant. He was only eighteen when he entered the ministry, and, after
traveling six years, he died of yellow fever in Baltimore on September
21, 1808. He had a splendid intellect and great oratorical powers.
His brethren in the Minutes speak of him “as a happy model of pulpit
simplicity, eloquence, and piety.” They also say, “This astonishing
genius is gone from the thousands of our Israel to the Paradise of God.”
He married the daughter of Rev. Ephraim Chambers. I saw her in all the
loneliness of early widowhood. She was the friend of Mrs. Gough, and I
used to meet her at Perry Hall.
[14] Years ago various denominations built churches in this way, and
thought nothing of this religious gambling. They said the end sanctified
the means. The state legislature would grant them the privilege.
[15] His name was not Peter, but Jacob.
[16] He formerly lived in Baltimore. He was a tailor, and Rev. William
Thacher learned his trade of him.
[17] I was with the bishop at Mrs. Willis’s at other times. When there in
1811 the bishop exclaimed, “Henry Willis! Ah, when shall I look upon thy
like again?” Behold how he loved him.
[18] At the Cincinnati Conference of 1863 I saw the Rev. Aaron Wood of
Indiana Conference. He was converted a fortnight before the bishop and
I were at his father’s in 1808. We talked over the scenes of the past,
and he remembered our visit. He has been over forty years a traveling
preacher. The interview I had with him was most refreshing. I also had
the pleasure of seeing him at the General Conference in Philadelphia in
May, 1864. He offered the concluding prayer when that body separated.
He married for his first wife the daughter of the celebrated William
Beauchamp.
[19] Barnett kept a public house. He was an early settler in the country.
He was quite a character. Famous as the first man in that part of the
country who owned a vehicle with four wheels.
[20] Samuel Edney was a noble man, a genuine Methodist, given to
hospitality. He joined the conference in 1791, and located in 1794. The
bishop and he were great friends. He has a son, Dr. Edney, living in New
York, a member of the Seventeenth-street Methodist Episcopal Church.
[21] Autobiography, p. 90.
[22] The Fryes were originally from Winchester, and were of German
descent.
[23] Stevens’s Memorials of Methodism, vol. ii, p. 443.
[24] With great pleasure I call the attention of the reader to Dr.
George Peck’s excellent works “Wyoming” and “Early Methodism” for full
information concerning this far-famed valley.
[25] Fifty-two years afterward, when in this part of Ohio, I met with
several Germans who heard me preach in their language in 1809.
[26] He was a good preacher and a pleasant man. I traveled with him many
miles. He joined in 1804, and located in 1838.
[27] Journal, vol. iii, p. 332.
[28] The reader will find an account of that memorable conference in
Asbury’s Journal, vol. i, p. 244.
[29] Rev. William Hamilton, in Sprague’s Annals, vol. iii, p. 332.
[30] They were Allen-street and Greenwich Village, now Bedford-street.
Few churches have been more honored of God, or a greater blessing to man,
than these two, and they still enjoy great prosperity.
[31] The old house still remains, with Washington’s table and chair which
he used at the time of the Revolution.
[32] See Lee’s History of Methodism, p. 64.
[33] Lednum’s Rise of Methodism in America, p. 210.
[34] He has died since I made the record.
[35] He proved a degenerate son of his worthy sire, being the William M.
Gwin who was senator from California, and afterward implicated with the
southern rebels, now seeking his fortune in Mexico.
[36] The bishop, in his journal, fell into a little error in relating
this scene; but I have described it just as it occurred, and though over
half a century has passed since that morning we crossed Cape Fear River,
I recollect with minuteness all the circumstances as if they took place
yesterday. It was one of those occurrences not easily effaced from the
memory.
[37] Paul and Hannah Hick of New York informed Dr. Bangs and others it
was Paul Hick’s mother in New York that stirred up Philip Embury to
preach the Gospel. No one denied it for many years. Tho controversy is a
singular one, to say the least of it.
[38] This was found among the papers of Bishop Asbury by the transcriber
of his journals, Francis Hollingsworth, and published in the Methodist
Magazine of 1823. Dr. Bangs copied it in his history, vol. ii, p. 365.
[39] Mr. Keaggy was an estimable man, and his house was one of the
bishop’s homes. He was a local preacher, and very useful. He was the
father of Dr. John Keaggy of Philadelphia, long and favorably known in
the literary world.
[40] See “History of the United Brethren in Christ,” by Rev. H. G.
Spayth, published in 1851; also “History of the Church of the United
Brethren in Christ,” by John Lawrence, where the same is copied from Mr.
Spayth’s History. Concerning Mr. Spayth’s History, Mr. Lawrence says it
“is indispensable to a proper understanding of the rise of the United
Brethren in Christ; and the Church in all time to come will be indebted
to him for the most valuable contributions to her early history.”—Vol. i,
p. 6.
