Before the General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church of
North America, Topeka, May 28th, 1885.
MR. MODERATOR, AND GENTLEMEN OF THE ASSEMBLY: When the Rev. Mr.
McKirahan kindly invited me to meet the General Assembly of the United
Presbyterian Church, I accepted his invitation with mingled reluctance
and pleasure. On the one hand, I shrank from appearing before so august
an assemblage; on the other, I was glad to greet and to welcome to the
capital city a congregation of men representing a religious body so
numerous and so influential.
I should, however, have stipulated, in accepting the invitation, that I
might be permitted to remain a silent spectator of your proceedings. In
the presence of so many trained and gifted speakers, one who makes no
claim to the graces of oratory ought to be permitted to remain silent. I
could neither instruct nor entertain you, and certainly I have no desire
to interrupt, even for a moment, the important business you are here to
transact.
The Christian minister occupies a most important position, and the
duties devolving on him are at once delicate and responsible. In one
sense, this is an age of unbelief; and yet never in any other age was
the appeal for light, for faith, for instruction, so widespread and so
strong. Weak men cannot make answer to this demand, and the churches of
all denominations ought to fill their pulpits with the most vigorous and
aggressive intellects in their ranks.
Daniel Webster once said: “I thank God that, if I am gifted with little
of the spirit that is able to raise mortals to the skies, I have yet
none, as I trust, of that other spirit, which would drag angels down.”
In this spirit, at least, I can greet and welcome you, and bid you
Godspeed in your mission and your work.
I beg you, therefore, to accept my hearty congratulations on the
prosperity of the denomination you represent, and my cordial well-wishes
for your individual welfare and happiness. I sincerely trust that your
sessions may be pleasant and profitable, and that you may each and all
return to your homes refreshed and strengthened by this fraternal
meeting.