[41] Bishop Asbury notices him at the New York Conference of 1813. He
says, “Bishop M’Kendree preached. It appeared as if a ray of divine
glory rested upon him. His subject was ‘Great peace have they that love
thy law, and nothing shall offend them.’ The appearance, manner, and
preaching of Bishop M’Kendree produced a very powerful, effect on Joshua
Marsden, a British missionary.” Mr. Marsden returned to Europe after the
war, did good service, and died in holy triumph. His end, as described by
his affectionate daughter who witnessed it, was very triumphant.
[42] Henry Foxall was an Englishman, and was well acquainted with Bishop
Asbury’s mother. He was converted in Ireland while there on business, and
soon afterward came to this country. He had a foundry in Philadelphia,
on the banks of the Schuylkill, near where the Fairmount water works now
are, and another at Georgetown. I have been in both, and at the latter
saw them casting cannon for the government. I was present when his only
daughter was married by Bishop Asbury to a Mr. M’Kenne. I was well
acquainted with Mr. Foxall, and the bishop and he were like two brothers.
He gave the site for, and built, the new church called “The Foundry.” He
gave it that name for two reasons: first, in remembrance of Mr. Wesley’s
first chapel in London, which was so called; and second, because his
own business was that of a founder. He possessed great business talent
and acquired considerable wealth. He was distinguished for humility,
liberality, and hospitality. He died while on a visit to England in 1823,
at the age of sixty-eight. He left five thousand dollars to the Wesleyan
Missionary Society in England, and five thousand to the “Chartered Fund”
for the relief of worn-out preachers, of which he was one of the early
trustees.
[43] There are many who supposed Mr. Asbury had made provision to give a
Bible to all the children that should be named after him; and therefore,
up to 1861, forty-five years after the bishop was in his grave,
applications were made to the Book Room for Bibles by parents whose
children were named Francis Asbury.
[44] Thinking it would gratify some of my readers, I give the names of
some of the subscribers in this list: Bishop M’Kendree, his father,
James M’Kendree, and his sister; my mother, Eve Boehm, and my sister
Barbara, wife of Dr. Keaggy; Francis Hollingsworth, (the transcriber
of Asbury’s Journal,) and Mary his wife; Revs. W. Beauchamp, Samuel
Parker, (spiritual father of Rev. W. Winans,) H. B. Bascom, (then but
two years in the ministry and eighteen years old,) Jacob Young, James
B. Finley, and John Collins, (the spiritual father of Judge M’Lean;)
the Revs. James Quinn, John Sale, Thomas S. Hinde, (once well known as
“Theophilus Arminius,”) William Burke, (an eloquent preacher, and one of
the pioneers of Methodism in the West,) James Gwin, James Axley, (noted
for his eccentricities and excellences,) and their wives; Revs. Thomas
L. Douglass, (an intimate friend of M’Kendree, and who preached his
funeral sermon,) John M’Gee, (father of camp-meetings in this country,)
Jesse Walker, (pioneer of Methodism in Missouri,) and Peter Cartwright.
These were chiefly from the West. Of southern preachers there were James
Jenkins, Daniel Asbury, William Capers, James B. Glenn, S. Dunwoody,
Lewis Myers, Alexander Talley, W. M. Kennedy, Hilliard Judge, and Edward
Drumgoole, with seven of his family. Among the subscribers north and east
we find the names of Freeborn Garrettson, his wife and daughter; Revs. S.
Merwin, W. Phœbus, W. Ross, W. Jewett, W. Anson, Elijah Woolsey, Heman
Bangs, Arnold Schofield, Smith Arnold, Philip Munger, Asa Kent, George
Pickering, Solomon Sias, (first publisher of Zion’s Herald,) Daniel
Filmore, Martin Ruter, (who found a grave in Texas,) Joel Ketchum, and
Ebenezer Newell. Of the laity in this region we find the names of John
Armitage, John Baker, (in whose house the conference was held at Ashgrove
in 1803,) James Sterling and his wife, of Burlington, N. J.; John
Paradise, (the portrait painter,) W. B. Skidmore, J. B. Oakley, and Grace
Shotwell. The amounts subscribed would be thought very small nowadays.
Some gave a dollar, but most of them much less. Some of the distinguished
preachers I have named gave but twenty-five cents. It was as much as they
were able to give, so scanty were their means.
[45] I traveled forty thousand miles with Bishop Asbury, and since I
entered the itinerancy I have traveled on horseback over one hundred
thousand miles, more than four times the circumference of the earth.
[46] He was literally a man of prayer. He prayed much in secret, and
this accounts for his power in prayer in public. He was in the habit of
presenting each conference and the preachers by name before the Lord.
[47] He had married two sisters of John Emory, Susan and Margaret. He
married the youngest first. They were very amiable. I was well acquainted
with them for years. John Emory married a sister of Mr. Sellers. She
was his first wife and the mother of Robert. Dr. Sellers removed to
Pittsburgh, and recently died there. He was a grandson of Henry Downs.